Current Contract:
Signed a three-year, $10 million contract on December 23, 2004.

2005: $2,250,000
2006: $3,250,000
2007: $4,500,000

*Eckstein received a $250,000 signing bonus.

Agent: Ryan Gleichowski

Became a Cardinal:
Signed as a free agent on December 23, 2004.

2006 Season:
Eckstein, selected to his second career All-Star Game, hit .292 with a .350 OBP and 68 runs scored in 123 games for the Cardinals in 2006. He suffered a strained left oblique muscle on August 18 that caused him to miss more than a month. Only three days after returning from that he left a game with a moderate strain of his left hamstring. He returned to his regular spot in the lineup on September 29. He struggled in the first two rounds of the postseason, but hit .364/.391/.500 in the World Series, and was named MVP of the series.

Career Notes:
After a college career as a walk-on at the University of Florida, Eckstein was a 19th round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1997. He was selected off waivers by the Anaheim Angels on August 16, 2000. He was a member of the 2002 World Series champion Anaheim Angels and was selected to his first All-Star game in 2005 after signing with the Cardinals as a free agent prior to the season. In 2006, he was a late addition to the All-Star Game and was named World Series MVP. He is a career .283 hitter with a .351 OBP in six Major League seasons.

Photo: MLB Photos