Preston Michael Claiborne (born January 21, 1988) 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 ...

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

and Texas Rangers. He attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

, 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 p ...

for the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave intercol ...

Career

Amateur

Claiborne attended

Newman Smith High School Newman Smith High School is a public high school in Carrollton, Texas, United States in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District. The school opened in 1975, and is named after the former CFBISD superintendent Newman Smith. Smith H ...

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the 23rd-most populous city in Texas. History The area was first settled by Jared Ford i ...

, where he played for the school's baseball team. Selected in the 23rd round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Claiborne did not sign, opting to attend

to play for the

Tulane Green Wave baseball The Tulane Green Wave baseball team represents Tulane University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Green Wave baseball team competes in the American Athletic Conference and play their home games on campus at Greer Field at Turchin Stadi ...

team. At Tulane, he was used as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

, appearing in a total of 84 games from 2007 through 2010. In 2007 and 2008, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

New York Yankees

The

selected Claiborne in the 17th round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pi ...

. He signed and reported to the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. He was promoted to the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

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 that year, in time to pitch for Tampa in the league's playoffs. He returned to Tampa in 2011. Claiborne started the 2012 season with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

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 ...

Eastern League, and made 20 appearances for the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

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 that year. Claiborne began the 2013 season with the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

, and was called up to the majors for the first time on May 3, 2013, when the Yankees placed

Joba Chamberlain Justin Louis "Joba" Chamberlain (''né'' Heath; ; born September 23, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland ...

on the disabled list. He made his major league debut on May 5, 2013, against the Oakland Athletics. During his debut, he pitched two scoreless innings without allowing a baserunner. Claiborne was optioned down to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on August 16, 2013. He was then recalled to be the 26th player for a doubleheader against 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 ...

on August 20 but was optioned back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right after the second game. However, he was brought back up on August 22 when infielder

Jayson Nix Jayson Truitt Edward Nix (born August 26, 1982) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Ya ...

was placed on the disabled list. Claiborne was optioned back to Triple-A on August 26 when the Yankees activated Derek Jeter from the disabled list. He was then brought back up to the Yankees on September 2 after the rosters expanded on September 1, 2013. The Yankees designated Claiborne for assignment on December 19, 2014.

Miami Marlins

Claiborne was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins on December 23, 2014. He missed the entire 2015 season with a shoulder injury. On March 17, 2016, Claiborne was released by the Marlins.

San Francisco Giants

On May 16, 2016, Claiborne signed a minor league deal with 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 Y ...

Texas Rangers

On February 24, 2017, Claiborne signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He was promoted to the major league roster on June 22. He was designated for assignment on July 2, 2017.

Cleveland Indians

On January 26, 2018, he signed a minor league deal with 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 Fi ...

. He became a free agent after the season.

Personal

The first time Claiborne attended a baseball game, which featured the visiting Yankees playing the Texas Rangers, his father encouraged him to play with the "class and respect" of a Yankee. His father died of a stroke during Claiborne's sophomore year at Tulane. He contributes to a website, TheCupCheck.com, which is run by minor league baseball players to give other minor leaguers tips on how to handle life in professional baseball. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' called Claiborne "one of the site's most prolific contributors."

References

External links

Tulane Green Wave bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claiborne, Preston 1988 births Living people Baseball players from Dallas Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Texas Rangers players Tulane Green Wave baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Indios de Mayagüez players Trenton Thunder players Gulf Coast Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Round Rock Express players Columbus Clippers players Arizona League Indians players Akron RubberDucks players