Joseph Edward Borchard (born November 25, 1978) is an American former

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)

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 ...

. Borchard was the 12th pick of the first round in 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 ...

out of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

by 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 high school, he won a division III state football championship at

Adolfo Camarillo High School Adolfo Camarillo High School (ACHS) is a public high school in Camarillo, California established 1956. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in grades 9–12 in east Camarillo, Somis, and the Santa Rosa ...

as the starting quarterback. He also played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

and took a $5.3

million One million (1,000,000), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the au ...

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

to play for the White Sox. The signing bonus was the highest ever given to a player for a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

until

Justin Upton Justin Irvin Upton (born August 25, 1987) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. Nicknamed "J-Up", he has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Detroit Tig ...

received $6.1 million to sign with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

in .

College

Borchard attended

where he played baseball as an

and football as a

Football

In 1998 Borchard was the Cardinal backup quarterback behind

Todd Husak Todd Larkin Husak (born July 6, 1978) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. He played professionally for the Washington Redskins. Early life Husak was born in Long Beach, California and graduated from St. Jo ...

and played in seven games in which he tallied 317 yards and three touchdowns. In 1999 Borchard completed 42-of-71 passes for 747 yards and seven touchdowns and led the Pac-10 with a 177.3 pass efficiency rating, but did not have enough attempts to qualify for the national statistics. He made national headlines after his performance against

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in a relief role after Husak left the game with bruised ribs early in the second quarter. Borchard came on and threw for 324 yards and five touchdowns and was named ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

s National Player of the Week for his effort. The five TD passes in a game tied Borchard with several others for the second most in school history. The following week, with Husak sidelined, Borchard made his starting debut against San Jose State and threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for one score.

Baseball

Joe was a twice named to the First-Team All-Pac-10 in 1999 and 2000. Stanford's websit

claims him to be "among the best players in the history of Stanford baseball." In three seasons, he hit 40 home runs with 187 RBI and a .346 batting average. In the Cardinal record book, he ranks eighth in home runs and batting average and ninth in RBI.

Professional baseball

Borchard's career with the White Sox was less than impressive, as he struggled to make consistent contact, an issue that plagued him throughout his career. Borchard's most significant big league playing time came in the season, where he received 201 at-bats. He hit .174 that year with 9

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 20 RBI. Borchard's most notable feat was setting the

US Cellular Field Guaranteed Rate Field is a baseball stadium located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It serves as the home stadium of the Chicago White Sox, one of the city's two Major League Baseball (MLB) teams, and is owned by the state ...

distance record, yet to be eclipsed at 504 feet off

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 ...

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 ...

Brett Myers Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Born and rai ...

. Borchard was traded to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

on March 20, , for Matt Thornton, a

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. On May 3, 2006, the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

claimed Borchard off waivers. The Atlanta Braves signed Borchard to a minor league contract during the 2007 MLB

winter meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. On May 28, , Borchard had season ending

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

, but was re-signed by the Braves for the season. However, on April 24, Borchard was released. On May 28, 2009 Borchard signed with the Giants. He played for the organization's AAA affiliate, the

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

, for the next two years. On May 3, 2010, he became the second Grizzly to hit for the cycle (joining

Nate Schierholtz Nathan John "Nate" Schierholtz (born February 15, 1984) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (2007–2012), Philadelphia Phillies (2012), Chicago Cubs ...

) when he went five for six in the Grizzlies' 14–4 victory over the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

. On March 25, 2011 Borchard signed with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. On June 2, 2011, he announced his retirement from baseball.Bluefish's Borchard, missing his family, retires from baseball – Connecticut Post
Ctpost.com (2011-06-02). Retrieved on 2012-02-23.

Personal life

Born in the

Panorama City Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born a ...

neighborhood of

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' ...

, Borchard attended

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

. He has 2 children and lives in Ventura county. His sister Julie played college softball at the University of Wisconsin from 1995-1999. She played shortstop.

References

External links

College Football Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borchard, Joe 1978 births Living people Chicago White Sox players Seattle Mariners players Florida Marlins players Baseball players from Los Angeles Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball right fielders People from Camarillo, California Stanford Cardinal baseball players Stanford Cardinal football players Arizona League White Sox players Winston-Salem Warthogs players Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Albuquerque Isotopes players Richmond Braves players Fresno Grizzlies players Gwinnett Braves players Bridgeport Bluefish players People from Panorama City, Los Angeles Sportspeople from Ventura County, California American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Estrellas Orientales players