Robert Vernon Dalbec (born June 29, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

corner infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. Listed at and , he bats and throws right-handed.

Amateur career

Dalbec attended

Legend High School Legend High School is a public high school in Parker, Colorado. It is part of the Douglas County School District RE-1. It is the first high school to be located in Parker since Parker High School closed in 1958. Campus Legend High School is locate ...

Parker, Colorado Parker is a Colorado municipalities#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas County, Colorado, United States. As a self-declared "town" under the home rule statutes, Parker is the second most populous to ...

, where he played for the school's baseball team as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

and a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He also played on the basketball team during two seasons. He was not selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft due to his strong commitment to attend the

. He enrolled as a general studies major. Dalbec enrolled at Arizona to play

for the

as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. In his freshman year, he participated in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's home run derby. After his freshman season in 2014, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL), and participated in the league's All Star Home Run Hitting contest. As a sophomore, Dalbec hit .319/.410/.601 with 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in 213 at bats. Following his sophomore season in 2015, he returned to the Orleans Firebirds, batted .284 with 14 home runs in 33 games, and was named to the CCBL 2015 All-League team. He struggled in his junior year, but began to improve his play later in the season, as the Wildcats made the 2016 College World Series.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The

selected Dalbec in the fourth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. He signed with the Red Sox, receiving a $650,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, and made his professional debut with the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

, where he spent the whole season, posting a .386/.427/.674

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

with seven home runs and 33 RBIs in 34 games. Dalbec spent 2017 with the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West En ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, slashing .246/.345/.437 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs in 78 games as well as batting .259 in seven rehab games with the

GCL Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

after returning from a wrist injury. In 2018, Dalbec started season with the

Salem Red Sox The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League. Ho ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. In 100 games with Salem, he slashed .256/.372/.573 while leading the league with 26 home runs and 85 RBIs in 344 at bats. Dalbec was promoted to the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

of the Double-A Eastern League on August 3. In September, Dalbec was named both Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the 2018 Minor League Awards announced by the Red Sox. He won the

Carolina League Most Valuable Player Award The Carolina League Most Valuable Player Award is an annual award given to the most valuable player in Minor League Baseball's Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast ...

. After the regular season, he played for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

. In 2019, Dalbec began the season with Portland, and was promoted to the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in early August. Overall during 2019, he slashed .239/.356/.460 with 27 home runs and 73 RBIs in 135 games.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox added Dalbec to their 40-man roster after the 2019 season. He was optioned to Pawtucket on March 8, 2020. On July 7, the team announced that he had tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; he remained asymptomatic. On August 30, Dalbec was added to Boston's active roster following the trade of

Mitch Moreland Mitchell Austin Moreland (born September 6, 1985), nicknamed "2-Bags", is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres ...

. Dalbec made his MLB debut that day, against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

; his first major league hit was a third-inning home run off of Javy Guerra, coming in his second major league

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

. Through his first 10 major league games, Dalbec hit six home runs, including five straight games with a home run. During the shortened 2020 Red Sox season, Dalbec batted .263 with eight home runs and 16 RBIs in 23 games. Following the 2020 season, Dalbec was ranked by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as the Red Sox' number three prospect. The Red Sox named Dalbec their starting first baseman for

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

in 2021. On July 29, he became the tallest player ever to make an appearance at shortstop for the Red Sox. During August, he batted .339 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs, and was named the AL Rookie of the Month. For the regular season, Dalbec played in 133 games for Boston, batting .240 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs. He appeared in eight postseason games, batting 0-for-12 as the Red Sox advanced to the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

. Dalbec began 2022 as Boston's primary first baseman. Following a lack of offensive consistency at the position, the team began using outfielder Franchy Cordero at first base in May, then acquired first baseman

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox ...

at the trade deadline in early August. On September 4, with a .211 batting average for the season, the team optioned Dalbec to Triple-A to clear roster space for call-up

Triston Casas Triston Casas (born January 15, 2000) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Red Sox selected him in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut in 2022. C ...

. Dalbec was recalled to Boston on September 22, when

Trevor Story Trevor John Story (born November 15, 1992) is an American professional baseball second baseman and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies. He made his MLB debut ...

was placed on the injured list. For the season, Dalbec batted .215 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs in 117 games for Boston. In 13 games with the Triple-A

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawt ...

, he batted .250 with five home runs and eight RBIs.

International career

On October 10, 2019, Dalbec was selected for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

in the

2019 WBSC Premier 12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship w ...

. He was named the best first baseman in the tournament.

Personal life

Dalbec grew up in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and was a fan of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, and

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. He is interested in the music industry and is able to play the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalbec, Bobby 1995 births Living people Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Colorado Baseball players from Seattle Boston Red Sox players Greenville Drive players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Mesa Solar Sox players Orleans Firebirds players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Parker, Colorado Portland Sea Dogs players Salem Red Sox players Worcester Red Sox players United States national baseball team players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players

Amateur career

Professional career

Minor leagues

Boston Red Sox

International career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links