Jeremy Dean Giambi (; September 30, 1974 – February 9, 2022) was an American

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

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 ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He played for four teams from 1998 to 2003, primarily the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, where he was a teammate of his older brother Jason Giambi during the club's division championship-winning season in 2000. He enjoyed his best season in 2001, batting .283 with 12

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 57

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(RBI), then hitting .308 in the Division Series loss to the

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

. Following his brother's departure to the Yankees as a free agent in the ensuing offseason, Jeremy saw declining playing time with three teams over the next two seasons before finishing his career in the minor leagues.

Early life

Jeremy Giambi was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. Like his older brother

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Med ...

, Giambi attended South Hills High School in

West Covina, California West Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located east of downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is part of Greater Los Angeles Area, Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 109,501 ...

. He attended California State University, Fullerton and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Cal State Fullerton Titans, with whom he won the 1995 College World Series. In 1994, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Bourne Braves of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

The

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

selected Giambi in the sixth round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. Giambi made his major league debut as a September call-up for the Royals in 1998. The Athletics acquired Giambi from the Royals in exchange for Brett Laxton before the 2000 season. Jason and Jeremy played together during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. During Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series, Giambi was tagged out at home plate on the "flip play" by

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

. In 42 games for the Athletics in 2002, Giambi batted .274 with eight home runs and 17 RBIs before the Athletics traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for John Mabry on May 22. Giambi finished the 2002 season with 20 home runs between the Athletics and Phillies. After the 2002 season, the Phillies traded Giambi to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

for Josh Hancock. He last played in the majors in 2003 for the Red Sox. After being released by the Red Sox, Giambi signed minor league deals with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in 2004 and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in 2005. In his MLB career, Giambi batted .263 with 52 home runs and 209 RBIs.

Steroids

On March 13, 2005, ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' reported that Giambi had admitted to having used

anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to the androgen receptor (AR). Anabolism, Anaboli ...

s. His brother Jason has also admitted to using steroids according to

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

testimony that was leaked to the press. On December 13, 2007, Giambi was named in the Mitchell Report on steroid usage in baseball as being among the athletes to whom BALCO founder Victor Conte claimed to have sold anabolic steroids; the report said BALCO VP Jim Valente had indicated that urine samples submitted to BALCO by both Jeremy and Jason had tested positive for the steroid drugs.

Personal life and death

Giambi was mentioned in Michael Lewis's book '' Moneyball'', and he became a character in the film that starred Brad Pitt, with Giambi portrayed by Nick Porrazzo. Giambi was found dead at his parents' home in

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

, on the morning of February 9, 2022, according to a spokesperson for the Claremont Police Department. He was 47. The following day, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner announced that Giambi's death had been ruled a suicide via a gunshot wound to his chest. In June 2022, reports said that in August 2021, Giambi had been "struck in the head by a baseball and fractured his zygomatic bone" when serving as a pitching coach. His mother also said he felt different after the injury.

References

External links