Lance Berkman is a former professional baseball player who played for 15 seasons in the Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born on February 10, 1976, in Waco, Texas, and attended Rice University, where he played college baseball.
Berkman was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round of the 1997 MLB draft and made his debut in 1999. He quickly established himself as a power hitter and a consistent performer, earning his first All-Star selection in 2001. Over the next few years, he continued to put up impressive numbers, hitting over 30 home runs in four consecutive seasons from 2001 to 2004.
In 2005, Berkman helped lead the Astros to their first-ever World Series appearance, hitting .385 with five home runs and 10 RBIs in the postseason. Although the Astros lost to the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, Berkman's performance earned him the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player award.
Berkman continued to be a productive player for the Astros over the next few seasons, earning four more All-Star selections and finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting three times. In 2010, he was traded to the New York Yankees, where he played for the remainder of the season before signing with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent in 2011.
Berkman had a career year with the Cardinals in 2011, hitting .301 with 31 home runs and 94 RBIs and helping the team win the World Series. He was named an All-Star for the sixth time in his career and finished seventh in MVP voting.
Injuries limited Berkman's playing time over the next two seasons, and he announced his retirement from baseball in January 2014. Over the course of his career, he hit .293 with 366 home runs and 1,234 RBIs, earning six All-Star selections, two Silver Slugger awards, and a World Series championship.
Off the field, Berkman has been involved in various charitable endeavors, including the creation of the Berkman Family Foundation, which supports organizations that provide education and healthcare to children in need. He has also been an outspoken advocate for conservative political causes and has been involved in several political campaigns in his home state of Texas.
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