Xavier Nady

Xavier Clifford Nady VI[1] (/ɛkˈseɪviər ˈneɪdi/; born November 14, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. Nady played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, and the San Diego Padres.

Xavier Nady
Nady with the Washington Nationals
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1978-11-14) November 14, 1978
Salinas, California
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 30, 2000, for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
May 4, 2014, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average.268
Home runs104
Runs batted in410
Teams
Career highlights and awards

The St. Louis Cardinals originally drafted Nady in the 4th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft (134th overall) after he was named Northern California Player of the Year in his senior year of high school (but he did not sign professionally at that time). Nady attended University of California, Berkeley, where he set the all-time Pac-10 Conference record for career slugging percentage (.729) for the California Golden Bears baseball team.

Professional career

San Diego Padres

Nady was drafted in the second round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres (49th overall). Nady signed a major league contract and became the 18th player to go directly to the major leagues without making his professional debut in the minor leagues since 1965.

Nady only appeared in one major league game before being sent to the minor leagues. He was named Padres Minor League Player of the Year in 2001, also collecting the California League's Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards that season. Nady underwent Tommy John surgery and had limited playing time in 2002. In 2003 he again returned to the major league level for part of the season, but spent most of his time in the minor leagues.

In late June 2005 Nady became the first Padre since Greg Vaughn (in 1998) to homer in four consecutive games.

New York Mets

The Padres traded him to the New York Mets for Mike Cameron on November 18, 2005. Nady underwent an emergency appendectomy early in the morning on May 30, 2006. As a result, he was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and returned to the lineup on June 18.

Nady with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 30, 2006, Mets set-up relief pitcher Duaner Sánchez was injured when the cab in which he was a passenger was broadsided. The Mets' pitching corps was already depleted with star pitcher Pedro Martínez on the disabled list. Desperate for pitching, the Mets were forced to give up Nady, their starting right fielder, to the Pirates in exchange for pitchers Óliver Pérez and Roberto Hernández.

New York Yankees
Nady with the Yankees in 2008

On July 26, 2008, the New York Yankees acquired Nady and pitcher Dámaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates for José Tábata, Ross Ohlendorf, Daniel McCutchen, and Jeff Karstens.[2]

Nady had a career-high six (6) RBIs as the Yankees came back to beat the Los Angeles Angels on August 3, 2008. He finished the 2008 season setting career-highs in home runs (25) and runs batted in (97), and had a .305 batting average.

Xavier Nady signed a one-year contract worth $6.65 million with the Yankees, thus avoiding arbitration. On April 14, 2009, Nady suffered a right-elbow injury which ultimately required a second Tommy John surgery on July 8, despite an initial attempt to rehab the injury. The surgery ended his 2009 season.[3] As a result, Nick Swisher took over in Nady's position for the remainder of the 2009 season. Nady spent the season (including the postseason) on the disabled list until the Yankees won the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He filed for free agency following the conclusion of the 2009 season.

While Nady played only seven games for the Yankees in 2009, he did receive a World Series ring following the team's Series victory that season.[4]

Chicago Cubs
Nady playing first base for the Chicago Cubs in 2010

On January 29, 2010, Nady signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs.[5] On May 16, 2010, Nady hit a game-winning RBI single in the 8th inning against the Pirates, as the Cubs won 4–3. Nady finished the season with a .256 batting average, 17 home runs and 85 runs batted in.[6] He became a free agent after the end of the season.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Nady signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 15, 2010.[7] He became a free agent after the end of the season.

Washington Nationals

Nady signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on March 18, 2012.[8] He was called up by the Nationals on April 4. Following a trip to the Disabled List midway through the season, Nady was designated for assignment on July 21, 2012 [9] and released on July 29, 2012.[10] Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, a rookie during the 2012 season, later named Nady among the veteran teammates from whom he learned early on in his playing career.[11]

San Francisco Giants

Nady was signed to a minor league contract by the San Francisco Giants on August 4, 2012, and assigned to their Triple-A affiliate in Fresno, California. He made his debut for the San Francisco Giants on September 1, 2012, and hit a three-run double against the Cubs in his first at-bat.[12][13] On September 30, Nady hit a game-tying ninth-inning home run against the San Diego Padres in a game that the Giants went on to win in extra innings.[14] He was on the active roster during the 2012 World Series[15] in which the team swept the Detroit Tigers in four games.[16]

Kansas City Royals

On December 14, 2012, Nady signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.[17] During Spring training, Nady struggled first with plantar fasciitis and then sustained a partial tear in his right heel. The Royals released him on March 25, 2013, and then re-signed him to a Minor League contract later the same week. He played with their Triple-A team in Omaha.[18] He was released on June 29.[19]

Colorado Rockies

Nady signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies on June 30, 2013.[20]

Second stint with Padres

Nady signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres in January 2014.[21] He was designated for assignment on May 5, 2014.[22] On May 11, Nady refused his outright assignment and elected free agency.

Seattle Mariners

On May 27, 2014, Nady signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners.[23] He exercised an opt-out clause in his contract on June 26, becoming a free agent.[24]

Coaching career

On June 20, 2015, Nady began his tenure as the hitting coach for the Lake Elsinore Storm, the Single A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.[25]

Personal life

Nady's wife, Meredith, had their first child, Xavier Henry Nady VII, on July 15, 2008.[26] His second son, Brayden Chase Nady, was born on September 8, 2011. His uncle is boxing referee Jay Nady.

After an intestinal illness prior to spring training in 2007, Nady was tested for Crohn's disease due to family history of the disease.[27] The tests turned out negative and Nady was instead diagnosed with a minor infection of the small intestines.[28]

See also

References
  1. Ben Shpigel (March 21, 2006). "Xavier Is a Household Name. At Least It Is in the Nady Household". New York Times.
  2. "Yanks acquire Nady, Marte from Bucs for 4 minor league prospects". SI.com. July 26, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
  3. "New York Yankees OF Xavier Nady to have Tommy John surgery – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. July 1, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  4. Daily, Bronx Baseball. "Brian Cashman Gives Xavier Nady World Series Ring Before Game in Flushing". Bleacher Report.
  5. "Nady, Cubs complete one-year deal". Chicago.cubs.mlb.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  6. "Xavier Nady Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  7. "D-backs agree to terms with Nady". Mlb.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  8. Sheinin, Dave (March 18, 2012). "Nationals sign Xavier Nady to minor-league deal". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  9. Washington Nationals98-64, NL East (1st) (October 19, 2012). "Washington Nationals Transactions | MLB Baseball at". Cbssports.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  10. Sports Network (July 29, 2012). "Nationals Release Xavier Nady". FoxNews.com.
  11. Zuckerman, Mark (February 19, 2018). "Harper tries to keep focus on winning in 2018, not free agency". MASN Sports. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  12. Austin Chang (October 4, 2012). "San Francisco Giants Sign Xavier Nady to Minor League Contract: Fan's Reaction". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012.
  13. Andrew Baggarly (August 4, 2012). "Giants, Nady agree to minor league contract". CSNBayArea.com.
  14. "Giants win after Nady"s HR ties it". September 30, 2012.
  15. Sutton, Joseph (April 15, 2015). San Francisco Giants: A Fan's Journal 2010, 2012, 2014. Joseph Sutton. ISBN 9780982559888 – via Google Books.
  16. Busfield, Steve (October 29, 2012). "San Francisco Giants win World Series by sweeping the Detroit Tigers" – via www.theguardian.com.
  17. "Royals sign Xavier Nady to minor league contract". December 14, 2012.
  18. Kaegel, Dick (March 28, 2013), "Nady provides versatility, right-handed power bat", MLB.com, retrieved April 5, 2013
  19. "Royals Release Xavier Nady". MLB Trade Rumors.
  20. Silva, Drew (June 30, 2013). "Rockies sign Xavier Nady to minor league contract". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  21. Sanders, Jeff (January 7, 2014). "Padres bring back Nady on minors deal". U-T San Diego. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  22. "Padres recall Kyle Blanks". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 5, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  23. "Seattle signs Xavier Nady to minor league deal". SI.com. Associated Press. May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  24. Adams, Steve (June 26, 2014). "Xavier Nady Opts Out Of Deal With Mariners". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  25. http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20150620&content_id=131862738&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_t103&sid=t103
  26. "Nady rejoins team after birth of child | pirates.com: News". Newyork.yankees.mlb.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  27. "ESPN – With family history, Nady to take Crohn's disease test – MLB". Sports.espn.go.com. February 24, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  28. "Xavier Nady: Does Not Have Crohn's Disease". Rotowire.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
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