About Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler (Hebrew: איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego Padres. Kinsler was a four-time All Star, two-time Gold Glove winner, and a member of the 2018 World Series champion Boston Red Sox. Despite having been drafted in the 17th round of the 2000 MLB draft out of college, Kinsler rose to become a four-time All-Star and a member of the Sporting News' 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. He was known as a five-tool player. Kinsler twice hit 30 home runs and stole 30 bases in the same season (2009 and 2011), and is one of 16 ballplayers in major league history who have had multiple 30–30 seasons. In 2011, he also joined the 20–20 club for the third time, one season shy of the major league record for a second baseman. He hit for the cycle in a game in 2009, while getting hits in all six of his at bats. Kinsler is one of only four players in MLB history to record six hits in a game while hitting for the cycle; the others are Bobby Veach, Rondell White, and Christian Yelich, with Yelich being the only player to accomplish the feat since Kinsler. Through 2013, Kinsler led the Texas Rangers in career stolen bases and power-speed number. In November 2013, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Prince Fielder. He has been awarded both a Fielding Bible Award (2015) and two Gold Glove Awards (2016 and 2018). Through 2019, on defense Kinsler had the best career range factor of any active second baseman in MLB, while on offense among all active players he was 3rd in power–speed number and in career runs scored, and 5th in career doubles. He retired following the end of the 2019 season with 1,999 career hits. In international competition, Kinsler played for the United States national team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, has played for the Israel national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics (held in 2021), and managed Israel at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Overall, in 501 at bats, Kinsler tied for first in the minor leagues in doubles (51), and was seventh in batting average (.345) and ninth in hits (173).
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.