Rafael Antoni Furcal (born August 24, 1977 in Loma
de Cabrera, Dominican Republic), nicknamed "Fookie",
is a shortstop in Major League Baseball who plays
for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Furcal attended Jose Cabrera High School and was
signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta
Braves on November 9, 1996.
He began his professional career as a second baseman
with the Gulf Coast Braves in 1997. The following
season, with the Danville Braves he hit .328 and
stole a league record 60 bases in only 66 games. He
was named Danville's Player of the Year and
Appalachian League All-Star Second Baseman.
In 1999, he switched to short stop and joined the
Macon Braves in "A" ball and hit .337 with 73 stolen
bases in 83 games. He was transferred to the
advanced "A" team in Myrtle Beach and hit .293 for
them with 23 steals in 43 games. He led all of minor
league baseball with 96 steals total. He was named
to Baseball America's first team All-Star team and
the South Atlantic League All-Star team. In
addition, he was the Braves Minor League Player of
the Year, the South Atlantic League Most Outstanding
Prospect and a Class A All-Star.
