Athletes - Joe Crede

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	Athletes - Joe Crede

Joe Crede (born April 26, 1978 in Jefferson City, Missouri) is an American Major League Baseball player who currently is the third baseman for the Chicago White Sox.

Crede attended Fatima High School (The Comets) in Westphalia, Missouri where he led them to district and state championships in the Pitcher position.

Crede was drafted by the White Sox in the 5th round of the 1996 amateur draft. He made his debut with the team in 2000, and played four years on a mediocre Chicago squad before 2005 came around. Over the previous off-season, general manager Ken Williams had completely made over the Sox and changed their focus from home runs to pitching, defense, and speed. Williams' moves turned out to pay massive dividends, and Crede came to national attention as the third baseman for a team that held the best record in the game for most of the 2005 season. Joe Crede is currently signed for a 2.675 million, 1 year deal.

In the second game of the 2005 ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Crede was involved in what will go down as one of the most controversial moments in the history of postseason baseball. In the bottom of the ninth inning at U.S. Cellular Field, the score was tied 1-1 with two outs and nobody on base. Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski apparently struck out at the hands of Angels pitcher Kelvim Escobar to send the game into extras, but Pierzynski ran to first anyway in case home plate umpire Doug Eddings ruled that L.A. catcher Josh Paul had not fielded the ball properly. Indeed, Eddings made just that call, and Pierzynski was awarded a free pass to first base. After pinch runner Pablo Ozuna stole second base, Crede doubled into the left-field corner on an 0-2 pitch from Escobar, scoring Ozuna and winning the game for the Sox 2-1.

Crede himself, since his 2000 debut, has been a player that rapidly falls in and out of favor with the fanbase, due to his dual penchants to underachieve most of the time, and suddenly redeem himself with sudden, dramatic, late-inning acts of heroism. He serves as a sort of "designated hero" for the team. Crede has a powerful tendency to step up in late-inning situations and dramaticly drive in the winning run, hit a walk-off homer to left field, or make a great stabbing catch at third. Most recently in a regular season game, he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10'th inning September 20, 2005, against the rival Cleveland Indians to preserve a precarious White Sox division lead. This tendency to step-up, coupled with his successful post-season (.289, 4 HR, 11 RBI) have made him a current fan favorite in the windy city, and the clear choice as starting third baseman for the '06 season. Should Crede fail, however, touted rookie Josh Fields is waiting in the White Sox farm system to take his place.

Quotes

"I'm gonna tell you somethin' right now, and mind you, many folks won't agree with this, but I'll take Joe Crede over anybody right now. I'm talkin' A-Rod, Rolen...Anybody." -White Sox announcer Ken "Hawk" Harrelson

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Athletes - Joe Crede

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