Ian Desmond

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Ian Desmond
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Desmond with the Washington Nationals
Texas Rangers – No. 20
Left fielder / Shortstop
Born: (1985-09-20) September 20, 1985 (age 38)
Sarasota, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 2009, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
(through May 30, 2016)
Batting average .265
Hits 976
Home runs 117
Runs batted in 462
Stolen bases 132
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Ian M. Desmond (born September 20, 1985) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected by the Montreal Expos in the third round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft (84th overall) and played in MLB for the Washington Nationals from 2009 to 2015. Desmond is a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner and an MLB All-Star. While primarily a shortstop throughout his career, Desmond began playing left field for the Rangers in 2016.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Desmond batted .227 with one home run and 27 RBIs for the Gulf Coast League Expos in 2004. He was second in the Gulf Coast League with 216 at-bats and fifth in stolen bases with 13. He had a .250 batting average with one home run and one RBI in four games for Class-A Short-Season Vermont Expos.

In 2005 Desmond batted .247 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 73 games for Class-A Savannah Sand Gnats. He added a career-high 20 stolen bases. Desmond had a .256 batting average with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 55 games for the Class-A Advanced Potomac Nationals. At season's end he was named the best defensive shortstop in the South Atlantic League in Baseball America's top tools survey of league managers. He ranked 19th best prospect in the SAL by Baseball America.

Desmond batted .244 with a career-high nine home runs and 45 RBIs for Class-A Advanced Potomac. He scored 50 runs and had 20 doubles in 92 games. He had a .182 batting average with no home runs and three RBIs for the Double-A Harrisburg Senators.

He spent the 2007 season with Class A Advanced Potomac in the Carolina League and set career highs in home runs with 14, average with a .264 clip, on-base percentage with .357 and doubles with 30. Desmond slugged his first homer of the season on April 17. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, double, three RBIs and scored twice on April 20. He homered in consecutive games on July 28 and 29 and August 12 and 13.

In 2008 he played for Double-A Harrisburg, and started the year there in 2009. In his three months there he batted .306 and, in June, was promoted to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, and in 55 games batted .354.[1] After the minor league season ended, he was called up to the Nationals.

Washington Nationals

He played his first major league game on September 10, 2009. He had his first hit, a double, and RBI during his second at bat. He later went on to hit his first home run during the same game.[2] He followed that up with a 4-for-4 game, and become only the second player ever (along with Guy Sturdy of the 1927 St. Louis Browns) to record at least six hits and four RBI in his first two games as a major leaguer.[3]

On March 28, 2010, after a solid spring training in which he led the team in RBIs, Desmond was awarded the Nationals' starting shortstop job, beating out incumbent Cristian Guzmán.[4][5] His first full year was a bit erratic. He booted the first ball that came to him, and in the next game hit the first home run of the season for the Nationals. Desmond ended up having a very good rookie season, batting .269 with 10 home runs and 65 runs batted in, while stealing 17 bases.[6]

Desmond switched his uniform number to 20 at the beginning of the 2012 season to honor Frank Robinson.[7] On Opening Day, Desmond started at shortstop and hit leadoff for the Nationals, who played at the Cubs. Desmond went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run. After scoring the game-tying run in the top of the 8th, Desmond hit a go-ahead single to right field, plating pinch-runner Brett Carroll, which gave the Nationals the lead. They would hold on to win 2–1.[8]

Desmond was selected[9] for the 2012 All Star Game, his first such selection. However, on Saturday, July 7, it was announced that Desmond was withdrawing from the game due to a sore oblique and would be replaced by Michael Bourn.[10] The oblique injury persisted, forcing the Nationals to place Desmond on the 15-day disabled list on July 23.[11]

With his 18th home run of the season on August 20, Desmond set a franchise record for homers by a shortstop.[12]

At the encouragement of manager Davey Johnson,[13] Desmond has become a very aggressive hitter. He was second in the National League, and seventh in the majors, in percent of pitches swung at in the 2012 season (55%).[14]

On September 24, Desmond became the first Nationals player since 2006 to join the 20 home run – 20 steal club when he stole his 20th base. He had already hit 24 home runs.[15]

Desmond was awarded a Silver Slugger for his offensive prowess in the 2012 season.[16]

In 2013, Desmond repeated both his 20 home run – 20 steal season[17] and his Silver Slugger Award.[18] He batted .280 with 20 home runs, 80 runs batted in, and 21 stolen bases in 158 games played.[19] 2014 saw Desmond win his third straight Silver Slugger at shortstop, batting .255 with 24 home runs and 91 RBI.[19]

Desmond struggled both offensively and defensively throughout the 2015 season. In 156 games, he hit .233 with 19 home runs and 62 RBI, and committed 27 errors in the field.[19] At the end of the season, he became a free agent.

Texas Rangers

After rejecting a $15.8 million qualifying offer from the Nationals, Desmond remained a free agent until February 29, 2016, when he signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Texas Rangers.[20] Desmond is expected to play primarily in the outfield rather than as a shortstop for the Rangers. He made his first appearances in left and center field during Cactus League action in March 2016.[21]

Desmond was one of a number of MLB players who hailed the exhibition game in March 2016 between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national baseball team in Havana, a symbol of the Cuban Thaw, calling it "a historic day for baseball".[22]

After a slow start to the regular season, Desmond began to get hot and, as a reward, manager Jeff Banister moved him from the 5th spot in the lineup to the second spot. Desmond also had success in the outfield, only committing 4 errors in 99 total chances and also has 3 assists in the outfield through May 28, 2016.

Personal life

He has a younger brother, Chris Charron.[7] Desmond and fellow major league player Josh Roenicke are brothers-in-law; Roenicke, a pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins through 2013 and signed a minor league deal with the Nationals for 2014,[23] married Desmond's sister Nikki in 2010.[24] In January 2010, Ian married his wife Chelsey,[25] whom he met in the fifth grade.[26] The couple has three children together. When his first child was born, Desmond became one of the first players to claim paternity leave, which had just been introduced to MLB.[27][28] The family lives in Sarasota, Florida.[26]

While with the Nationals, Desmond served on the board of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, which opened in 2014.[29][30]

References

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  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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