Ian Morgan Desmond (born September 20, 1985) 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 ...

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. ...

and

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 ...

. He played 11 seasons 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

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 ...

, Texas Rangers and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. Desmond is a three-time

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters cons ...

winner and a two-time

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

. While primarily 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 ...

early in his career, Desmond began playing primarily

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the Baseball positions, baseball and softball fielding position between Left fielder, left field and Right fielder, right field. In the numberi ...

, and

first base 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 ...

starting in 2016.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

selected Desmond in the third round of the 2004 MLB draft (84th overall). Desmond batted .227 with one home run and 27 RBIs for the

Gulf Coast League Expos The Florida Complex League Nationals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Washington Nationals, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Nationals. The ...

in 2004. He was second in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

with 216 at-bats and fifth in stolen bases with 13. He had a .250 batting average with one home run and one RBI in four games for the Class-A short-season

Vermont Expos Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

. In 2005, Desmond batted .247 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 73 games for Class-A

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated ...

. He added a career-high 20 stolen bases. Desmond had a .256 batting average with three home runs and 15 RBIs in 55 games for the Class-A Advanced

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

of the

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 ...

. At season's end, he was named the best defensive shortstop in the

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 ...

(SAL) in ''

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 ...

s top tools survey of league managers. He was ranked as the 19th best prospect in the SAL by ''Baseball America''. In 2006, Desmond batted .244 with a career-high nine home runs and 45 RBIs for Potomac. He scored 50 runs and had 20 doubles in 92 games. He had a .182 batting average with no home runs and three RBIs for the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

. Desmond spent the 2007 season with Potomac and set career highs in home runs with 14, average with a .264 clip, on-base percentage with a .357 clip and doubles with 30. Desmond slugged his first homer of the season on April 17. He went 3-for-5 with a home run, double, three RBIs and scored twice on April 20. He homered in consecutive games on July 28–29 and August 12–13. In 2008, Desmond played for Harrisburg and started the year there in 2009. In his three months there, he batted .306 and, in June, was promoted to the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. In 55 games with the Chiefs, he batted .354. After the minor league season ended, he was called up to the Nationals.

Washington Nationals

Desmond made his major league debut on September 10, 2009. In his second

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 bat ...

, Desmond got his first career hit and RBI with a double and later 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 ...

in his 3rd at bat. He followed that up with a 4-for-4 game, and become only the second player ever (along with

Guy Sturdy Guy R. Sturdy (August 7, 1899 – May 4, 1965) was a professional baseball player. He was a first baseman over parts of two seasons (1927–1928) with the St. Louis Browns. For his career, he compiled a .288 batting average and one home run in ...

of the 1927

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

) to record at least six hits and four RBI in his first two games as a major leaguer. On March 28, 2010, after a solid spring training in which he led the team in RBIs, Desmond earned the Nationals' starting shortstop job, beating out incumbent

Cristian Guzmán Cristian Antonio Guzmán (born March 21, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, and Texas Rangers. Professional career Minnesota Twins ...

. His first full year was a bit erratic. He booted the first ball that came to him and in the next game, hit the first home run of the season for the Nationals. Desmond ended the season batting .269 with 10 home runs and 65 runs batted in while stealing 17 bases. In 2011 he batted .253/.298/.358 in 154 games. He stole a career-high 25 bases. Desmond switched his uniform number to 20 at the beginning of the 2012 season to honor

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of bot ...

. On

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 ...

, Desmond started at shortstop and hit

leadoff In baseball, a lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base. On the bases In baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batti ...

for the Nationals, who played at the Cubs. Desmond was selected for the 2012 All Star Game, his first such selection. However, on Saturday, July 7, it was announced that Desmond was withdrawing from the game due to a sore oblique. The oblique injury persisted, forcing the Nationals to place Desmond on the 15-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

on July 23. At the encouragement of manager

Davey Johnson David Allen Johnson (born January 30, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as a second baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League ...

, Desmond became a very aggressive hitter. He was second in the National League, and seventh in the majors, in percent of pitches swung at in the 2012 season (55%). With his 18th home run of the season on August 20, Desmond set a franchise record for homers by a shortstop. On September 24, Desmond became the first Nationals player since 2006 to join the 20 home run – 20 steal club when he stole his 20th base. He had already hit 24 home runs. Desmond was awarded a

Silver Slugger The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

for his offensive prowess in the 2012 season. In 2013, Desmond repeated both his 20 home run – 20 steal season and his Silver Slugger Award. He batted .280 with 20 home runs, 80 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases in 158 games played. Prior to the 2014 season, the Nationals offered Desmond a seven-year, $104 million extension that would have made him one of the highest paid shortstops in the MLB. Desmond declined the offer and instead signed a two-year, $17.5 million deal which would allow him to forgo his last two years of

salary arbitration Free agency in Major League Baseball (MLB) concerns players whose contracts with a team have expired and who are therefore eligible to sign with another team. Free agents may be eligible for pendulum arbitration, also called "salary arbitration" or ...

prior to becoming a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2015 season. 2014 saw Desmond win his third straight Silver Slugger at shortstop, batting .255/.313/.430 with 24 home runs and 91 RBI. He also was 2nd in the league in power-speed number (24.0). Desmond struggled both offensively and defensively throughout the 2015 season. In 156 games, he hit .233/.290/.384 with 19 home runs and 62 RBI, and committed 27 errors in the field. At the end of the season, he became a free agent.

Texas Rangers

After rejecting a $15.8 million qualifying offer from the Nationals, Desmond remained a free agent until February 29, 2016, when he signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Desmond was expected to play primarily in the outfield rather than as a shortstop for the Rangers. He made his first appearances in left and center field during

Cactus League Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives establ ...

action in March 2016. Desmond was selected as an American League All-Star to represent the Rangers at the

2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 87th edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game was hosted by the San Diego Padres and was played at Petco Park on July 12, 2016. It was televised nationally on Fox. The Amer ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

along with teammate

Cole Hamels Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983), nicknamed "Hollywood", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (2006–2015), Texas Rangers ( ...

. Prior to the game, Desmond was batting .322 with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs. Desmond finished the 2016 season with a batting average of .285, 22 home runs, and 86 RBIs. The Rangers lost in the 2016 ALDS, being swept by the Blue Jays in three games. In the series, Desmond went 3-for-14 (.214) with two runs batted in (RBI), collecting all of his hits and RBIs in the same game (Game 2) for his third career three-hit game in the postseason.

Colorado Rockies

On December 13, 2016, Desmond signed a five-year, $70 million contract with the

, with a team option for a 6th year. During a spring training game on March 13, 2017, Desmond was hit by a pitch on his left hand. The injury resulted in a

metacarpal In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus form the intermediate part of the skeletal hand located between the phalanges of the fingers and the carpal bones of the wrist, which forms the connection to the forearm. The metacarpal bones ...

fracture, requiring surgery. He appeared in his first game for the Rockies on April 30 in left field, due to the strong play of first baseman Mark Reynolds. In 2018, he batted .236/.307/.422. For the 2018 season, he had the highest

ground ball In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

percentage of all major league hitters (62.0%). In 2019, Desmond hit .255 with 20 home runs and 65 RBIs in 140 games. On June 10, 2019, Desmond hit the fifth-longest home run of the 2019 season at

Coors Field Coors Field is a baseball stadium in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Opened in 1995, the park is located in Denver's Lower Downtown neighborhood, two blocks from Union Station. The sta ...

with a home run off of

Mike Montgomery Michael John Montgomery (born February 27, 1947) is a retired American basketball coach. He is best known for his 18-year tenure at Stanford (1986–2004), where he led the program to 12 NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in 199 ...

. As a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Desmond chose to opt out of the 2020 MLB season. On February 21, 2021, Desmond announced via his Instagram page that he had decided to opt out of the 2021 season. Desmond forfeited his salary in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons by opting out, which essentially turned his 5 year, $70 million contract into a 3 year, $45 million contract. He became a free agent on November 4, 2021 after the Rockies declined the $15 million option for the 2022 season, instead paying him a $2 million buyout. Desmond was the Rockies' nominee for the

Roberto Clemente Award The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans a ...

in each of his 5 seasons with the Rockies for his community work and philanthropic efforts off the field. On April 16, 2022, Desmond, a free agent at the time, officially announced his retirement from professional baseball. Ian Desmond Dream Gala (5848826913) (cropped)

Ian Desmond Dream Gala (5848826913) (cropped)

Personal life

Desmond has a younger brother, Chris Charron. Desmond and former major league player

Josh Roenicke Joshua James Roenicke (born August 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He most recently pitched for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

are brothers-in-law; Roenicke, 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 ...

who played for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

through 2013 and signed a minor league deal with the Nationals for 2014, married Desmond's sister Nikki in 2010. In January 2010, Ian married his wife Chelsey, whom he met in the fifth grade. The couple has five children together. When his first child was born, Desmond became one of the first players to claim paternity leave, which had just been introduced to MLB. The family lives in

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, Florida. While with the Nationals, Desmond served on the board of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, which opened in 2014. Desmond is a national

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

for the Children's Tumor Foundation. In 2020, Desmond co-founded Newtown Connection, a non-profit organization based in his hometown, which aims to help underserved youth in the Sarasota, Florida area through "academic enrichment, physical activity, and health education" and to "promote character development and an active lifestyle, instilling the values of leadership, accountability, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence." Desmond is related to

Viola Desmond Viola Irene Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia by refu ...

, a Canadian civil rights activist. He was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desmond, Ian 1985 births Living people Sarasota High School alumni Sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida Baseball players from Florida African-American baseball players Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball outfielders American League All-Stars Washington Nationals players Texas Rangers players Colorado Rockies players Gulf Coast Expos players Vermont Expos players Savannah Sand Gnats players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Gulf Coast Nationals players Syracuse Chiefs players National League All-Stars Waikiki Beach Boys players Peoria Saguaros players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Silver Slugger Award winners African-American Catholics 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people