Dillon Sean Maples (born May 9, 1992) is an American professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
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 has 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
Chicago Cubs.
Career
Chicago Cubs
Maples attended
Pinecrest High School Pinecrest High School is ranked 105th within North Carolina. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced PlacementĀ® coursework and exams. The APĀ® participation rate at Pinecrest High School is 40%. The total minority enrollment is 38%, and 24% ...
in
Southern Pines
Southern Pines is a town in Moore County, North Carolina, Moore County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 12,334 as of the 2010 United States Census.
History
Southern Pines was founded as a winter health resort for Northeastern U ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. He was also on the
USA Baseball
USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseba ...
Under 18 team in 2010. The
Chicago Cubs selected Maples in the 14th round of the
2011 Major League Baseball draft
The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...
. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the
Arizona League Cubs
The Arizona Complex League Cubs are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays it home games at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of player ...
. From 2013 to 2016 he pitched for the
Boise Hawks
The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...
,
Kane County Cougars
The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...
, Arizona League Cubs,
Eugene Emeralds
The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays thei ...
,
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium.
The team was o ...
and
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...
.
Maples started 2017 with Myrtle Beach and was promoted to the
Tennessee Smokies
The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...
and
Iowa Cubs during the season. He has spent most of 2017-19 bouncing between
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...
and Des Moines.
On September 14, 2019, Maples was ejected from the game in the ninth inning of a 14-1 win over the
Pittsburgh Pirates for hitting two batters with pitches after warnings had been issued earlier in the game. On the season, Maples appeared in a career-high 14 games, registering a 5.40 ERA with a career-high 18 strikeouts in 11.2 innings of work. Maples only made two appearances for Chicago in 2020, recording a 18.00 ERA in 1.0 inning pitched.
In 2021, Maples made 28 appearances for the Cubs, posting a 2.59 ERA and 40 strikeouts. On September 19, 2021, Maples was designated for assignment by the Cubs.
Philadelphia Phillies
On March 15, 2022, Maples signed a minor league contract with the
Philadelphia Phillies.
He was released on June 25, 2022.
References
External links
1992 births
Living people
Baseball players from North Carolina
Major League Baseball pitchers
Chicago Cubs players
Arizona League Cubs players
Boise Hawks players
Kane County Cougars players
Eugene Emeralds players
South Bend Cubs players
Myrtle Beach Pelicans players
Tennessee Smokies players
Iowa Cubs players
People from Lee County, North Carolina
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