Christopher Charles Dickerson (born April 10, 1982) is an American 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 ...

who 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

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, and

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 ...

between 2008 and 2014.

Career

Amateur

A native of

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, Dickerson attended Notre Dame High School. He was drafted out of high school by the

in the 32nd round (968th overall) of the

2000 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

, but did not sign. He instead attended the

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant ...

, where 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

Nevada Wolf Pack baseball The Nevada Wolf Pack baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the University of Nevada, Reno in Reno, Nevada, United States. The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is part of the NCAA Division I. Nevada's fi ...

team from 2001 through 2003. In 2002, 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 ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

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 ...

Cincinnati Reds

Dickerson was drafted again, in the 16th round (471st overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft, this time by the Cincinnati Reds. He made his Major League debut with the Reds on August 12, 2008. He hit his first career

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 ...

on August 15, 2008, against the

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 hav ...

. Dickerson earned a starting job in the outfield with

Jay Bruce Jay Allen Bruce (born April 3, 1987) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and New Y ...

and

Willy Taveras Willy Taveras (born December 25, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. A center fielder, Taveras has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals. Pr ...

entering the 2009 season, due to

Ken Griffey Jr. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Marin ...

and Adam Dunn's departures. In the first month of the season, Dickerson was only batting .205 with a homer and 5 RBIs. However, by the end of May he boosted his average to .271. He also was featured in highlight reels for his defensive plays while filling in for Tavares at center field. In 2010 he batted .205 for Cincinnati.

Milwaukee Brewers

On August 9, 2010, Dickerson was traded to the

for

Jim Edmonds James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and a broadcaster for Bally Sports Midwest. He played for the California/Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, ...

. Dickerson batted .208 with 5 RBIs in 25 games with Milwaukee.

New York Yankees

On March 25, 2011, Dickerson was traded to the

in exchange for

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 ...

Sergio Mitre Sergio Armando Mitre (born February 16, 1981) is a Mexican-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Yankees. In 2022, he was se ...

. He made his Yankees debut on May 17, going 1-for-3 with one run batted in. He was promoted again to the Major Leagues in September. Dickerson cleared waivers before the 2012 season and was outrighted to the Class-AAA

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. Dickerson was promoted to the Major Leagues again on September 1, after the rosters expanded. The Yankees designated Dickerson for assignment, and subsequently released him in January 2013.

Baltimore Orioles

Dickerson signed a minor league contract with the

for 2013 and was assigned to the AAA

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

. He was called up to Baltimore on April 10, and made his Orioles debut that night. On May 21, Dickerson hit two home runs off

Phil Hughes Philip Joseph Hughes (born June 24, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres from 2007 through 2018. He stands tal ...

for his first career multi-homer game. On May 31, Dickerson hit the first walk-off home run of his career against

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

pitcher

José Valverde José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed ...

. Dickerson was designated for assignment on July 19. He batted .238 for Baltimore. After clearing waivers, he was outrighted to the minors. He refused the assignment and became a free agent.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Dickerson signed a minor league contract with the

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 ...

on January 6, 2014.

Cleveland Indians

Dickerson was traded to the

on July 7, 2014. He batted .224/.309/.327 for Cleveland. He was outrighted off the roster on September 9.

Toronto Blue Jays

On February 21, 2015, he signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. He elected free agency on November 6.

Return to Baltimore

On August 29, 2016, Dickerson signed a minor league deal with the Orioles. He signed another minor league contract with the Orioles on December 16. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Community

Along with fellow baseball player

Jack Cassel Joseph "Jack" Buren Cassel II (born August 8, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres and Houston Astros organizations. He retired from professional baseball in 2010 after suffering a career ending shoulder injury. ...

, Dickerson is a founder of Players for the Planet, a foundation that brings professional athletes together to inspire communities to build awareness of the growing environmental crisis. Several athletes including

Chase Utley Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978), nicknamed "The Man" and "Silver Fox", is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. He ...

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and firs ...

Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. A member of seven NFL teams, Cassel's most notable stints were with the New England Patriots an ...

, and

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

are on board to spread the awareness.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Chris 1982 births Living people Baseball players from California Major League Baseball outfielders Cincinnati Reds players Milwaukee Brewers players New York Yankees players Baltimore Orioles players Cleveland Indians players Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players Billings Mustangs players Dayton Dragons players Sarasota Reds players Potomac Cannons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Louisville Bats players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Indianapolis Indians players African-American baseball players People from Hollywood, Los Angeles Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California) alumni Surprise Rafters players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Brewster Whitecaps players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people