Jordan Cole Westburg (born February 18, 1999) is an American

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. ...

for 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 ...

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). While he was 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 ...

throughout college and the

minor leagues 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 ...

, he has mainly played second and third base since his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Westburg attended

New Braunfels High School New Braunfels High School (commonly referred to as NBHS) is a public high school in New Braunfels, Texas, United States, that was established in 1845. Up until 2008, New Braunfels was one of the largest 4A high schools in Texas and is classified ...

New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...

, where he played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

. He was a fellow baseball teammate and 2017 graduate with

Bryce Miller Bryce Miller (born July 26, 1982) is an American Auto racing, racing driver from Summit, New Jersey. He currently drives in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA owned Tudor United SportsCar Championship for Paul Miller Racing. Bryce ...

. They grew up in the same neighborhood and were childhood friends.Rill, Jake. "They homered off each other in Little League. It's time for the MLB showdown," MLB.com, Thursday, August 10, 2023.
Retrieved August 11, 2023. Westburg committed to play

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 ...

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

after his junior year. As a senior in 2017, he batted .457 with four home runs and 22 RBIs, earning All-State honors. Undrafted in the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

, he enrolled at Mississippi State. In 2018, Westburg's freshman year with the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I. Sports sp ...

, he appeared in 42 games (making 31 starts) in which he batted .248 with two home runs and thirty RBIs. He missed over two weeks due to a hamstring injury. As a sophomore in 2019, Westburg started 66 games, hitting .300 with six home runs and 61 RBIs. He earned

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

Player of the Week in March, batting .476 with two home runs and 11 RBIs over five games. That summer, he played in 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 ...

for the

Hyannis Harbor Hawks The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

alongside being named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. In 2020, his junior season, he batted .317 with two home runs and 11 RBIs over 16 games before the college baseball season was cut short due to 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 ...

Professional career

The

selected Westburg with the 30th overall pick in the

2020 Major League Baseball draft The 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on June 10 and 11, 2020. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2019 MLB season ...

. Westburg signed with the Orioles on June 28, 2020, for a $2.3 million bonus. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the pandemic. Westburg made his professional debut in 2021 with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

of the

Low-A East 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 unt ...

. On June 1, he was promoted to the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

of the

High-A East 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 h ...

. In mid-August, he was promoted to the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

of the

Double-A Northeast AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Dou ...

. Over 112 games between the three clubs, Westburg

slashed ''Slashed'' is a low budget independent horror film, financed and directed by Ash and written by Jed Shepherd.

.285/.389/.479 with 15

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 ...

, 79

RBIs 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 ...

, 17 stolen bases, and 27 doubles. He returned to Bowie to begin the 2022 season. After batting .247 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs over 47 games, he was promoted to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in early June. Over 91 games with Norfolk to end the season, he batted .273 with 18 home runs and 74 RBIs. To open the 2023 season, he returned to Norfolk. In 67 games for Norfolk, Westburg hit .295/.372/.567 with 18 home runs and 54 RBI. Westburg was selected to the

40-man roster 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 ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time on June 26, 2023. He drew a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

in the

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

and scored a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in the second inning, drove in a run with a

fielder's choice In baseball, fielder's choice (abbreviated FC) refers to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance. Fielder's cho ...

in the third and got a one-out

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in the fifth in his first three

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s as the starting second baseman in his MLB debut that night in as the Orioles defeated the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...

by a score of 10–3. He hit his first major league home run on July 24, 2023, against

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 ...

starter

Cristopher Sanchez Cristopher is a given name that may refer to: * Cristopher Ballinas Valdés * Cristopher Moore * Cristopher Nilstorp * Cristopher Toselli * Cristopher Tronco Sánchez * Cristopher Unterberger See also * Christopher (given name) * Cristian (d ...

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The stad ...

. Westburg began the 2024 season in the Orioles' opening day lineup as the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

against the

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, and recorded an RBI single. In his first 36 games of the season, he has tallied 6 home runs, 26 RBI, and a slash line of .301/.345/.522. He has spent most of his games at third base, with additional games at second base and shortstop. On April 1, he hit a two-run

walk off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

against the Royals, sealing a 6-4 Orioles win. It was his first walk-off of any kind in MLB, and Westburg additionally stated he had never walked off a game at any level of baseball before. The following month, he would record his second walk-off hit in a May 11 game against the

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 the bottom of the 11th inning, he hit a single on the first pitch of his at bat to score the runner from second base and end an extra-innings game with a 5-4 win. He also recorded a career high four hits in the same game, going 4-5 at the plate.

References

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westburg, Jordan 1999 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Braunfels, Texas Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Elmira Pioneers players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball infielders Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players Norfolk Tides players United States national baseball team players