Steven Michael Duggar (born November 4, 1993), nicknamed Duggy, is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

. He played in

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) for the

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

, Texas Rangers, and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. Duggar 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, ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, and was drafted in the sixth round of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

by the Giants, for whom he made his MLB debut with in 2018.

Early life

Duggar was born in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

, and raised in

Moore, South Carolina Moore is an unincorporated community in Spartanburg County in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Geography Moore is located in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Moore is located south of Spartanburg on U.S. Route 221 and is one mile west o ...

. His mother was a swimmer at the

University of Evansville The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Carnegie Hall of Moores Hill College, Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton Manor, Harlaxton College ...

. When he was 10 years old, his father died.

Amateur career

Duggar attended James F. Byrnes High School in

Duncan, South Carolina Duncan is a town in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. Its population was 3,181 at the 2010 census. History In 1811, a post office was established on what is now S.C. Highway 290. A tiny settlement sprung up around it, and both ...

; he first began playing for the varsity when he was a seventh grader. He was all-region as a sophomore, junior, and senior, and all-state as a junior and senior. He then played

, playing

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

primarily. In 2013, Duggar 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

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League ...

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 he returned to the league in 2014 to play for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

and was named a league all-star. In 2014 with Clemson, he batted 294/.368/.378, was 2nd in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

with 25

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s (while being caught only three times), and tied for 7th with 3 triples. In 2015 he batted .304/.432/.432, and led the ACC in sacrifice flies (8), was 3rd in walks (54), and was 7th in runs (56).

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

2015-17

After his junior year at Clemson, the

selected Duggar in the sixth round of the

2015 Major League Baseball Draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

, and he signed for a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $248,800. Duggar made his professional debut with the

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their ...

. He spent the whole 2015 season there, batting .293/.390(9th in the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

)/.367 with one home run and 27 RBIs, and was 7th in the league with 35 walks, in 229 at bats over 58 games. He started 2016 with the

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants g ...

, and after batting .284/.386/.462 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs in 264 at bats was promoted to the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

in June, where Duggar played exclusively

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the cen ...

and finished the season, batting .321(8th in the Eastern League)/.391(10th)/.432 with one home run, 24 RBIs, and an .823 OPS in 243 at bats. He had 13 assists from the outfield in 124 games, between the two teams. He was named to the MiLB Giants organization All Star team. Duggar's 2017 season was limited due to injuries; a right

flexor In anatomy, flexor is a muscle that contracts to perform flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend), a movement that decreases the angle between the bones converging at a joint. For example, one's elbow joint flexes when one brin ...

strain in his elbow and a left hamstring strain. He played only 44 total games between the

AZL Giants The Arizona Complex League Giants are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Francisco Giants in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Sco ...

, San Jose, and the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, batting a combined .262/.365/.445 with six home runs and 26 RBIs and 10 stolen bases (in 12 attempts) in 164 at bats between the three teams. He was named to the 2017

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

All-Prospect Team, playing with the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco G ...

2018-19

Duggar was called up to the majors for the first time on July 8, 2018, and made his major league debut batting leadoff. In 141 at bats for the Giants he batted .255/.303/.390 with two home runs and 17 RBI while playing center field. In Triple–A with Sacramento, he played center field and batted .272/.354/.421 in 316 at bats. His season ended in late August when he tore the labrum in his left shoulder. In 2019 for the Giants, in 261 at bats Duggar hit .234/.278/.341 with 24 runs, four home runs, and 28 RBI in 261 at bats, splitting time on defense between center field and right field. In Triple–A with Sacramento, he played center field and batted .337/.461/.542 with 24 runs, three home runs, and 13 RBI in 83 at bats. His season ended in early August with a sprained left shoulder.

2020–22

In 2020, Duggar played in only 21 games. He had 34 at bats, hitting .176 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, and one steal in one attempt. On May 20, 2021, Duggar hit his first career

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

, off of Michael Feliz of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. In the 2021 regular season with the Giants, Duggar batted .257/.330/.437 with 5 triples (6th in the National League), 8 home runs, and 35 RBI in 268 at bats, and stole seven bases in seven attempts. He primarily played center field, with stints in left field and right field. For Triple–A Sacramento, he batted .279/.371/.393 with 13 runs, one home run, 9 RBI, and 8 steals in 8 attempts, in 61 at bats. Duggar opened the 2022 season as the primary center fielder for the Giants. He injured his side while swinging on April 21, and left the game in the middle of his at bat. He was placed on the 60-day injured list the next day with an oblique strain. Duggar was hitting .194/.231/.278 with four steals in four attempts in 36 at bats in 12 games at the time of his injury. He began a rehab assignment with the Triple-A

on June 2, and had reached the 20-day maximum of his rehab assignment at the time of his trade away from the organization. With Sacramento, he batted .204/.264/.286 with two steals in two attempts in 49 at bats.

Texas Rangers

On June 23, 2022, the Giants traded Duggar to the Texas Rangers for outfielder

Willie Calhoun Willie Shawn Lamont Calhoun (born November 4, 1994) is an American professional baseball left fielder and designated hitter for the Tigres de Quintana Roo of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tex ...

and cash considerations. Duggar was immediately activated off of the 60-day IL to the 26-man roster following the trade. In a 16-game stint on the active roster, Duggar made just four starts, and went 3–for–17 (.176) with 12 strikeouts. He was optioned to the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

on July 14. On August 4, Duggar was designated for assignment.

Los Angeles Angels

On August 7, 2022, Duggar was claimed off waivers by the

. In nine games for the Angels, he went 1–for–19 (.035). On September 1, Duggar was designated for assignment following the promotion of Ryan Aguilar. He elected free agency after clearing waivers on September 4.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 17, 2022, Duggar signed a minor league contract 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 ...

. He played in 69 games for the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

during the 2023 campaign, batting .242 with nine homers and 38 RBI. Dugger elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023. Duggar retired from professional baseball following the 2023 season and began coaching youth players in his hometown.

References

External links

Clemson Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duggar, Steven 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Spartanburg, South Carolina Major League Baseball outfielders San Francisco Giants players Texas Rangers players Los Angeles Angels players Clemson Tigers baseball players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players San Jose Giants players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Arizona League Giants players Sacramento River Cats players Round Rock Express players Scottsdale Scorpions players Cotuit Kettleers players Falmouth Commodores players Salt Lake Bees players Oklahoma City Dodgers players