Joseph Mark Rickard (born May 21, 1991) is an American professional

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 ...

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 ...

who is currently a free agent. Prior to his professional career, 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 ...

for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, and was a member of the 2012 College World Series champions. 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 ...

selected Rickard in the ninth round of the

2012 MLB Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto R ...

. He made his

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) debut in 2016 with 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 ...

. He has also played in MLB for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Amateur career

Rickard attended

Bishop Gorman High School Bishop Gorman High School (also commonly referred to as Gorman High School or BGHS) is a private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Ve ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, where he played baseball with his brother John, and the

. As a junior he batted .489 with 12 home runs, 54 RBIs, and stole 34 bases, and as a senior he batted .554 with 7 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases. He was named first team All-State as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and a 2009 Louisville Slugger All-American as a senior. In 2011, 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

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 ...

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. Playing for the

Arizona Wildcats baseball The Arizona Wildcats baseball team is the intercollegiate men's baseball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. They compete in the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) of NCAA Division I. Arizona has won four c ...

team, Rickard was a member of the 2012 College World Series champions and was named to the All-Tournament Team. In college he batted .325/.391/.443.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

The

selected Rickard in the ninth round of the

, and he signed for a $125,000

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 ...

. He was a 2012

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

mid-season All Star for the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

, for whom he batted .279/.371/.372. In 2013 with the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

he batted .270/.390/.409 with 79 runs (3rd in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

), 78 walks (3rd), 16 HBP (2nd), 8 sacrifice flies (3rd), and 30 stolen bases (8th). He spent 2014 with the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League, and batted .243/.337/.296. Rickard began the 2015 season with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, and received promotions to the Biscuits and the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

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 ...

, where he played in 29 games and batted .360/.437/.472. With Montgomery, Rickard set a Southern League record by

walking 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 o ...

six times in a game, and batted .322 (7th in the league)/.420 (2nd)/.479 (10th) with 6 triples (9th) and 19 stolen bases in 23 attempts. He was an MILB.com Tamp Bay Organization All Star.

Baltimore Orioles

The

selected Rickard in the 2015 Rule 5 draft. Rickard made the Orioles'

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 ...

roster, and started for the Orioles on Opening Day. He recorded his first major league hit in his first game off of

Ervin Santana Ervin Ramon Santana (born Johan Ramon Santana; December 12, 1982) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals (twice), Atlanta Braves ...

of 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 ...

. On April 7, he hit his first major league home run, also against the Twins. During his first month in the Majors, Rickard played in every game for the Orioles (23), going 26-for-93 (.280), with five doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, one steal, and 11 runs. On May 20, Rickard hit his first career lead-off home run to start a game 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 ...

. The next batter (

Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Very highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he at ...

) would also hit a homer, giving the Orioles their 8th set of back-to-back homers on the year. On July 20, Rickard was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a thumb ligament injury, ending his season, as he was later placed on the 60-day DL. In his rookie season, he played in 85 games, slashing .268/.319/.377 with 13 doubles, five home runs, and 19 RBIs. He stole four bases in five attempts and collected 69 hits. In 2017 in the majors, Rickard batted .241/.276/.345 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. On defense, he played 53 games in right field, 43 games in left field, and 21 games in center field. In 16 games in the minor leagues, he batted .211/.338/.281. Rickard played 79 games (primarily in right field) for the Orioles in 2018, hitting .254/.300/.413 with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs. Rickard started the 2019 season with Orioles, playing 42 games (primarily in right field) of .203/.304/.347 ball with two home runs and six RBIs in 118 at bats before being sent down to the minors on May 24. With AAA Norfolk, he batted .203/.338/.469 with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs in 64 at bats. Rickard was designated for assignment by the Orioles on June 17, following the promotion of

Sean Gilmartin Sean Patrick Gilmartin (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Gilmartin was the 28th overall s ...

San Francisco Giants

On June 21, 2019, Rickard was claimed off waivers by the

and assigned to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

. With Sacramento he batted .372/.431/.587 with 45 runs, 6 home runs, and 23 RBIs in 172 at bats. He was promoted to the Giants roster on August 8. With the Giants in 2019, playing primarily left field he batted .280/.333/.380 with one home run and four RBIs in 50 at bats. He was non-tendered on December 2, 2019, and became a free agent. On January 5, 2020, the Giants re-signed Rickard to a minor league contract with an invitation to

spring training 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 Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. On He went 0-for-5 in 4 games in 2020. October 29, Rickard was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020. In the minor leagues through 2020, Rickard on defense had played 180 games in center field, 159 games in right field, and 120 games in left field.

Acereros de Monclova

On June 1, 2021, Rickard signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Acere ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. Rickard went 0-for-5 with a walk in 2 games before being released on June 6.

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rickard, Joey 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School alumni Major League Baseball outfielders Baltimore Orioles players San Francisco Giants players Arizona Wildcats baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Brisbane Bandits players Montgomery Biscuits players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Durham Bulls players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Delmarva Shorebirds players Norfolk Tides players Sacramento River Cats players Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Australia