Garrett Bernard Atkins is a professional baseball player who specializes as a third baseman. Atkins was a student at the University High School and was named Irvine World News All-City MVP after he had an incredible season batting at .557 with 13 home runs. Straight out of High School, the New York Mets drafted Atkins in the 1997 Amateur Draft however he decided to stay in school and went on to attend UCLA.
At UCLA, Atkins started off by playing at first base but soon converted into his current position of third baseman. Atkins returned to the First base in his sophomore year and led the team in hits, making it to the All-American lineup. He made the All-American lineup three years in a row and after his junior year, decided to declare for the MLB Draft.
In 2000, Atkins was picked at 137th overall, in the fifth round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. Atkins began the journey through the lower leagues and starting with the Rookie League and moving up the ladder at the Rockies’ organization. His debut came in 2005 and he was named to the 2005 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team and was also named Rookie of the Month in June that year.
| Team |
Colorado Rockies
|
| Position | Third Base |
| Born | 12 Dec 1979 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Team History | |
|
Colorado Rockies
|
2003 - present |
Atkins quickly established himself as one of the best batters in the National league in 2006 when he played at .329 with 120 RBI and 117 runs scored. That year, Atkins was in the top ten for almost all the batting categories.
A couple of years later, he was forced to play at first base due to injury to Todd Helton. He went on to sign a single year $7 million deal with the Rockies to play at third base.
