Nicholas Mark Ahmed (born March 15, 1990) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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).

Amateur career

Ahmed attended

East Longmeadow High School East Longmeadow High School is a public high school located in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, United States. It is the only secondary school (high school) in the East Longmeadow School District. It enrolls 833 students. It is known for being on ...

East Longmeadow, Massachusetts East Longmeadow is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States situated in the Pioneer Valley region of Western Massachusetts. It had a population of 16,430 at the 2020 census. East Longmeadow is southeast of downtown Springfield, pa ...

, where he played as a

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 ...

(posting a career record of 21-3), was a member of the National Honor Society, and also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He then enrolled at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

, where he majored in

sport management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

and played shortstop and pitcher for the

Connecticut Huskies baseball The UConn Huskies baseball team represents the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut, in college baseball. The program is classified as NCAA Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference. The team is coached by Jim Pende ...

team. As a freshman, he batted .288 and .300 as a sophomore, and played for the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League during the summer of his 2010 sophomore year. As a junior, Ahmed hit .326.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

The

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

drafted Ahmed in the second round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, 85th overall. He played in minor league baseball for the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

in 2012, and was named fastest baserunner in the league by Baseball America.

Arizona Diamondbacks

After the 2012 season, the Braves traded Ahmed, Martin Prado, Randall Delgado, Zeke Spruill, and

Brandon Drury Brandon Shane Drury (born August 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball utility player for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue ...

to the Diamondbacks for

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 ...

and Chris Johnson. Ahmed was called up to the major leagues for the first time on June 29, 2014. He collected his first Major League hit off of Odrisamer Despaigne. In 25 games, he hit an even .200 in 70 at bats. Ahmed began the 2015 season as the Diamondbacks' starting shortstop. In 134 games, he hit .226 with nine home runs. Ahmed's 2016 season was cut short due to a right hip impingement, causing him to miss the last two months of the season. On June 27, 2017, his right hand was broken by a fastball, leading to a long layoff, and two months later his right wrist was fractured when he was hit by a pitch in a rehab appearance. Ahmed entered the 2018 season fully healthy and went on to finish the season with career bests offensively. In 153 games, Ahmed hit .234 with 16 home runs, 70 RBIs and 33 doubles. He also had his best defensive season, leading National League shortstops with 21 defensive runs saved en route to his first career Gold Glove Award. The following season, Ahmed continued his offensive resurgence from 2018, hitting .254 with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs while also netting his second straight Gold Glove Award. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Ahmed hit .266 with five home runs and 29 RBIs in 57 games.

Personal life

Ahmed is married to Amanda Ahmed. They have two sons. Ahmed is a Christian. Ahmed has a younger brother, Michael, who 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 p ...

for the

Holy Cross Crusaders The Holy Cross Crusaders are the athletic teams representing the College of the Holy Cross. They primarily compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Patriot League. In ice hockey, a sport not sponsored by the Patriot League for either sex, the ...

and was selected in the 20th round (604th overall) of the

2013 Major League Baseball Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. His uncle, Raphael Cerrato, is the head baseball coach at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Nick 1990 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players UConn Huskies baseball players Bourne Braves players Danville Braves players Lynchburg Hillcats players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Mobile BayBears players Salt River Rafters players Reno Aces players Baseball players from Massachusetts People from East Longmeadow, Massachusetts Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball shortstops