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Brian Stephen Giles (born January 20, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his career he played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. The left-handed Giles was a two-time All-Star and had a career line of .291/.400/.502 with 287 , 411 doubles, 1,078 runs batted in (RBI), and 1,183 walks in 1,847 games.
His younger brother, Marcus Giles, is a former Major League infielder who was most notable for playing with the Atlanta Braves organization. Marcus and Brian played together on the 2007 San Diego Padres.
In 1999 with the Pirates, Giles emerged as a power-hitting outfielder who also hit for average and showed plate discipline. He began a streak of hitting at least 35 home runs for four straight seasons, during which he batted no lower than .298 and was named Pittsburgh Pirates Player of the Year each year.
Giles led the 2000 club in doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs and walks. His 123 RBIs were eight shy of Paul Waner's club record of 131 set in 1927. He became the first Pirate ever to hit at least .300 with 30 plus home runs and 100 plus RBIs in back-to-back seasons, he became the third player in club history with 100 runs, 100 RBIs and 100 walks in the same season, after Barry Bonds in 1992 and Ralph Kiner from 1948–51. His 114 walks were the most by a Pirate since 1992, Bonds drew 127 walks. Giles' 74 home runs in two seasons with the club represent the most in back-to-back seasons since Willie Stargell hit 77 in 1972–73. He was named National League Player-of-the-Week after hitting .400 with two doubles, three home runs and 12 RBIs between May 2 and May 7 and shared player of the week honors with Colorado Rockies Todd Helton after hitting .523 with three doubles, one triple, three home runs, eight RBIs and six runs scored between August 12 and August 20. Giles was named to the All-Star team for the first time in his career. He finished ninth in voting among National League outfielders.
In 2001 Giles established career highs in games played, at bats, runs and hits. He tied career highs in doubles, triples and stolen bases. At the end of the season he ranked tenth among NL players in runs (116), on-base percentage (.404), and slugging percentage (.590). His runs total was the highest by a Pirate since Ralph Kiner in 1951. He led the Pirates in batting, home runs and walks. He tied Dave Parker's club record for most total bases, 340, by a left-handed hitter. Giles hit his 100th career home run as a member of the Pirates on August 9; he is one of 17 players to homer 100 times as a Pirate. He was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the second consecutive year.
In 2002, Giles drew a career-high 135 walks, ranking him second in the National League behind San Francisco's Barry Bonds, who led with 198. He also established the club record for most base on balls in a season by a left-handed batter. His .450 on-base percentage tied him for the second-best mark in the majors, he also ranked second in the league in slugging percentage with .622, sixth in home runs, second with 80 extra-base hits ranked second behind San Francisco's Jeff Kent, tied for second in the league with 13 outfield assists and also finished third in the NL with 24 intentional walks. He homered once every 13.1 at bats, the third-best ratio in the league behind Bonds' 8.8 and Sammy Sosa's 11.3.
Giles continued to be a patient and reliable hitter in San Diego, leading the majors with 119 walks in 2005. From 2004–2006, Giles played in over 150 games each season for the Padres, but in 2006, his batting average dropped to a career-low .263. On May 14, 2006, he drew five walks in a game, one shy of the record of six. In 2007, joined by his brother Marcus Giles, signed as a free agent to be the starting second baseman, Giles batted .271, but missed time with an injured knee.
In 2008, Giles, in the third and final guaranteed year of his contract with the Padres, vetoed a potential trade to Boston, "Brian Giles trade from San Diego to Boston falls through". August 8, 2008, Associated Press. Yahoo! News. Retrieved on August 10, 2008. citing a desire to remain close to his family. "No deal: Giles remains with Padres". August 8, 2008, MLB.com. Retrieved on August 10, 2008. In 2008, 58% of his strikeouts were "looking", by far the highest percentage in the major leagues.[3]
In 2009, through July 1 Giles had the lowest batting average (.191), slugging percentage (.271), and OPS (.548) in the major leagues.[4] However, he went on the disabled list soon afterward with an arthritic right knee and missed the rest of the season.
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