Lastings Milledge

Milledge was 21 years, 55 days old on the day of his debut - exactly the same age as former Met Darryl Strawberry when he made his 1983 debut.

Lastings Darnell Milledge (born April 5, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox and then in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Yakult Swallows.

At the age of twelve, he pitched and played third base and hit third for the Manatee East Little League team that was the national runner-up in the 1997 Little League World Series.

He received the win on the mound in the semi-final game of the regional, giving up only one run on a solo home run to Matt Rigney in a win against Mississippi.

In 2001, he led Team USA to a gold medal game victory over Venezuela in the International Baseball Federation's AA World Youth Championships.

Later that year, Baseball America named Milledge the best 16-year-old player in the United States.

He graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Florida in 2003 after leading his team to the state 5A title his senior year.

Prior to the 2003 amateur draft, he was expected to be among the top three selections, but as draft day approached, press reports from 2002 resurfaced regarding Milledge's expulsion from Northside Christian School after his junior year for allegedly having sex with a minor.

He subsequently transferred to Lakewood Ranch High School where he finished his education and amateur baseball career.

As a result of the incident, Milledge was passed over in the 2003 amateur draft until the Mets selected him as the twelfth overall pick in the first round.

The Mets began contract negotiations with Milledge, but the talks were interrupted in early August 2003, when the Mets learned of allegations of additional sexual misconduct against Milledge during his time at Northside.

The Mets completed a private investigation of the matter and, satisfied with the results, signed Milledge to a contract with a $2.2 million signing bonus.

The delay in signing Milledge prevented him from beginning his professional career until shortly before the end of the minor league season in 2003.

He appeared in only seven games, hitting .231 for the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League.

In 2004, he was slated to start the year with the class A Capital City Bombers, but he suffered a fractured metacarpal on his right hand in spring training, missing the first six weeks of the season.

In 65 games with the Bombers, he hit .337 with 13 home runs, 58 RBI and 23 stolen bases, earning him a promotion to the St. Lucie Mets in August.

In 2005, he continued his minor league success hitting .302 with St. Lucie in the first half of the season and .337 with the AA Binghamton Mets in the second half.

He was the youngest player in MLB's National League during his rookie season in 2006.

Milledge was born in Bradenton, Florida.

He began the 2006 season leading off and playing right field for the AAA Norfolk Tides.

Milledge made his major league debut on May 30, 2006, as the starting right fielder for the Mets in a 7–2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He went 1 for 4 with a double off Arizona pitcher Miguel Batista.

In his three separate stints in the majors in 2006, Milledge hit .241 with 4 HR and 22 RBI in 56 games.

On June 4, 2006 against the San Francisco Giants, Milledge hit a solo home run – his first major league career homer – off Giants closer Armando Benítez to tie up the game 6–6 in the bottom of the tenth inning.

When the Mets returned to the field the following inning, Milledge, still excited, high-fived the home fans in attendance at Shea as he returned to his position, inciting the ire of his manager and some teammates, not to mention the national sports media.

In late September, one of Milledge's Mets teammates placed a sign on his locker which read, "Know Your Place, Rook!"

The sign-placer was identified in published reports as then-Mets closer Billy Wagner.

After having an impressive spring training both on and off the field, Milledge was named to the Mets' opening day roster.

He saw very limited game action, and was subsequently optioned down to AAA New Orleans after the game on April 12 to create room on the roster so that starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey could be called up and make his season debut in the following day's game.

In May, it was reported that Milledge appeared in a rap song, "Bend Ya Knees", by Manny D, a childhood friend.

The song contained the words "bitch", "ho", and "nigga".

The Mets organization responded by saying, "We disapprove of the content, language, and message of this recording, which does not represent the views of the New York Mets."

Upon his recovery from a foot injury, Milledge was called up to the major leagues after the All-Star break on July 12.

Veteran Julio Franco was designated for assignment to make room for Milledge.

On November 30, 2007, Milledge was traded to the Washington Nationals for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.

Milledge served as the everyday starting center fielder for the Nationals.

Up until the end of June, he had been batting third in the lineup in place of the injured Ryan Zimmerman, posting a .245 average, 7 home runs, and 32 RBI for the season.

However, on June 28, he suffered a groin strain, and he was placed on the disabled list the next day.

Roger Bernadina was called up to take his place.