Andre Ethier played for the Keene Swamp Bats in the summer of 2001. He was born and raised in Phoenix AZ, he attended Arizona State University in the fall of 2000 and was advised by the coaching staff that he didn't have Division 1 talent and he would do better to play Junior College ball. So he went to Chandler-Gilbert Community College for a season. While there he batted .468 and was the teams MVP. That fall after playing summer ball with the Swamp Bats he re-enrolled at ASU. He went on to have a stellar college career there and after his Junior year was drafted by the Oakland A's in the second round.
He was voted the Oakland A's Minor League Player of the year in 2004. In December of 2005 he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez. The following season he made his Major League debut on may 2 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the following night he hit his first home run.
Andre has been a big league regular ever since, making the All Star team last season as a starter, getting over 2.7 million votes. In 2009 he topped 31 home runs and 106 RBI's. I think its' safe to say that he is one of the best position players to ever play in the NECBL.
