William Dexter Fowler (born March 22, 1986) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels. He participated in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

as a member of the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball t ...

Amateur career

Fowler was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, and attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. At Milton, Fowler hit .457 with 14 home runs in 105 at-bats. Fowler rejected offers from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

in order to play major league baseball, after having originally committed to Miami. Before signing with the Rockies, Fowler was exclusively a right-handed hitter.

International career

As a minor leaguer during the 2008 season, Fowler was selected to represent the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, China. He and the U.S. team ended up winning the bronze medal in the Olympics by defeating

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, 8-4, in the bronze medal game.

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

Fowler was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 14th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. In 2008, he was selected by Major League Baseball to play in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National Leag ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

Fowler was

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.337 with nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 61

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(RBIs) and 20

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s for the Rockies' Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

affiliate, the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

, prior to playing for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics. Fowler was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time on September 2, 2008. He made his debut that same day in a 6–5 extra-inning home win over the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

, coming in as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been subs ...

in the bottom of the 10th

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

; he was subsequently picked off at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. In Fowler's first

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

in the bottom of the third inning of a 9-2 home loss against the Giants the following day, he flied out to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

. On September 10, 2008, Fowler recorded his first hit, an

infield single An infield hit is an outcome in baseball in which the batted ball stays in the infield, but neither the batter nor any runners are put out. If the batter and runners reach safely due to an error, it is not considered an infield hit. Runners norma ...

, off of Will Ohman in the top of the seventh inning of a 9–5 road loss against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

. On April 8, 2009, Fowler hit his first career home run off Doug Davis of the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

, as part of a 9–2 road win. He hit the home run on the first pitch of the game, becoming the first player in Rockies history to do so. On April 27, 2009, Fowler tied a modern-day rookie record when he stole five bases against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

in a 12–7 victory. In 2010, Fowler led the Majors in triples, accumulating 14 on the season. In 439

s on the year, he had six

s, 36 RBIs, 73

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

, and 114 total base hits. In 2011, Fowler was third in the National League in triples, hitting 15 that season. In 481 at-bats on the year, he hit five home runs, 45 RBIs, 84 runs scored, and 128 total base hits. The 2012 season saw Fowler's batting stats increase to career-highs. He hit 13 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a batting average of .300 in 454 at-bats. However, much of his success came while hitting at home, Coors Field. His home OPS was .880, but only .694 on the road.

Houston Astros

On December 3, 2013, Fowler was traded, along with a player to be named later to the

for outfielder Brandon Barnes and pitcher Jordan Lyles. The Rockies eventually sent cash to the Astros to complete the deal instead of the player to be named later. He hit .276 in 116 games for the Astros during the 2014 season.

Chicago Cubs

On January 19, 2015, Fowler was traded to the

for Luis Valbuena and

Dan Straily Daniel Steven Straily (born December 1, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The Oakland Athletics selected Straily in the 24th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball ...

. He ended the 2015 season with a .250 average, 102 runs scored, 46 RBIs, 17 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. In the 2015 National League wild card game, Fowler helped the Cubs to a 4–0 win over the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

with three hits, three runs scored, one RBI, one home run, and a stolen base. With the Cubs finishing the 2015 season with a 97–65 record, the team entered the postseason for the first time in seven years. In nine postseason games, Fowler batted .396 with two home runs and three RBIs. In Game 4 of the 2015 NLCS against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

, he was the final batter to strike out looking as the Cubs were eliminated from the postseason. Dexter Fowler during the -HRDerby

Fowler signed a one-year contract with the Cubs that included a mutual option for the 2017 season on February 25, 2016, despite reportedly agreeing to a three-year contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

earlier that week. The Orioles claimed that Fowler's insistence on an opt-out clause after one year was the holdup on the deal and that they were blindsided when he signed with the Cubs. Fowler on the other hand insisted he never had agreed to a deal with the Orioles and he and his agent blamed the team and the media for leaking incorrect information. Fowler earned his first career MLB ejection for arguing a strike three call by umpire Vic Carapazza on May 5, 2016. Fowler was selected to his first

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

in 2016 representing the Cubs along with six other teammates. Fowler finished the year batting with a .276 average hitting 13 home runs and 48 RBIs and 84 runs scored. He swung at only 19.4% of pitches outside the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...

(the lowest percentage in the majors). On October 25, 2016, Dexter Fowler along with teammates Jason Heyward,

Addison Russell Addison Wayne Russell (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Russell was drafted 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 Major League Base ...

, and

Carl Edwards Jr. Carl Fleming Edwards Jr. (born September 3, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners ...

became the first African-Americans to play for the Cubs in a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

game. Additionally, Fowler was the first African-American to appear and to bat for the Cubs in a World Series. Fowler is the first African-American to start for the Cubs in a World Series. Fowler led off Game 7 of the World Series with a home run, becoming the first player in history to lead off a World Series Game 7 with a home run. The Cubs won the game 8–7 in 10 innings, giving the team their first championship in 108 years. On November 5, Fowler declined his mutual option for the 2017 season and became a free agent.

St. Louis Cardinals

On December 9, 2016, Fowler and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a five-year, $82.5 million deal. He hit his first home run and RBI as a Cardinal against

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

Gerrit Cole on April 19, 2017. Fowler finished his first season in St. Louis with a .264 batting average, 18 home runs, and 64 RBIs in 118 games. Prior to the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

season, he agreed to shift positions to become the Cardinals' starting right fielder; the Cardinals moved Tommy Pham to center and had acquired Marcell Ozuna in the offseason. Fowler hit his first ever walk-off home run on May 6, 2018, in the bottom of the 14th inning against his former team, the

. His two-run home run helped lead the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory. On August 21, 2018, Fowler was placed on the 60-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

, ending a disappointing 2018 season in which he slashed .180/.278/.298 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs in 90 games. Fowler returned healthy in 2019 as St. Louis' starting right fielder. Over 150 games during the regular season, he slashed .238/.346/.409 with 19 home runs and 67 RBIs. In 2020 he batted .233/.317/.389 with 28 strikeouts in 90 at bats.

Los Angeles Angels

On February 4, 2021, the Cardinals traded Fowler and cash to the Los Angeles Angels for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. In an April 9 game against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, Fowler was carted off of the field after suffering an apparent knee injury after awkwardly sliding into second base. It was later revealed that Fowler had suffered a torn left ACL and would undergo season-ending surgery. On April 13, Fowler was placed on the 60-day injured list.

Toronto Blue Jays

On March 31, 2022, Fowler signed a minor league contract with the

. Fowler appeared in 3 games for the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen F ...

, going 5-for-12 with 3 RBI. On May 3, Fowler requested and was granted his release by the Blue Jays.

Personal life

Fowler is married to Aliya Fowler and together they have two daughters. They live in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

during the offseason. Fowler is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

. Fowler is good friends with former teammate Chris Nelson, who is also from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Dexter 1986 births Living people National League All-Stars Baseball players from Atlanta African-American baseball players Major League Baseball center fielders Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Colorado Rockies players Houston Astros players Chicago Cubs players St. Louis Cardinals players Los Angeles Angels players Casper Rockies players Waikiki Beach Boys players Asheville Tourists players Modesto Nuts players Peoria Javelinas players Tulsa Drillers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people