Mitchell Ellis Nay (born September 20, 1993) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He was drafted out of high school by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in the first round (58th overall) of the

2012 Major League Baseball 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 List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...

Career

Nay attended Hamilton High School in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

. He began his high school career as 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 wh ...

, but became a

due to the presence of teammate Jorge Flores. As a junior, Nay had a .495

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 ...

, 14

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 54

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 ba ...

(RBI). He won Arizona's Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year Award in 2012, and received a scholarship to attend Arizona State University.

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseba ...

named Nay to their youth baseball team.

Toronto Blue Jays

The

selected Nay in the supplemental first round of the

, with the 58th overall selection. He signed with Toronto, forgoing his scholarship. He suffered a broken foot and did not make his professional debut until 2013. In 2013, Nay played for the

Bluefield Blue Jays The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a hist ...

of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, where he had a .300

in 64 games. He was promoted to the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

of the Low–A

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

in time for their playoff chase. He was named the most valuable player (MVP) of the Northwest League playoffs by MiLB.com. Nay began the 2014 season with the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

of the Single–A

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 ...

. On August 19, while Nay was leading the Midwest League in doubles, the Blue Jays promoted him to the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

of the High–A Florida State League. In 120 games in Lansing, he batted .285 with 34 doubles, three home runs, and 59 RBI. Nay played 11 games in Dunedin, batting .185 with one RBI. On September 24, Nay was named the MVP for Lansing in 2014. Nay played the entire 2015 season in Dunedin, and finished the season batting .243 with five home runs and 42 RBI in 109 games played. Due to injuries, Nay appeared in just eight rehab games for the

Gulf Coast League Blue Jays The Florida Complex League Blue Jays are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. The team plays i ...

in 2016, and batted .091. In 2017, Nay returned to Lansing and spent the whole season there, posting a .222 batting average with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 61 games.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 14, 2017, Nay was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. Nay split the 2018 season between the Double-A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

and the High-A

Daytona Tortugas The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark; opened in ...

, slashing .267/.352/.405 in 132 games between the two teams. He became a free agent after the 2018 season, but re-signed with the team on February 24, 2019. Nay split the season between the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

and Triple-A Louisville Bats, hitting .278/.341/.504 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 114 total games.

Seattle Mariners

On December 13, 2019, Nay inked a minor league contract with 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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

and was assigned to the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

. Nay did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of 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 identi ...

. On May 28, 2020, Nay was released by the Mariners organization.

Los Angeles Angels

On December 29, 2020, Nay entered into a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

organization. Nay spent the 2021 season with the Double-A

Rocket City Trash Pandas The Rocket City Trash Pandas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Madison, Alabama, and play their home games at Toyota Field. History In November 20 ...

, slashing .237/.347/.480 with 23 home runs and 54 RBI in 106 games. He elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2021. On May 29, 2022, Nay re-signed with the Angels on a new minor league contract. He made 36 appearances split between the High-A

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home ga ...

and rookie-level Arizona Complex League Angels, slashing .189/.272/.303 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI. He was released by the organization on July 29.

Kane County Cougars

On August 27, 2022, Nay signed with the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play thei ...

of the

American Association of 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 ...

. He played in 9 games for Kane County, hitting .273/.385/.546 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI. On September 27, Nay was released by the Cougars. Nay retired following the 2022 season and is currently a realtor in Arizona.

Personal life

Nay's grandfather,

Lou Klimchock Louis Stephen Klimchock (born October 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Athletics, Milwaukee Braves, Washington Senators, New York Met ...

, is a former MLB player.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nay, Mitch 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Chandler, Arizona Baseball players from Maricopa County, Arizona Baseball third basemen Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Bluefield Blue Jays players Lansing Lugnuts players Dunedin Blue Jays players Minor league baseball players Daytona Tortugas players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players