Jeremy Dean Giambi (; September 30, 1974 – February 9, 2022) was an American
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 ...
and
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 ...
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). He played for four teams from 1998 to 2003, primarily the
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 ...
, where he was a teammate of his older brother
Jason Giambi
Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...
during the club's division championship-winning seasons in 2000 and 2001. He enjoyed his best season in 2001,
batting Batting may refer to:
* Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs
* Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...
.283 with 12
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 ...
s and 57
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 bat ...
(RBI), then hitting .308 in the
Division Series
The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League.
1981 season
The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...
loss to the
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 ...
. Following his brother's departure to the Yankees as a free agent in the ensuing offseason, Jeremy saw declining playing time with three teams over the next two seasons before finishing his career in the minor leagues.
Early life
Jeremy Giambi was born in
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
.
[ Like his older brother ]Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
, Giambi attended South Hills High School in West Covina, California
West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most popul ...
.
He attended California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...
and 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 Cal State Fullerton Titans
The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton.
The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West Co ...
. The Titans won the 1995 College World Series. In 1994, 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 Bourne Braves
The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...
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 ...
and was named a league all-star.
Professional athletic career
The 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 ...
selected Giambi in the sixth round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. Giambi made his major league debut as a September call-up
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...
for the Royals in 1998. The Athletics acquired Giambi from the Royals in exchange for Brett Laxton
Brett William Laxton (born October 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in parts of two seasons for the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former major ...
prior to the 2000 season. Jason and Jeremy played together during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. During Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series, Giambi was tagged out at home plate on the "flip play" by Derek Jeter.[
During the 2002 season, the Athletics traded Giambi to the ]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 ...
for John Mabry
John Steven Mabry (born October 17, 1970) is an American former professional baseball player, broadcaster, and coach. He is a coach for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He had 898 career hits in 3,409 at-bats (for a battin ...
. Giambi finished the 2002 season with 20 home runs between the Athletics and Phillies.[ After the 2002 season, the Phillies traded Giambi to 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 ...
for Josh Hancock
Joshua Morgan Hancock (April 11, 1978 – April 29, 2007) was a professional baseball pitcher, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was killed in an au ...
. He last played in the majors in 2003 for the Red Sox. After being released by the Red Sox, Giambi signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
in 2004 and the Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
in 2005.
In his MLB career, Giambi batted .263 with 52 home runs and 209 RBIs.[
]
Steroids
On March 13, 2005, ''The Kansas City Star
''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...
'' reported that Giambi had admitted to having used anabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...
s. His brother Jason has also admitted to using steroids according to grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...
testimony that was leaked to the press. On December 13, 2007, Giambi was named in the Mitchell Report
The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...
on steroid usage in baseball as being among the athletes to whom BALCO
The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) (1984–2003) was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later re ...
founder Victor Conte
Victor Conte Jr. (born 1950 in Fresno, California) is a former bassist with Tower of Power and the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), a sports nutrition center in California. He served time in prison in 2005 after pl ...
claimed to have sold anabolic steroids; the report said BALCO VP Jim Valente had indicated that urine samples submitted to BALCO by both Jeremy and Jason had tested positive for the steroid drugs.
Personal life and death
Giambi was mentioned in Michael Lewis
Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to ''Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He ...
's book '' Moneyball'', and he became a character in the film
The Film is a 2005 Indian thriller film directed by Junaid Memon also produced along with Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Mahima Chaudhry, Khalid Siddiqui, Ananya Khare, Chahat Khanna, Ravi Gossain, Vaibhav Jhalani and Vivek Madan in lea ...
that starred Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
, with Giambi portrayed by Nick Porrazzo.
Giambi was found dead at his parents' home in Claremont, California, on the morning of February 9, 2022, according to a spokesperson for the Claremont Police Department. He was 47. The following day, the Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
County Medical Examiner announced that Giambi's death had been ruled a suicide via a gunshot wound to his chest.
In June 2022, reports say that prior to the suicide, in August 2021, he was "struck in the head by a baseball and fractured his zygomatic bone
In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from grc, ζῠγόν, zugón, yoke), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. It is s ...
" when serving as a pitching coach. His mother also said he felt different after the injury.
See also
* List of doping cases in sport
The following is an incomplete list of sportspeople who have been involved in doping offences. It contains those who have been found to have, or have admitted to having, taken Doping (sport), illegal performance-enhancing drugs, prohibited recrea ...
*
References
External links
Jeremy Giambi
at Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giambi, Jeremy
1974 births
2022 deaths
2022 suicides
Major League Baseball right fielders
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball first basemen
Oakland Athletics players
Kansas City Royals players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Boston Red Sox players
Baseball players from San Jose, California
Birmingham Barons players
Charlotte Knights players
Gulf Coast Dodgers players
Lansing Lugnuts players
Las Vegas 51s players
Omaha Golden Spikes players
Omaha Royals players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
Sacramento River Cats players
Spokane Indians players
Wichita Wranglers players
Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players
Bourne Braves players
People from Covina, California
American sportspeople of Italian descent
Suicides by firearm in California