Xavier Nady

Xavier Nady
Nady on August 24, 2008
Free Agent
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: November 14, 1978 (1978-11-14) Salinas, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 30, 2000 for the San Diego Padres
Career statistics (through 2011 Season)
Batting average	.275
Home runs	97
Runs batted in	393
On-base plus slugging	.766
Hits	764
Teams
San Diego Padres (2000, 2003-2005) New York Mets (2006) Pittsburgh Pirates (2006–2008) New York Yankees (2008–2009) Chicago Cubs (2010) Arizona Diamondbacks (2011)
Career highlights and awards
NL Rookie of the Month Award (May 2003)

Xavier Clifford Nady VI ( /ɛkˈseɪvi.ər ˈneɪdi/; born November 14, 1978) is a Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is a free agent.

Amateur career

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

Nady playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 24, 2007.

Nady with the Cubs

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; he was placed on the 15-day disabled list, and returned to the lineup on June 18.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 30, 2006, Mets set-up relief pitcher Duaner Sanchez was injured when the cab in which he was a passenger was broadsided. The Mets' pitching corps was already depleted with star pitcher Pedro Martinez 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 Hernandez.

New York Yankees

On July 26, 2008, the New York Yankees acquired Nady and pitcher Dámaso Marté from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jose Tabata, Ross Ohlendorf, Daniel McCutchen, and Jeff Karstens.

Nady had a career-high 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 a .305 batting average.

Nady signed a one-year deal worth $6.65 million with the Yankees 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 season. As a result of this, Nick Swisher took over in Nady's position for the remainder of the 2009 season, and Nady was not eligible to be listed on the Yankees' roster when they won the 2009 World Series. Following the conclusion of the 2009 season, Nady filed for free agency.

Chicago Cubs

On January 29, 2010, Nady signed a 1 year contract with the Chicago Cubs. On May 16, 2010, Nady hit a game-winning RBI single in the 8th inning against the Pirates, as the Cubs won 4–3.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Nady agreed to sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 15, 2010.

Personal life

Nady's wife Meredith had their first child, Xavier Henry Nady VII, on July 15, 2008.

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

See also

• List of baseball players who went directly to the major leagues

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)