Brandon Douglas Moss (born September 16, 1983) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

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 ...

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

(DH). He played in

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) 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 ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Moss was a prospect for the Red Sox organization, where he made his MLB debut in 2007. During the 2008 season, he was sent to the Pirates as part of a trade to acquire

Jason Bay Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball left fielder. Bay played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Seattle Marine ...

. Moss struggled in Pittsburgh, and he played for the Phillies in 2011. Moss joined the Athletics in 2012, where he became a strong contributor. He was named to appear in the 2014 MLB All-Star Game. After the 2014 season, the Athletics traded him to the Indians. Moss was then traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Moss was drafted in the eighth round of the

2002 Major League Baseball Draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

by the

, out of Loganville High School in Loganville, Georgia. He was an 18-year-old infielder and pitcher when drafted, but transitioned into an outfield role. Moss climbed up the ladder of minor league baseball, minor league ball, starting with the Gulf Coast Red Sox. He then played for the Lowell Spinners, Augusta GreenJackets and Sarasota Red Sox. He spent two years with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in 2005 and 2006, and played for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. BrandonMossPinchHittingfor Crisp

On August 6, 2007, Moss was called up to Boston to replace Eric Hinske when Hinske was placed on bereavement leave. He recorded his first major league Hit (baseball), hit against Scot Shields of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was optioned back to Triple-A Pawtucket on August 10 to make room for Hinske, who was returning from bereavement leave. On September 1, Moss was recalled to Boston when major league Major League Baseball rosters, rosters expanded to 40 players. During the MLB Japan Opening Series 2008 at the Tokyo Dome, Moss hit his first major league home run. After playing the first two games of the season, Moss was optioned back to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox on March 26. He was recalled on April 29, and was batting .286 on May 3 when he was diagnosed with appendicitis and brought to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 31, Moss was traded along with pitcher Craig Hansen to the

in a three-team deal that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and

to Boston. Moss immediately became the team's starting left fielder, replacing the departed Bay. He was later shifted to right field. He batted .222 with a .288 on-base percentage for the Pirates, in 158 at-bats. MG 3875 Brandon Moss

He was the opening day right fielder for the Pirates in 2009, but with the emergence of Delwyn Young and Garrett Jones he was demoted from that role. He did see time pinch hitting and some starts. He finished 2009 with 20 doubles, four triples, seven home runs, 41 runs batted in, one stolen base, and a .236 average, .304 on-base percentage, and .364 slugging percentage in 385 at-bats. After hitting 3-for-37 in spring training in 2010, and batting .154 in 26 at-bats during the beginning of the season, Moss was designated for assignment by the Pirates on March 29. He later cleared Major League Baseball transactions#Waivers, waivers and was outrighted to AAA (Indianapolis Indians).

Philadelphia Phillies

In December 2010, Moss signed a minor league contract with the

. He spent most of the season in the minor leagues, and was called up to the big league club on September 16 after playing for the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the International League Championship series. He became a free agent on October 18. He was hitless in six at-bats for the Phillies.

Oakland Athletics

On December 1, 2011, Moss signed a minor league contract with the

. Playing in Class AAA, Moss considered retiring from baseball so that he could return to Georgia and work as a firefighter. On June 6, 2012, nine days before Moss could opt out of his contract, the Athletics promoted Moss to the major leagues. Moss struggled in his first five games, but hit five home runs in the next four games. Moss earned his third career walk-off by hitting a single, allowing Yoenis Céspedes to score, against the New York Yankees on July 20. Moss again earned another walk-off, this time with a home run, in the bottom of the 10th inning on September 29 against the Seattle Mariners. Brandon Moss on July 29, 2012

In 2012, Moss teamed up with Chris Carter (right-handed hitter), Chris Carter for a first base platoon system, platoon. He posted a .291/.358/.596 line with 21 home runs, which was third on the team behind Cespedes (23 home runs) and Josh Reddick (32 home runs), in 265 at-bats. On April 30, 2013, Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Barry Enright surrendered a two-run walk-off home run to Moss in the nineteenth inning. The home run (Moss' second of the night), which ended the longest game in Athletics history, took place over six and a half hours after the first pitch, which was thrown by the Athletics' Dan Straily 7:05PM PT the previous day. Moss had an overall good 2013 season hitting .256 with 30 homers and 87 RBI. Moss had a hot start to the 2014 season with a .265 batting average, 23 home runs, and 71 RBI (only behind A's teammate third baseman Josh Donaldson). In addition to this, Moss had 3 grand slams through July 24 (one each against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros). Along with several teammates, Moss represented the Oakland Athletics at the 2014 All-Star Game in Minneapolis. Moss hit two home runs, one being a two-run no doubter to right field in the top of the first inning, the other a three-run blast to deep center during the top of the sixth in the 2014 American League Wild Card Game against the

. Moss's 5 RBI night set a new record for the Athletics for most RBI's in a single postseason game, but it was not enough to secure victory for the A's as the Royals won 9-8.

Cleveland Indians

On December 8, 2014, the Athletics traded Moss to the 2015 Cleveland Indians season, Cleveland Indians in exchange for Joey Wendle. During the off-season, he had surgery to correct a hip Acetabular labrum, labral tear and Gluteus maximus muscle, gluteal tear, affecting his performance in 2015. As Moss commented, he had lost torque in his swing. Thus, he "hit fly balls with the same rate, struck out at the same rate, walked at almost the same rate. Those fly balls were not going over the fence, they were caught." He played 94 games with Cleveland, hitting 15 home runs with 50 RBI.

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 30, 2015, the 2015 Cleveland Indians season, Indians traded Moss to the 2015 St. Louis Cardinals season, St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for minor league pitcher Rob Kaminsky. He collected his first hit with the Cardinals, a single, on August 1 in a 6–2 loss to the 2015 Colorado Rockies season, Colorado Rockies. His first RBI for the club occurred the next day, also against the Rockies, a game-winning single to score Jason Heyward in the bottom of the ninth inning. He hit his first home run as a Cardinal on August 27 in the top of the fifth against the 2015 Arizona Diamondbacks season, Arizona Diamondbacks. On September 1, Moss hit a three-run, walk-off home run against the 2015 Washington Nationals season, Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium for an 8–5 win. He combined to hit 19 home runs and 58 RBI with Cleveland and St. Louis in 2015. An arbitration-eligible player prior to the 2016 St. Louis Cardinals season, 2016 season, Moss and the Cardinals agreed to a one-year, $8.25 million contract on January 15, 2016, a raise from $6.5 million. On April 10, he hit his first home run of the season off Williams Pérez of the 2016 Atlanta Braves season, Atlanta Braves, and the first of his career against Atlanta, thus giving him a home run against all 30 teams. His tenth home run of the season overall, hit against the 2016 Milwaukee Brewers season, Milwaukee Brewers on June 1, was his third as a pinch hitter, helping to tie the franchise record for pinch hit home runs in a season as a team with 10, set in 1998 St. Louis Cardinals season, 1998. He hit the longest home run in Busch Stadium history in a 4–2 loss to 2016 Kansas City Royals season, Kansas City on June 30, 2016, which traveled , and to that point, was the second-longest home run of the season in the major leagues. The Cardinals placed Moss on the DL on July 5 with an ankle sprain, and he returned on August 2.

Kansas City Royals

On February 1, 2017, Moss signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the

. The contract included a mutual option for the 2019 season.

Second stint with the Athletics

On January 29, 2018, Moss, along with Ryan Buchter, was traded to the Athletics in exchange for Jesse Hahn and Heath Fillmyer. Moss was designated for assignment on March 4. After his designation, Moss announced he would retire if he did not find another major league job. He was released two days later.

Personal life

Moss and his wife, Allison, married when he was 20 years old and she was 18. They had their first child, Jayden, in 2010, and their second child, Brody, in 2013. Moss is a distant cousin of country music singer Alan Jackson.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Brandon 1983 births Living people People from Loganville, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball first basemen American League All-Stars Boston Red Sox players Pittsburgh Pirates players Philadelphia Phillies players Oakland Athletics players Cleveland Indians players St. Louis Cardinals players Kansas City Royals players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Augusta GreenJackets players Lowell Spinners players Sarasota Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Pawtucket Red Sox players Peoria Saguaros players Indianapolis Indians players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Sacramento River Cats players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic