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- Lance once hit six home runs in a college doubleheader.
- Lance was nicknamed “Fatty Kruk” in college.
- Lance was voted 1997 College Player of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was also a Baseball America and Sporting News First-Team All-American.
- Lance’s .385 career average at Rice shattered the old mark of .376, set by Jose Cruz, Jr.
- After Lance signed withe Astros, he worked with instructor Bill Virdon on his transition to the outfield.
- Despite paying just 53 games in 1998, Lance was rated as one of the Top 10 prospects in the Florida State League.
- Lance’s three-homer game in the 1998 Triple-A World Series was his second of the year. He had already hit three against Oklahoma City that August.
- Lance was the starting leftfielder in the 1999 Futures Game at Fenway Park.
- In 2001, Lance became the first switch-hitter in history with 50 doubles and 30 homers in the same season.
- Lance’s 55 doubles and 94 extra-base hits in 2001 were the most ever by a switch-hitter.
- Lance is one of only four switch-hitters to hit 30 homers and bat .330 in the same year (2001). The others are Mickey Mantle, Chipper Jones and Ripper Collins.
- Lance hit his 100th home run in his 452nd game, becoming the fastest Astro to reach that plateau.
- In 2002, Lance joined Mickey Mantle as the only switch-hitters to club 10 homers in their teams’ first 20 games.
- Lance’s first highlight play came on a missed diving catch that enabled Tony Womack to circle the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam.
- Lance’s agent is his dad. He works for Momentum Sports Group in Austin.
- Lance suffers from a fear of flying.
- Lance is an avid fan of the Golf Channel.
- Lance sponsors Berkman’s Bunch in conjunction with Methodist Hospital in Houston. The program arranges free trips for kids to the ballpark to see the Astros.
- Lance once took batting practice wearing a sumo wrestling costume.
- Lance’s first car was a 1977 pickup with no air conditioning or radio. He nicknamed it “Paps.”
- Lance and his wife Cara were married in 1998. They have two girls, Hannah and Carly.
- Lance’s favorite chew is Dubble Bubble.
- Lance says the best barbecue in Houston is served at Goode & Co.
Jose Cruz, Jr.,
1997 Baseball America
Mickey Mantle, 1963
Topps
Chipper Jones, 1999
The Sporting News Baseball Yearbook