Wikipedia

Ozzie Albies

Ozhaino Jurdy Jiandro "Ozzie" Albies (born 7 January 1997) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball second baseman for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Albies signed with the Braves organization in 2013 and made his MLB debut with the team in 2017. During his first full season, Albies was named to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Albies was later named to the 2021 and 2023 All-Star games. He won the National League Silver Slugger Award for second basemen twice, in 2019 and 2021. In 2021 he won the Heart & Hustle Award.

Ozzie Albies
Albies with the Atlanta Braves in 2021
Atlanta Braves – No. 1
Second baseman
Born: (1997-01-07) 7 January 1997 (age 27)
Willemstad, Curaçao
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
MLB debut
1 August, 2017, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.270
Hits941
Home runs141
Runs batted in508
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

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Minor leagues

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Albies started playing baseball at the age of six, and began switch-hitting in 2013.[1][2] Discovered by the Curaçao-based scout Dargello Lodowica,[3] Albies was signed by the Atlanta Braves for $350,000 as an international free agent on 2 July 2013.[4][5] Influencing his decision to sign was the Braves' connection to Andruw Jones and Andrelton Simmons, both, like Albies, natives of Curaçao.[6] He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Gulf Coast Braves and joined the Danville Braves in July.[7] In 57 games, Albies hit .364/.446/.444 with a home run.[8] After the season, he was ranked among the top 100 prospects in baseball by Keith Law,[9][10] and fifth-best in Braves farm system by Baseball America.[11]

Albies began the 2015 season with the Rome Braves.[12] In July, he was named to the All Star Futures Game.[13][14] He was the only Braves prospect to appear in the game that year, as well as the youngest player on the field.[15][16] Albies went 1-2 in the game, which the World Team lost to the U.S. 10–1.[17] He fractured his right thumb during the first week of August and missed the remainder of the season.[18] In 98 games, Albies hit .310/.368/.404, stole 29 bases, and committed 17 errors.[19][20] MLB.com placed him third on the list of top Braves prospects at the end of 2015, and 30th overall throughout the minors.[21]

 
Albies with the Gwinnett Braves in 2016

Albies was invited to spring training in 2016, and opened the season with the Double A Mississippi Braves.[22] After 22 appearances with Mississippi, he hit .369/.442/.512 and was promoted to the Triple A Gwinnett Braves on 30 April.[23] In two months with Gwinnett, Albies hit .248/.307/.351. On 30 June, he returned to Mississippi, playing second base alongside shortstop Dansby Swanson.[24][25] Upon Swanson's promotion to the major leagues, Albies remained in Mississippi, having hit for a .292 batting average and a .778 OPS between the Double A and Triple A levels. Mississippi made the Southern League playoffs, but Albies injured his right elbow in the first postseason game and sat out the remainder of the season.[26]

Atlanta Braves

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2017

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Albies was again invited to spring training at the start of the 2017 season.[27] He was called up later that year on 1 August, and made his major league debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[28] On 3 August 2017, against the Dodgers, Albies hit his first career home run for his first Major League hit.[29]

2018

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Albies was part of the Braves' Opening Day starting lineup to open the 2018 season.[30] On 12 June 2018, Albies hit a grand slam against the New York Mets en route to an 8–2 win.[31] Albies became the youngest player ever to have two grand slams.[32] On 25 June 2018, Albies hit his first career walk-off home run against the Cincinnati Reds.[33] On 8 July 2018, while owning a .281 batting average with 18 home runs and 50 RBIs,[34] Albies was named an All-Star via the player vote in his first full year in the major leagues.[35][36] On 11 July, against the Toronto Blue Jays, he had his first career multi-home run game.[37]

In 2018, he batted .261/.305/.452 with 24 home runs and 72 RBIs.[38] On defense, he committed 10 errors, fourth-most of all NL second basemen.[39]

2019

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On 11 April 2019, Albies signed a seven-year, $35 million extension to remain with the Braves.[40][41] The deal includes options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Both years are worth $7 million with a $4 million buyout.[42]

In 2019, he batted .295/.352/.500 with 102 runs, 24 home runs, 86 RBIs, and 112 strikeouts.[43] Albies and teammates Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman won the 2019 National League Silver Slugger Awards for second base, outfield, and first base, respectively.[44][45] On defense, in 2019 he had the best fielding percentage of all major league second basemen (.994).[46]

2020

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In the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season, he batted .271/.306/.466 with six home runs and 19 RBIs.[47]

2021

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On 3 June 2021, Albies recorded his 500th career hit, an RBI double off of Washington Nationals reliever Sam Clay.[48] Albies was selected as a reserve for the 2021 All-Star Game.[49] When Albies hit his twenty-fifth home run of the season on 4 September, the 2021 Atlanta Braves became the second team in Major League Baseball history to have its starting infielders hit twenty-five home runs each.[50] On 22 September, Albies recorded his thirtieth home run and one hundredth RBI of the season, marking the first time in his career that he reached either milestone. He became the first second baseman in Braves franchise history to have hit thirty home runs and driven in one hundred runs in the same season.[51] While playing the Philadelphia Phillies on 29 September, Albies scored his 100th run of the season.[52]

In the 2021 season, he batted .259/.310/.488 in 629 at bats (2nd in the NL), with 103 runs (4th), 40 doubles (3rd), 7 triples (3rd), 30 home runs, 106 RBIs (3rd), and 128 strikeouts.[39] He swung at a higher percentage of pitches in the strike zone than any other major leaguer, at 83.4%.[53] On defense, he led all second basemen with 389 assists and committed 8 errors, fourth-most of all NL second basemen.[39] The Braves finished with an 88–73 record, clinching the NL East, and eventually won the 2021 World Series, giving the Braves their first title since 1995.[54] Following the 2021 season, Albies won a second Silver Slugger Award,[55] as well as the Heart and Hustle Award.[56]

2022

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On 11 June 2022, Albies hit a grand slam off of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Stratton.[57] Albies fractured his left foot in a game against the Washington Nationals on 13 June 2022.[58][59] He was subsequently placed on the 60-day injured list and underwent a surgical procedure, performed by Robert Anderson.[60] Albies returned to the active roster on 16 September.[61][62] The next day, Albies fractured his right pinky while sliding into second base.[63][64]

2023

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At the midseason of the 2023 season, Albies was once again nominated as a reserve infielder for the National League in the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[65] Albies played in every game up until 14 August, and was placed on the 10-day injured list for the first time all season the next day.[66][67] He returned to the 25-man roster on 28 August.[68][69]

2024

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Albies was hit by a pitch from Spencer Arrighetti on April 15, fractured his toe, and subsequently placed on the 10-day injured list.[70] On July 21, Albies fractured his left wrist in a collision with St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Michael Siani, and was expected to miss eight weeks of the season.[71][72] Ablies returned to action on September 20, batting exclusively right-handed.[73]

Personal life

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Albies was born in Willemstad, Curaçao, to parents Osgarry and Judari.[3][74][75] His father died in 2013 of a heart attack at the age of 40.[74] Albies has a younger brother, Zhhihir, and sister, Jeanalyn.[76][77] Albies is married to Andreia.[78]

References

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  1. ^ O'Hara, Jim (15 May 2015). "Feature on Ozzie Albies". MILB.com. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  2. ^ Jackson, Josh (17 February 2016). "Prospect Q&A: Albies set to build on success". MILB.com. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b Waldstein, David (13 March 2016). "Braves Again Look to Curaçao and Find Another Top Prospect". New York Times. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  4. ^ Walton, Carroll Rogers (19 June 2015). "Albies gives Braves another top prospect from Curacao". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  5. ^ McDaniel, Kiley (29 January 2015). "Evaluating the Prospects: Atlanta Braves". Fangraphs. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  6. ^ Dillard, Zach (17 December 2015). "Touted Braves prospect Ozhaino Albies open to position change". Fox Sports. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  7. ^ Johnson, Matthew (21 July 2014). "Danville Takes Second Game After Dropping First To Astros". MILB.com. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  8. ^ O'Brien, David (19 January 2015). "Atlanta Braves prospects list shuffled by multiple trades". Albany Herald. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  9. ^ O'Brien, David (29 January 2015). "Peraza leads 6 Braves prospects in ESPN's Top 100". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. ^ Law, Keith (29 January 2015). "Top 100 prospects (Nos. 1-50)". ESPN.com. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  11. ^ O'Brien, David (25 June 2015). "Braves have another potential standout shortstop from Curacao". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
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  30. ^ Bowman, Mark (29 March 2018). "Stewart makes cut as Braves set 25-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
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  37. ^ "Albies hits 2 HRs, drives in 4, as Braves top Blue Jays 9-5". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
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  45. ^ Langs, Sarah (7 November 2019). "Trio of Braves win first career Silver Sluggers". MLB.com. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
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  48. ^ Bright, Sterling (3 June 2021). "Keep it 500: Dansby swats HR for milestone". MLB.com. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
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  50. ^ Randhawa, Manny (4 September 2021). "Braves infield makes history on Albies' HR". MLB.com. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
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  63. ^ "Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies fractures right pinky finger day after coming off IL". ESPN.com. 17 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
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  67. ^ "Braves recall INF Vaughn Grissom as Ozzie Albies hits IL". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  68. ^ "Braves reinstate All-Star 2B Ozzie Albies from injured list". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  69. ^ "Fans who made contact with Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. charged with trespassing, disturbing peace". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  70. ^ Bowman, Mark (16 April 2024). "Albies heads to IL with fractured toe after HBP". MLB.com. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  71. ^ "Atlanta Braves 2B Ozzie Albies suffers left wrist fracture". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 21 July 2024. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  72. ^ Farlow, Rick (21 July 2024). "Injuries stacking up for Braves as Albies, Fried land on IL". MLB.com.
  73. ^ Bowman, Mark (20 September 2024). "'If anyone can pull this off ...": Albies to hit only righty in return". MLB.com. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  74. ^ a b McQuade, Alec (17 February 2017). "Tragedy and competition fuel Ozzie Albies' pursuit to the majors". WXIA-TV. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  75. ^ Bowman, Mark (12 July 2018). "Albies' biggest fan there to see 19th, 20th HRs". MLB.com. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
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  77. ^ O'Brien, David (27 March 2018). "Braves' Albies: Small in stature, large in impact". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  78. ^ Monagan, Matt (15 August 2023). "The Braves star who lives in an aquarium". MLB.com. Retrieved 17 August 2023. Albies, his wife, Andreia, and his mother-in-law all help with the feeding and maintaining of the tanks.
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