Cubs’ Lee happily returns to site of big league call-up

Derrek Lee played only one season in Las Vegas, but it was unforgettable.

"I remember being over here on first base when I got the call to go to the big leagues, so I have a lot of good memories here," Lee said.

Lee returned to Cashman Field on Friday as the starting first baseman of the Chicago Cubs, who lost 10-2 to the Seattle Mariners before a sellout crowd of 11,567 on Big League Weekend.

"I was at first, and my manager (Jerry Royster) called me off the field in the middle of the inning," Lee said. "I didn't know what happened. I thought he was taking me out of the game or something.

"He told me, 'You've got to go catch a plane. You're going to the big leagues.' It was exciting."

Lee, then 21, hit .324 in 125 games for the Las Vegas Stars in 1997, the year he made his big league debut with the San Diego Padres.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 245-pounder was traded to the Florida Marlins the next year and went on to help them win the 2003 World Series. Coincidentally, Lee stuck a dagger in the Cubs along the way, drilling a tying two-run double in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series.

Lee, whose spring average dropped to .185 after he went 0-for-3 on Friday, was traded to Chicago before the 2004 season and is entering his fifth year with the Cubs.

A two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Lee holds one of the keys to the Cubs' chances to win their first World Series title in 100 years.

"He's very productive, he plays first base very well, he hits No. 3 in our lineup and he's one of the big guys we have here," Chicago manager Lou Piniella said. "For us to do well, Derrek's got to do well, too, He's in the top echelon (of first basemen)."

Lee, a .281 hitter in parts of 11 big league seasons, put together a career year in 2005, when he won the NL batting crown with a .335 average and led the league with 50 doubles and 199 hits. He also had 46 homers and 107 RBIs and finished third in the Most Valuable Player voting.

Lee suffered a setback in 2006, though, when a broken right wrist limited him to 50 games.

"It was tough. It was really the first time I've ever been injured, and it was a major injury. It basically cost me that whole season," Lee said. "It was extremely frustrating to have to sit out, so it was nice to come back and have a good year (in 2007), and I'm looking forward to this season."

Lee regained his form last year, hitting .317 with 22 homers, 43 doubles and 82 RBIs in 150 games en route to All-Star and Gold Glove honors for the NL Central champs.

"I try to keep my goals team oriented," Lee said. "We feel like we have a good team. A hundred years means nothing to us. We made the postseason last year, hopefully we can do the same thing, and we'll see what happens after that."

Lee, who turned down a basketball scholarship to North Carolina out of El Camino (Calif.) High School in 1993, also is keeping a close eye on the NCAA Tournament.

"I'm still a big Tar Heels fan. They're my pick to win it all," he said. "I like their chances."

Lee said he doesn't regret turning down the offer from the Tar Heels, but he wonders what might have been.

"I think I would've enjoyed it, but I always knew baseball was a better decision for me," he said. "I was just better at it. But I did love basketball, and it would've been a great time to go there."

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0354.