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Considered to be one of the best all-around third basemen in the game, Eric Cesar Chavez is a pure-hitter who is capable of using all fields. An excellent fielder with decent speed and a smooth left-handed swing, Eric broke into the major leagues on September 8, 1998 with the A's. The A's scout Ron Vaughn selected him in the 1st round (10th overall) of the 1996 amateur entry draft. Eric graduated from Mount Carmel High School in 1996, where he was a two-time Baseball America High School All-America selection. He was the only junior of the prep on the 1995 squad who after batting .537 with 9 HR, 35 RBI and 51 steals went on to hit .458 with 11 HR, 24 RBI and 33 stolen bases in his senior season. In 2004, the A's signed Chavez to a six year, $66 million contract extension. He registered his first Major League hit with a second inning single off Juan Guzman on September 9, 1998 . In the first four months of 2000 season, he experienced a real roller coaster season. Eric started 82 of the A's 105 games at third base the first four months of the season then started 53 of final 56 games. He finished the season with a .197 (24 for 122) average against left handed pitching which was ranked the lowest in the American League and second lowest in the majors. He appeared in a total of 146 games at third base. From 2001-2004, he won four consecutive gold gloves for displaying excellent athletic skills as a third baseman. In 2001, he broke Sal Bando's franchise record of 31 home runs (1969) by recording 32 home runs. In 2002 along with his second consecutive gold award, he also received the A.L. Silver Slugger award for third basemen and was named to The Sporting News American League All-Star team. Moreover, he surpasses his plateau of 32 home runs after hitting career high 34 home runs and became the eighth player in Athletics history to hit 30 home runs in back-to-back seasons. In 20003, he led AL third basemen with 101 RBI and became one of nine players in Athletics history with at least three straight 100 RBI seasons. Eric appeared in just 125 games in 2004 due to a broken bone in his right hand. Despite the limited playing time he led the AL with a career high and team leading 95 walks and also led the A's with 29 home runs. In 2000, Eric participated in the SAFER program; the Monte Carlo Classic to promote Special Olympics, the Community Fund Golf Classic and the Holiday Fest for helping the underprivileged families.