Darin Erstad Darin Charles Erstad ( ; born June 4 , 1974 in Jamestown , North Dakota ) is the head coach of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball team and a former Major League Baseball outfielder / first baseman . Prior to , he had played with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise ( - ) before signing with the Chicago White Sox in 2007 . He batted and threw left - handed . He was a two - time MLB All - Star - and a three - time Gold Glove Award winner . Early life . High school . Erstad graduated in 1992 from Jamestown High School in Jamestown , North Dakota . He was a kicker and punter on the school football team , logging a school - record 50 - yard field goal . Erstad also played hockey ( 36 goals and 24 assists in 26 games ) and participated in track and field ( winning state titles in 110 and 300 - meter hurdles ) . Erstad played American Legion baseball ( Jamestown had no high school baseball team ) and hit . 492 with 18 home runs and 86 RBI for Jamestown in 1992 . He was also 10 - 2 with a 2 . 18 ERA as a pitcher , and was named AP North Dakota Athlete of the Year in 1992 . College . Erstad attended the University of Nebraska - Lincoln , playing baseball there for three years and held the school record for career hits with 261 . In his final year there , Erstad hit . 410 with 19 home run s and 79 RBI s , earning First - Team All - American status and was a finalist for the 1995 Golden Spikes Award . Darin started his junior campaign on a tear and never stopped hitting . He was at his best against the conference ' s top team , Oklahoma . In five games with the first - place Sooners , he batted . 429 and blasted three home runs . Oklahoma lefty Mark Redman — with whom Darin would share conference Player of the Year honors — was among his biggest victims . The Huskers finished 35 - 23 , and Darin led the Big Eight with a . 410 average . He was the only batter in the conference to surpass 100 hits , and also led all players with seven triples . Named a First Team All - American by Collegiate Baseball , Darin set career highs with 19 homers and 76 RBIs . Erstad was also the starting punter on the Cornhuskers football team and was part of their 1994 National Championship squad , averaging 42 . 6 yards per punt , the 14th best mark in the country that year . Professional career . In his 14 - season career , Erstad compiled a . 282 batting average with 124 home run s and 699 RBIs in 1654 games . He was selected to the American League All - Star team twice ( 1998 , 2000 ) and had eight game - ending , or " walk - off , " RBI in his career . Angels . 1995 - 2000 . The then - titled California Angels chose Erstad as the first pick overall in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft from the University of Nebraska . He made his major league debut the same year , batting . 284 over 57 games . He played his first full season in 1997 , batting . 299 with 16 home runs and 99 runs scored . Posting similarly solid statistics the next year , Erstad made his first of two All - Star appearances before having a disappointing season in 1999 . Erstad had a career season in , when he finished eighth in the American League in MVP voting . That year , he led the American League in hits ( 240 ) , singles ( 170 ) and at - bats ( 676 ) ; he was second in total bases ( 366 ) and third in runs ( 121 ) . He also hit . 355 , finishing second in the batting race behind Nomar Garciaparra ( . 372 ) , became the first player in Major League history to record 100 RBIs as a leadoff hitter , and won the AL Silver Slugger Award . On June 10 , , Erstad hit a double in the Angels ' 10 - 3 win over Arizona . With a major league - leading 100 hits in 61 games , he became the fastest to reach the 100 - hit mark since Hall of Famer Heinie Manush did it in 60 games for the 1934 Washington Senators . With three hits on Aug . 29 , 2000 , he reached 200 hits faster than any player in 65 years . Erstad was just 26 years old at the end of the season , an age at which many players enter their prime , leading many to believe more superstar seasons were ahead of him . He is one of only five batters , through August 2009 , to have hit both a leadoff and walk - off home run in the same game ( having done so in 2000 ) , the others being Billy Hamilton ( 1893 ) , Victor Power ( 1957 ) , Reed Johnson ( 2003 ) , and Ian Kinsler ( 2009 ) . 2001 - 2006 . After 2001 , however , Erstad never hit as high as . 300 , nor hit over 10 home runs or slugged over . 400 ( 2004 ) in any season . In some years he has been the least productive offensive regular at his position . Despite all this , Erstad managed to be a vital part of the 2002 World Series Champion Anaheim Angels . After batting . 421 in the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees and . 364 in the American League Championship Series against the Minnesota Twins , Erstad batted . 300 in the seven - game series vs . the National League Champion San Francisco Giants . He hit a key home run in Game 6 of the series with the Angels trailing 5 - 3 in the eighth inning and facing elimination , and he also caught the final out of Game 7 hit by Kenny Lofton off Troy Percival into center field . When the Angels won the World Series in 2002 , Erstad became just the second player hailing from North Dakota to be on a World Series winning roster . Roger Maris was the first with the 1961 Yankees and 1967 Cardinals . Throughout Erstad ' s Angels career , his defense remained exceptionally strong . He led all major league center fielders in range factor ( 3 . 39 ) in 2002 . Erstad won Gold Glove awards in 2000 , 2002 , and 2004 , when he made a transition from the outfield to first base . He was the only player in MLB history to have won Gold Gloves as an infielder and outfielder and first to win the award at different positions , though all outfield Gold Gloves are voted on together , until Placido Polanco won an NL Gold Glove as a third basemen for the Philadelphia Phillies . Though he compiled a career high 21 game hit streak in 2005 , he only played in 40 games in 2006 , his last season with the Angels . In 11 years with the franchise , Erstad compiled a . 286 batting average and a cumulative . 339 postseason average over three seasons . He currently ranks near the top of several franchise records . White Sox and Astros . Having signed a $ 750 , 000 contract in the off - season , Erstad hit a home run in his first at - bat as a member of the Chicago White Sox on opening day 2007 off CC Sabathia . He finished the season having batted . 248 with a . 650 OPS over 87 games . He played the following two seasons with the Houston Astros . Erstad found success in the first season , batting . 276 , but struggled near the end of the second season as a role player , ending the season with a . 194 batting average . When catcher Chris Coste joined Erstad on the Astros roster in July 2009 , they became the first two players born in North Dakota to play together on the same team in major league history . On June 17 , 2010 , when asked if he would continue playing baseball , Erstad said that he was " done " . Coaching career . On July 5 , 2010 , the Lincoln Journal Star reported that Erstad accepted a position to become a volunteer coach for the Nebraska baseball team . On July 8 , Nebraska head baseball coach Mike Anderson revealed Erstad as the college team ' s next hitting coach . On June 2 , 2011 , after Anderson was fired , Erstad was hired as Nebraska ' s head baseball coach . Personal and hometown . Erstad has three children , a daughter Jordan Elizabeth , a son Zack , and another son Adam , with his wife Jessica . During Erstad ' s tenure with the Angels , his hometown carried all Angels games over the radio ; most North Dakota stations only carry Minnesota Twins games . As of July 2009 , he ranked second to Travis Hafner in all - time home runs hit by a player born in North Dakota .