Jonathan Eugene Van Every (born November 27, 1979) is a 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 ...

Amateur career

Van Every attended

Itawamba Community College Itawamba Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Fulton, Mississippi. Additional campuses are in Belden and Tupelo. History Itawamba Community College began as an extension of Itawamba County Agricultural High ...

Fulton, Mississippi Fulton is a city in and the county seat of Itawamba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,961 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Fulton was established in 1837 as a count ...

where he 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 ...

. At Itawamba CC, Van Every had a career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .375 with 16

home runs 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 ...

over two seasons.

Professional playing career

Cleveland Indians

Van Every was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the 29th round (876th overall) of 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 ...

. He did not play in 2000 because he did not sign until May 19, . From 2001 to , Van Every played in the Indians organization. His best season came in , when he played for the Single-A

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

. That year, he hit .276 with 21 home runs. In , he was an Eastern League All-Star. Following the 2007 season, Van Every became a minor league

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 ...

Boston Red Sox (first stint)

On December 1, 2007, the Boston Red Sox signed him to a minor league contract. Van Every made his major league debut on May 14, , against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, starting in

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 ...

. In his second career

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 ...

, he singled to center in the fifth inning off

Daniel Cabrera Daniel Alberto Cabrera Cruz (born May 28, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks ...

for his first major league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. Van Every 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 ...

on April 29, 2009 at

Progressive Field {{Infobox stadium , name = Progressive Field , nickname = ''"The Jake"'' , logo_image = Progressive_Field_Logo.svg , logo_caption = , image = , caption = Progressive Fiel ...

against the

. The solo shot during the top of the 10th inning turned out to be the winning hit as the Red Sox went on to win the game 6–5. The following day on April 30, 2009, Van Every pitched the final 2/3 of the eighth inning in a 13–0 loss to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

On July 8, 2009, Van Every was designated for assignment by the Red Sox to make room on the 40-man roster for

Jed Lowrie Jed Carlson Lowrie (born April 17, 1984) is an American professional baseball infielder who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics and New York Mets. Early life Lowri ...

, who was activated off the 60-day DL. On July 18, 2009, he was released by the Red Sox, after the 10-days of his waiver period ran up.

Pittsburgh Pirates (first stint)

On July 29, 2009, Van Every was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a minor league free agent, and he was assigned to Triple-A

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Knee surgery prevented Van Every from appearing with the Pirates organization.

Boston Red Sox (second stint)

On April 24, 2010, Van Every was traded back to the Red Sox for a player to be named later. On May 8, 2010, in a game against 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 ...

in which Boston would go on to lose 14–3, Van Every pitched for the second time in his career, striking out one batter, and giving up a two-run home run to

Mark Teixeira Mark Charles Teixeira ( ; born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anahei ...

. Also in a game in Baltimore, he hit a solo home run in a game in which the Red Sox would lose. On May 22, 2010, he was designated for assignment by the Red Sox to make room for the returning

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

Pittsburgh Pirates (second stint)

On May 31, 2010, the Red Sox traded him to the Pirates for catching prospect Josue Peley. He was assigned to Indianapolis where he hit .214 with 10 home runs in 74 games.

Washington Nationals

In December 2010, Van Every signed with 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 ...

organization. He was released prior to the 2011 season.

St. Paul Saints

Van Every signed with the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

and played for them during the 2011 season.

Personal life

Van Every earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from the

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

in the fall of 2013. He currently resides in Nashville with his fiancée Morgan. As of 2019, he serves as the volunteer Director of Operations for the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

baseball team in

Worcester, MA Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in New England after Bo ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Every, Jonathan 1979 births Living people Boston Red Sox players Baseball players from Mississippi Major League Baseball outfielders Sportspeople from Greenwood, Mississippi Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Columbus RedStixx players Lake County Captains players Kinston Indians players Akron Aeros players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Pawtucket Red Sox players Itawamba Indians baseball players Indianapolis Indians players St. Paul Saints players