Louis Linwood Voit III (born February 13, 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 t ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who is a free agent. He has previously played in 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 ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. Voit 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 Missouri State Bears and made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Cardinals. He played for them in 2018 before being traded to the Yankees during the season. By 2019, he became the Yankees' starting first baseman and in 2020, he led MLB in

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. In August 2022, Voit was traded with several prospects to the Washington Nationals for Juan Soto and Josh Bell.

Amateur career

Voit attended Lafayette High School in

Wildwood, Missouri Wildwood is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is located in the far western portion of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,417. Wildwood is the home of the Al Foster Trail, and numerous other trails, p ...

. He played for Lafayette's

team as a

and

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 ...

in his first three years, and as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

in his senior year. He also played on their football team as a fullback and

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. Voit received interest from

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

teams as a football player, but shoulder injuries ended his football career. The Kansas City Royals selected Voit in the 32nd round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, but he did not sign. Voit attended Missouri State University, where he played

for the Missouri State Bears for four years. In 2011, Voit played collegiate summer baseball with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star. In 2012, his junior season, he batted .298 with six

s and 46

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 ...

(RBIs) in 62 games. However, he tore the labrum in his right shoulder and went unselected in 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 ...

. As a senior in 2013, he played in 54 games, hitting .299 with two home runs and 30 RBIs. After his senior year, the

selected Voit in the 22nd round 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 ...

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Voit started his professional career as a catcher with the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. T ...

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. He spent all of 2013 there,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.242 with two

s and 16

(RBIs) in 46 games played. He moved to first base in 2014 and played that season with the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Rog ...

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, where he batted .276 with nine home runs and 51 RBIs in 93 games. He returned to Palm Beach in 2015, compiling a .273 batting average with 11 home runs and 77 RBIs in 130 games. Voit spent 2016 with the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

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 ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, where he slashed .297/.372/.477 with 19 home runs and 74 RBIs in 134 games. Voit started 2017 with the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

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). ...

Pacific Coast League.

2017

On June 25, 2017, the Cardinals promoted Voit to the major leagues. In 70 games for Memphis prior to his promotion, he was batting .322 with 12 home runs and 48 RBIs. Luke Voitpoint

He debuted against the Pittsburgh Pirates on the same night of his call-up and reached base after being hit by a pitch. Voit started the next day against the Cincinnati Reds and doubled off of Austin Brice for his first major league hit in an 8–2 win. On July 3, he hit his first major league

. In 114 at-bats for St. Louis in 2017, Voit batted .246 with four home runs, 18 RBIs, and a .736 OPS (

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

New York Yankees

2018

On July 27, 2018, the Cardinals traded Voit, along with bonus pool money, to the

for Chasen Shreve and

Giovanny Gallegos Giovanny Gallegos (born August 14, 1991) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017 with the New York Yankees and also pitched for them in 2018 before being ...

. The Yankees assigned Voit to 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 ...

of the Class AAA International League and promoted him to the major leagues on August 2. After he batted 3-for-16 (.188) in five games, the Yankees sent Voit back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on August 13. In his next seven games with the RailRiders, Voit batted 8-for-22 (.364). After

Didi Gregorius Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Dutch professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Philadel ...

was placed on the 10-day disabled list on August 21, Voit was called back up. Voit took over the Yankees starting first baseman job from Greg Bird. He hit his tenth home run for the Yankees on September 20, becoming the twelfth player on the Yankees to hit 10 home runs during 2018. When Voit reached the 10-homer mark, the Yankees set a new major league team record for most players on one team with 10 or more home runs in a season. Voit was named

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

's (AL) Player of the Week on October 1 after hitting .458 with three home runs and eight runs batted in during the previous week. In 2018, Voit batted .333 with 14 home runs, 33 RBIs and a 1.095 OPS (on base plus slugging) in 39 games for the Yankees. Voit started at first base for the Yankees in the 2018 AL Wild Card Game. In the sixth inning, he hit a two-run triple off of

Blake Treinen Blake M. Treinen (, born June 30, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baker Wildcats and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits baseball te ...

(the first triple of his career) to help the Yankees win, 7-2.

2019

On April 29, 2019, Voit was named the AL Player of the Week, after hitting .433 with 13 hits, four home runs and 10 RBIs for the previous week. He went on the injured list with an abdominal injury on June 29 and was activated on August 29. In 2019, Voit batted .263/.378/.464. He made contact with the lowest percentage of pitches he swung at outside the strike zone (44.2%) of all major leaguers. After the season, Voit underwent bilateral core muscle surgery. Luke Voit (51262845219) (cropped)

After the signing of

Gerrit Cole Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros. Cole played for the baseball team ...

, Voit announced on Twitter he would change his number from No. 45 to No 59, in honor of his brother, so that Cole could wear No. 45.

2020

Voit was the starting first baseman for the Yankees on Opening Day 2020. He hit his first career major league grand slam on July 30, 2020 in the Yankees' 8-6 win over Baltimore. On September 17, Voit hit his 20th home run of the season in the Yankees' 50th game, making him just the third player in franchise history to reach 20 home runs in the team's first 50 games after

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

and

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

. Voit's home run also came in the same inning that the Yankees hit five home runs, setting a new franchise record and tying a major league record. Voit ended the season with 22 home runs, leading the major leagues. He and Yankees teammate

DJ LeMahieu David John LeMahieu (; born July 13, 1988) is an American professional baseball infielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies. The Cubs selected LeMahieu in the ...

, who led MLB with a .364 average, became the first pair of teammates to lead MLB in home runs and batting average since 1959.

2021

On March 27, 2021, it was announced that Voit had torn his meniscus in one of his knees and required surgery. He began the 2021 season on the 10-day injured list. After a rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre, Voit was activated on May 11, 2021. On June 23, Voit hit his first career walk-off hit, an RBI single that scored Tyler Wade to beat the Kansas City Royals 6–5. On July 6, Voit had his first career five-hit game, going 5-for-6 with four singles, a double, three RBIs and scoring a run during a 12–1 win against 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 ...

. Voit continued to be limited by injuries, leading the Yankees to acquire first baseman

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He is a three-time ...

at the 2021 trade deadline. Voit appeared in 68 games during the 2021 season, hitting 11 home runs in 213 at bats.

San Diego Padres

Days after the Yankees re-signed Rizzo, the Yankees traded Voit to the

for Justin Lange on March 18, 2022. On April 19, 2022, after he collided with

Tommy Pham Thomas James Pham (born March 8, 1988) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston R ...

's teammate

Tyler Stephenson Tyler Robert Stephenson (born August 16, 1996) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Reds selected him in the first round, 11th overall, of the 2015 MLB Draft. Born in Atlanta an ...

at home plate while unsuccessfully trying to score, Pham offered to fight Voit.

Washington Nationals

On August 2, 2022, Voit, along with C. J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell, James Wood, and Jarlin Susana were traded to the

in exchange for Juan Soto and Josh Bell.

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox ...

would have gone to the Nationals, however, they were on his no-trade clause, so instead they brought Voit to Washington. In 2022, Voit batted .226/.308/.402 with 179 strikeouts in 500 at bats, had the highest swinging strike percentage in the majors at 18.7%, had the lowest contact percentage with pitches thrown to him of all major leaguers at 64.0%, and when swinging at pitches outside the strike zone he made contact 46.1% of the time, the lowest percentage in the major leagues. On November 18, Voit was non tendered and became a free agent.

Personal life

Voit became engaged to Victoria Rigman in October 2017, and they married in 2018. The couple welcomed a daughter on May 28, 2021. His younger brother, John, played defensive tackle for the

Army Black Knights football The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Black Knights play home ...

team.

References

External links

Missouri State Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voit, Luke 1991 births Baseball players from Missouri Harwich Mariners players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Living people Major League Baseball first basemen American League home run champions Memphis Redbirds players Missouri State Bears baseball players New York Yankees players Palm Beach Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Sportspeople from St. Louis County, Missouri Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players State College Spikes players Tiburones de Aguadilla players Washington Nationals players