Mpho' Gift Ngoepe (mm-POH, n-GO-pay; born 18 January 1990) is a South African 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 wh ...

and second baseman. 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 Pittsburgh Pirates and

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 ...

. In 2017, he became the first native of continental Africa to reach the Major Leagues.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

A native of

Randburg Randburg is an area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly a separate municipality, its administration devolved to the newly created City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, along with neighbouring Sandton and Roodepoort, ...

, Ngoepe became the first black South African, and the sixth South African to sign a professional baseball contract when he signed in October 2008. When Ngoepe was growing up, his mother was a clubhouse attendant for the Randburg Mets, and they lived in one of the clubhouse rooms. He was invited to Major League Baseball's academy in

Tirrenia Tirrenia is a frazione (parish) of Pisa, Italy with a population of 3,112 inhabitants. Immersed in the pine forest of the "Litorale Pisano" and in the coast of Ligurian Sea (even if the name of the village refers to Tyrrhenian Sea, in Italian ''M ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, where the Pirates signed him. In 2009, Ngoepe played for the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

, and batted .238/.341/.281 with one home run, nine

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI), and 13 stolen bases in 47 games. He was a member of the

South Africa national baseball team The South African national baseball team is the baseball team which represents the Republic of South Africa in international baseball competitions such as the World Baseball Classic and the Summer Olympics. The governing body of the team is the ...

at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tie ...

. At the 2009 WBC, he hit consecutive triples off of Mexico's

Elmer Dessens Elmer Dessens Jusaino eh-SENZ(born January 13, 1971) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Personal life Elmer Dessens was born on January 13, 1971, in Hermosillo, Mexico. At age 10, he worked as a ne ...

in a 14–3 loss to Mexico. On 10 August 2009, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' published an article on Ngoepe titled "A Gift From Africa" which covered how he started his baseball career, his upbringing, and time with the Pirates since moving from South Africa. In 2010, he played 64 games with the Short Season-A

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. T ...

and two with the Advanced-A

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

, batting a combined .206/.316/.318 with one home run, 20 RBI, and 11 stolen bases. Ngoepe played only 27 games in 2011 due to a hamate injury. He batted .297/.354/.440 with two home runs and five RBI before the injury. Richmond Flying Squirrels vs

Ngoepe played the entire 2012 season with Bradenton, and in a then career-high 124 games played he hit .232/.330/.338 with nine home runs and 36 RBI and a career-high 22 stolen bases. He also played 16 games for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Gia ...

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 fille ...

. In 2013, he again began the season with Bradenton, playing 28 games and batting .292/.424/.427 before being promoted to the Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

, where he played 72 games. In Altoona, Ngeope batted .177/.278/.282 with three home runs, 16 RBI, and 10 stolen bases. He made his second trip to the Arizona Fall League at the end of the season, playing 17 games for Scottsdale. In 2014, Ngeope set career-highs in games played and RBI, playing 131 games with Altoona and batting .238/.319/.380 with nine home runs, 52 RBI, and 13 stolen bases. He was invited to 2015 spring training by the Pirates on 9 January 2015. He played for the Indianapolis Indians of the Triple-A International League in 2016. On 26 April 2017, the Pirates promoted Ngoepe to the major leagues from Indianapolis. This made him the first continental African player, and the first player from an independent African nation, to reach the Major Leagues. Ngoepe made his Major League debut that day, and recorded his first career hit, a single off Cubs' starting pitcher

Jon Lester Jonathan Tyler Lester (born January 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. L ...

. Because of time zone differences, Ngoepe's MLB debut fell on the early morning of 27 April in South Africa, observed in that country as Freedom Day, memorializing the 1994 election that was the first in which the country's black population was allowed to vote. In 2017 with Pittsburgh he batted .222/.323/.296.

Toronto Blue Jays

On 20 November 2017, Ngoepe was traded to the

for cash considerations or a player to be named later. He earned a spot on the active roster to begin the season, and was optioned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

on 20 April, with whom he batted .168/.304/.252. With Toronto he had one hit in 19 at bats. He was designated for assignment on 3 May 2018. Ngoepe was released from the organization on 13 August 2018.

Sydney Blue Sox

On 30 August 2018, Ngoepe signed with the

Sydney Blue Sox The Sydney Blue Sox are a professional baseball team, and one of eight foundation teams in the re-formed Australian Baseball League (ABL). The team plays their home games at Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP), one of the two venues used ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

(a winter league) for the 2018/19 season. He batted .357/.451/.700.

Philadelphia Phillies

On 11 January 2019, Ngoepe signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He played for the Class AAA

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, and batted .221/.296/.410 with 5 home runs and 21 RBIs in 122 at bats, playing second base, third base, and shortstop. He was released on 20 June 2019.

Second stint with Pittsburgh Pirates

On 29 June 2019, Ngoepe signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was assigned to the Double-A

. He batted .100/.289/.100 in 30 at bats. He was released on 30 July 2019.

Lancaster Barnstormers

On 6 August 2019, Ngoepe signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

of the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He batted .289/.317/.632 with three home runs and seven RBIs for them in 38 at bats, playing seven games at shortstop and four games at second base.

Second stint with Sydney Blue Sox

Ngoepe returned to the

of the

for the 2019/20 season.

Québec Capitales

On March 30, 2021, Ngoepe signed with the

Québec Capitales The Québec Capitales (French: ''Les Capitales de Québec'') are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Capitales have been members of the Frontier League since the 2020 season after a merger between the Can-Am Lea ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

Coaching

Newport Rams

On 16 March 2022, Ngoepe became a coach with the Newport Rams of

Baseball Victoria Baseball Victoria is the governing body of baseball within Victoria. Baseball Victoria is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation. The body has teams competing in four divisions. Early history The Victorian Baseball League (VBL) was ...

Personal life

Ngoepe is married to Cait and they have a son Kiani. Ngoepe's younger brother, Victor, is a former Pirates prospect."Ngoepe brothers reunite on other side of world — South African natives together in Pirates' farm system
." MLB.com. Retrieved 27 April 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngoepe, Gift 1990 births Living people Altoona Curve players Bradenton Marauders players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players South African expatriate baseball players in Australia Expatriate baseball players in Canada Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Lancaster Barnstormers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball players from South Africa Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen People from Polokwane People from Randburg Pittsburgh Pirates players Scottsdale Scorpions players South African expatriate baseball players in the United States South African expatriate sportspeople in Canada South African Sotho people Sportspeople from Johannesburg State College Spikes players Sydney Blue Sox players Toronto Blue Jays players West Virginia Black Bears players West Virginia Power players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Sportspeople from Limpopo