Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Dutch

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

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

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Gregorius was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

to Johannes Gregorius Sr., a Dutch professional baseball player. His family moved to

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

when Gregorius was five years old, at which point he began playing

tee-ball Tee-ball (also teeball, tee ball or T-ball) is a team sport based on a simplified form of baseball or softball. It is intended as an introduction for children aged 4 to 6 to develop ball-game skills and have fun. Description Tee-ball association ...

and youth baseball. MLB scouts began taking notice of Gregorius when he was a teenager, and he chose to sign with the Reds in 2007 after they offered to bring him to the United States. Gregorius' rise through the Reds'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

was hindered in 2011, when a chronic

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blo ...

malfunction caused him to miss two months of the season, but he made his major league debut in September 2012. After the 2012 season, with Gregorius' path to the majors blocked by starting

Zack Cozart, Cincinnati traded him to Arizona, where he split his playing time with Chris Owings and Cliff Pennington. The Yankees, who were searching for a shortstop to replace the recently-retired

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

, acquired Gregorius in December 2014, and he spent the next five seasons with the team. Gregorius improved his batting with the Yankees: in addition to breaking Jeter's single-season

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

record in 2017, he put up 20 or more home runs in three consecutive seasons. Despite missing several weeks of the 2019 season while recovering from

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

, Gregorius continued to hit for power upon his return, with a postseason grand slam securing the Yankees' place in the

2019 American League Championship Series The 2019 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series between the two winners of the 2019 American League Division Series, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees, for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in t ...

. The Yankees chose not to extend his contract at the end of the season, and the Phillies signed Gregorius as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

that winter. Gregorius' first two seasons with the Phillies were hindered by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, associated visa issues, and a battle with pseudogout, and he batted a career low .209 in 2021. In addition to playing in MLB, Gregorius has represented the

Dutch national baseball team The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the WBSC Europe, and the team is also ...

at the

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup was an international tournament where national baseball teams from around the world competed. It was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). Along with the World Baseball Classic, it was one of two acti ...

and the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

. At the

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

, he and his teammates received honorary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

after defeating

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

in the gold medal match.

Family and early life

Gregorius was born in

on February 18, 1990. His father, Johannes Gregorius Sr., worked as a

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

and pitched for the

Amsterdam Pirates Amsterdam Pirates is a Dutch baseball and softball organization based in Amsterdam. It was founded as an expansion of the football club SV Rap on 17 February 1959 by Loek Loevendie. In the first years it was known as the RAP Pirates, but after ...

of the

Honkbal Hoofdklasse The Honkbal Hoofdklasse ( Dutch for ''Major League Baseball'') is the highest level of professional baseball in the Netherlands. It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softba ...

, the Dutch

league, while his mother, Sheritsa Stroop, had previously played for the

Netherlands women's national softball team The Netherlands women's national softball team is the national team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is governed by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en S ...

. Gregorius' paternal grandfather, Antonio, was also a baseball player, pitching in four games for the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

at the

1955 Pan American Games The 1955 Pan American Games opened on March 12, 1955, in the University Stadium (now Olympic Stadium) in Mexico City, Mexico, in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 spectators. A total number of 2,583 athletes from 22 nations marched in review ...

. The Gregorius family moved from Amsterdam to

in 1995, to follow Gregorius Sr.'s baseball career. Gregorius, inspired by his older brother Johannes Jr., began playing

and

Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization In addition to baseball, Gregorius played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

throughout his childhood, but he was not as invested in those other sports.

Professional career

Minor league career

Jim Stoeckel, a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

for the

(MLB), became interested in Gregorius after watching him play an under-18 tournament with the Dutch Antilles in 2006. The Reds signed Gregorius as an international

two years later at the behest of Stoeckel, 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 $50,000. The

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

had also expressed interest in Gregorius, but he chose to sign with the Reds because they offered him an opportunity to begin playing professional baseball in the United States rather than in the

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only ...

s. He made his professional baseball debut in 2008 with the Gulf Coast Reds, a Rookie League team. His rookie outing was mostly unremarkable, with a .155 batting average in 109

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...

s, as well as 10

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s and 12

errors An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 134 chances. In 2009, Gregorius primarily appeared with the Rookie-level

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehle ...

of the Pioneer League, batting .314 in 50 games, but he also played in the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...

for the Sarasota Reds. In 22 games with Sarasota, Gregorius batted .254, with eight runs, four

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

, and two RBIs. The following year, while playing with the Class A

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. I ...

, the Reds'

took notice of Gregorius' powerful infield arm, as well as his speed on the base path: he fell one triple short of the club record with 11, and stole 16 bases, in addition to hitting .273 with five

s. On August 31, after Miguel Rojas was promoted to Double-A, Gregorius joined the Class A-Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats to serve as that team's starting shortstop. He played seven games with Lynchburg, batting .240 with six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

and four runs. After the regular season, Gregorius played in the Australian Baseball League with the Canberra Cavalry, where he was named as the ABL's Defensive Player of the Year. Despite batting only .189, he enjoyed his time in Australia, and said that playing against major league veterans helped him when he returned to the United States. During a routine test in the spring of 2011, doctors found that Gregorius had elevated blood levels of

cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell memb ...

and proteins, as well as

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high b ...

. He was initially suspected of using performance-enhancing substances, but further tests revealed a kidney malfunction. Gregorius was ordered not to play baseball and to adopt a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

diet; these lifestyle changes, combined with a medication regimen, allowed him to return to the field after two months of recovery. When he returned to the field, it was with the Class A-Advanced

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facin ...

, before a midseason promotion to the Double-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

. Between the two teams, Gregorius batted .289 for the season, with seven home runs, 44 RBIs, and 48 runs in 84 games and 363 plate appearances. That November, Gregorius was one of six players that the Reds added to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Gregorius entered the 2012 season as a top Double-A prospect with the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

. Through the first 80 games of the season, he batted .282 with one home run, 31 RBIs, 45 runs, and three stolen bases, enough to receive midseason All-Star honors from the Southern League. After 81 games in Pensacola, the Reds promoted Gregorius to the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and basebal ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. In 48 games there, he batted .243 with six home runs, 23 RBIs, and 25 runs in 202 plate appearances.

Cincinnati Reds

September call-up A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

for the Reds, Gregorius made his major league debut on September 5, 2012, starting in place of Zack Cozart for a 6–2 loss to the

. In eight games at the end of the season, Gregorius batted .300 with two RBIs. After the season, Gregorius played in the

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

, helping take the Peoria Javelinas to a championship title by batting .278 with one home run and eight RBIs in 74 at bats.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Gregorius' future with the Reds was hindered by Cozart, a more experienced shortstop who was presumed to have more offensive power, and thus he became an attractive trade target for Cincinnati after the 2012 season. On December 11, 2012, Gregorius was part of a three-team trade for Cincinnati: initially, he and

Drew Stubbs Robert Andrew Stubbs (born October 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, Baltimore ...

were sent to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

in exchange for outfielder Shin-Soo Choo and infielder Jason Donald, but, as the Indians already had an established shortstop in Asdrubal Cabrera, they traded Gregorius to the

to acquire pitcher Trevor Bauer. Later that month, Gregorius injured his elbow while playing catch, and he was unable to resume throwing until

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

had already begun. The Diamondbacks agreed to start Gregorius with the Triple-A Reno Aces until his rehab assignment was completed, but after Aaron Hill was sidelined with a fractured hand, Gregorius was called up to start at second base. In the first pitch of his first at-bat on April 18, 2013, Gregorius hit his first major league home run off of

pitcher Phil Hughes. He was the seventh Diamondback to hit a home run in his first at-bat with the team, and the first to do so on the first pitch. On April 27, Gregorius was hit by a pitch from

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

reliever Josh Outman; he was struck in the right temple with a fastball and fell to the ground; ultimately, Gregorius was able to leave the plate on his own, and, while Cliff Pennington filled in as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been subs ...

, Gregorius remained in the game at shortstop. He was placed on the seven-day concussion list after the game and was reinstated on May 4. Gregorius put up a sturdy .252 average in 103 games, but began to lose playing time towards the end of the season due to his inefficiency against left-handed pitchers, averaging only .200 with a .267

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

. Gregorius entered spring training in 2014 in competition with prospect Chris Owings for the starting shortstop role within the Diamondbacks organization. Owings was ultimately named to the Diamondbacks'

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster, with Gregorius sent to Triple-A in the most controversial roster decision of the season. Previously,

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Kevin Towers and manager Kirk Gibson had suggested that Owings and Gregorius would both make the 25-man roster and split time in the middle infield, especially as outfielder Cody Ross was starting the season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

, but Towers instead optioned Gregorius to the minors and told reporters that he would be called up in case of injury. That June, Pennington, serving as the team's backup shortstop, suffered an injury that forced Arizona to call up Gregorius. Gibson wanted to keep Owings as the starting infielder, but intended to split his playing time with Gregorius more equitably than Owings had split with Pennington. Gregorius played in 80 major league games in 2014, batting .226 in 270 at bats, with six home runs, 27 RBIs, and 35 runs. He played 67 of those games at shortstop, with 11 at second base and two at third base.

New York Yankees

, the longtime shortstop for the New York Yankees, announced in February 2014 that he would retire at the end of the year, leaving the team to find an appropriate replacement. Hanley Ramirez, Troy Tulowitzki, and

J. J. Hardy James Jerry Hardy (born August 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. Hardy attended Sabino High School in Tuc ...

were all speculated as acquisition targets for the team, who ultimately focused on acquiring Gregorius. The Yankees acquired Gregorius on December 5, 2014, in a three-team trade with Arizona and the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

: Gregorius went from Arizona to New York, Shane Greene went from New York to Detroit, and

Robbie Ray Robert Glenn Ray (born October 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. Ray was an ML ...

and

Domingo Leyba Domingo Junior Leyba Santana (born September 11, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles. Career Detroit Tig ...

went from Detroit to Arizona.

2015–16

Gregorius, who was named the opening day shortstop for the Yankees, told reporters that he was not worried about having to replace Jeter, and that he was more focused on his own performance than any comparisons to the previous infielder. He struggled through the first part of the season, making six errors by the end of May and batting only .222, but he began to find his stride in June, committing only one error between June 7 and August 3 and increasing his batting average to .260 in the same span. On August 28, Gregorius went 4-for-5 with one home run and set a career-high six RBIs in a 15–4 rout of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

. His first-inning home run was the seventh of the season, and came only a day after his sixth. In his first season with the Yankees, Gregorius played in 155 games, batting .265 with a career-high nine home runs and 56 RBIs. After the season ended, Gregorius was named a finalist for the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

(AL)

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

at shortstop, an award which ultimately went to Alcides Escobar of 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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Gregorius, who entered the 2016 season last in the batting order, had a breakout year, setting career highs with a .447

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

, 32 doubles, 20 home runs, and 70 RBIs. He told reporters that he had not focused on hitting home runs, and that he was actually working on

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

s, but that, "If they go out, they go out." He had spent the offseason working with fellow Curaçao native

Hensley Meulens Hensley Filemon Acasio Meulens (; born June 23, 1967), nicknamed "Bam Bam", is a Curaçaoan professional baseball coach and retired player. He is the hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Curaçao, ...

, the hitting coach for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

. Meulens focused on improving Gregorius' efficacy against left-handed pitchers, and by mid-July, his .366 average against southpaws was the best in the league among left-handed hitters. On June 29, Gregorius hit his first

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

of his major league career, a two-run blast against the Texas Rangers, the team at the time with the best record in the AL. The 2016 Yankees season was considered an overall disappointment, but Gregorius' performance established him as a central piece as the team looked ahead towards rebuilding during the offseason.

2017

Prior to the 2017 season, Gregorius suffered a shoulder injury while fielding a double play during the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

. He was required to spend two weeks engaging in no baseball activity, followed by an estimated four weeks of rehab assignments, leaving the Yankees without an opening day shortstop. He began a series of rehab assignments for the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

on April 22, with an estimated major league return date of May 1. Gregorius was activated on April 28, starting in a 14–11 win over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. Upon his return, Gregorius said that he felt "locked in" at the plate, putting up an eight-game hitting streak in mid-July, with home runs in three consecutive games. He was a finalist for a position in the 2017 MLB All-Star Game, but the fan vote ultimately went to Mike Moustakas of the Royals. On September 4, 2017, Gregorius hit his 20th home run of the year, becoming the first Yankees shortstop to knock in 20 or more home runs in back-to-back seasons. Later that month, on September 20, Gregorius hit his 25th home run of the season, passing Jeter's record for most single-season home runs by a Yankees shortstop. Limited to 136 games with his shoulder injury, Gregorius batted .287 for the regular season, with 87 RBIs and 73 runs. Facing the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in the

2017 American League Wild Card Game The 2017 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 postseason that was played between the American League's (AL) two wild card teams, the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. The game w ...

, Gregorius hit a game-tying three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, helping the Yankees to take the game 8–4 and advance to the

2017 American League Division Series The 2017 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series held to determine the participating teams in the 2017 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1-3) and a fourth team—the winner of a ...

(ALDS). In the series-deciding Game 5 of the ALDS, Gregorius hit two home runs against Indians ace Corey Kluber. The Yankees defeated the Indians 5–2 and advanced to the

2017 American League Championship Series The 2017 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the Houston Astros against the New York Yankees for the American League pennant and the right to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. The Astros de ...

(ALCS), and Gregorius became the second Yankee to hit two home runs in a winner-take-all postseason match. The Yankees lost the ALCS to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

in seven games.

2018

Gregorius began the 2018 season with a career-high eight-RBI performance in the Yankee's April 3 home opener against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

, helping to push the team to an 11–4 victory. Through the month of April, Gregorius led the league with 10 home runs, 30 RBIs, and a .766 slugging percentage, and he received both AL Player of the Week and Player of the Month honors at the end of the month. His performance in April was followed by a slump through May and the start of June, during which Gregorius batted .177 and scored only one home run. He snapped this dry spell with two home runs against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

on June 12. In addition to putting Gregorius back on pace to record 20 home runs in a season, he also became, in that game, the first Yankees shortstop to have three multi-home run games in a season. Gregorius batted .268 for the regular season, with 86 RBIs and 89 runs in 504 at bats. His 27 home runs, meanwhile, helped the Yankees break the MLB single-season record, set by the Seattle Mariners in 1997; Gleyber Torres had the honor of hitting the Yankees' 265th home run of the year on September 29. On September 23, 2018, Gregorius' game-winning run against the Orioles helped the Yankees clinch a Wild Card berth, but he tore the cartilage in his wrist while sliding home, leaving it in question whether he would be healthy for the postseason. He received a

cortisone Cortisone is a pregnene (21-carbon) steroid hormone. It is a naturally-occurring corticosteroid metabolite that is also used as a pharmaceutical prodrug; it is not synthesized in the adrenal glands. Cortisol is converted by the action of the enz ...

shot and returned to the lineup on September 28 for the final game of the regular season, an 11–6 rout of the Red Sox. The Yankees beat the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

7–2 in the Wild Card game, with Gregorius scoring an RBI on a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

that brought home

Luke Voit Louis Linwood Voit III (born February 13, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. Voi ...

. Gregorius struggled defensively against the Red Sox in the

2018 ALDS The 2018 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams of the 2018 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners, seeded first through third, and a fourth team—the W ...

, uncharacteristically missing throws in Games 3 and 4. The Red Sox took the series in four games.

2019

Gregorius, who had already suffered an "asymptomatic" partial ulnar collateral ligament tear when he was acquired by the Yankees in 2014, aggravated his injury when he made a throw from the outfield in Game 2 of the ALCS. He had been able to push through the rest of the Yankees' playoff run, but required

after the season to repair the elbow. Gregorius subsequently began the 2019 season on the 60-day injured list, and was activated on June 7, 2019, after eight months of rehab. On July 23, Gregorius batted a perfect 5-for-5 against the Minnesota Twins, picking up seven RBIs to help the Yankees win 14–12 in extra innings. It was the second time that Gregorius had gone 4-for-4 or better with seven RBIs in a game, joining

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

and

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...

as the only Yankees to accomplish the feat multiple times. In the sixth inning of that same game, Gregorius hit his 100th career home run, off of Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson. He finished the regular season with a .238 average in 324 at bats, with 16 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 47 runs. The Yankees faced the Twins again in the 2019 ALDS, and in Game 2, Gregorius hit the first ever postseason grand slam by a Yankees shortstop. The Yankees advanced to the 2019 ALCS, but were defeated in six games by the Houston Astros. On November 4, 2019, the Yankees chose not to extend a $17.8 million qualifying offer to Gregorius, making him a free agent.

Philadelphia Phillies

Didi Gregorius July 18, 2020 (50127677928)

The

signed Gregorius to a one-year, $14 million contract on December 16, 2019; he and pitcher Zack Wheeler were considered the team's most important free agent acquisitions for the 2019–20 offseason. The 2020 MLB season was delayed until July and shortened to 60 regular-season games due to the

; Gregorius' kidney disorder meant that he was considered "high-risk" for the virus, and he had an opportunity to decline playing during the pandemic and earn a protracted salary. Instead, Gregorius chose to remain the team's starting shortstop and to wear a face mask at all times on the field. Gregorius proved to be an offensive strength for the Phillies in the pandemic-shortened season: among all MLB shortstops, he was third in RBIs (40), fifth in hits (61) and home runs (10), and sixth in batting average (.286). Additionally, he hit .345 for the season with runners in scoring position. The Phillies resigned Gregorius to a two-year, $28 million contract on February 10, 2021. Due to the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gregorius was one of seven Phillies who ran into visa issues and reported late to 2021 spring training. Girardi was unconcerned about Gregorius' late start to training camp, telling reporters, "I would expect that Didi's in pretty good shape because that's who he is and that's what I'm used to seeing." On March 29, Gregorius was named as the Phillies' starting shortstop for the 2021 season, splitting the middle infield with Jean Segura. On opening day, Gregorius made an over-the-shoulder catch to stop Ozzie Albies and help take the game to extra innings, where the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 3–2. In mid-April, Gregorius injured his elbow while making a catch, and missed three games due to swelling in the area. He initially avoided going on the injured list as doctors drained the elbow, but a recurrent swelling in mid-May forced him out of the lineup again. The elbow injury continued to hinder Gregorius through a series of rehab assignments with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and on June 16, he was diagnosed with pseudogout and was able to begin an appropriate treatment program. He returned to the lineup on July 2, after missing a total of 41 games to the injury. In his first game off of the injured list, Gregorius hit a solo home run in the fifth inning of a 4–3 extra innings win against the San Diego Padres. Gregorius proceeded to have the worst season of his MLB career, batting only .210 with a .667

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

(OPS) in his first 200 at bats following his stint on the injured list. The shortstop blamed his offensive difficulties on the effects of the

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

, which he claimed led to his battle with pseudogout, a conclusion that doctors at the

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The ...

said was incorrect. Gregorius batted .209 in 103 games for the Phillies, with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs in 368 at bats. He was released by the Phillies on August 4, 2022.

International career

Gregorius first represented the Netherlands internationally while playing for the

at the 2009 Baseball World Cup. At the

, after the Netherlands defeated

2–1 in the final match, Gregorius and his teammates were

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

under the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

, 5th class. Since then, Gregorius' official title is "Sir", which he has incorporated into his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

handle. While working out to represent the Netherlands in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

, Gregorius suffered a strained ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, which kept him out of the tournament and much of spring training. Gregorius did participate in the 2017 tournament, serving primarily as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by t ...

on a Dutch national team with an ample selection of MLB shortstops. He was an offensive success, batting .348 with one home run and eight RBIs, helping to take the Dutch team to the semifinals, before a

hematoma A hematoma, also spelled haematoma, or blood suffusion is a localized bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillaries. A hematoma is ...

of the

subscapularis muscle The subscapularis is a large triangular muscle which fills the subscapular fossa and inserts into the lesser tubercle of the humerus and the front of the capsule of the shoulder-joint. Structure It arises from its medial two-thirds and So ...

in Gregorius' shoulder forced him to pull out of the tournament early.

Personal life

Gregorius adopted the nickname "Didi" in 2009, when his American teammates had trouble pronouncing the name "Mariekson". His father and brother also go by "Didi". Gregorius, like many Curaçao natives, is fluent in four languages: English, Spanish, Dutch, and

Papiamento Papiamento () or Papiamentu (; nl, Papiaments) is a Portuguese-based creole language spoken in the Dutch Caribbean. It is the most widely spoken language on the Caribbean ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), with official status in Arub ...

. In his free time, he enjoys

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

, and he picked up

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

ing when the COVID-19 pandemic paused the 2020 MLB season. While playing with the Yankees, Gregorius began to post "victory tweets" after every winning game, often accompanied by the hashtag "#startspreadingthenews". These tweets would often incorporate specific

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conv ...

s that Gregorius had assigned to various teammates. Gregorius briefly stopped posting during the start of the 2019 season, while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery, because he "didn't want to make he winsall about me", but resumed when he was activated from the injured list. He continued the tradition after signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, telling reporters that he would "have new emojis" for his new teammates.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorius, Didi 1990 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Bakersfield Blaze players Billings Mustangs players Canberra Cavalry players Carolina Mudcats players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Dutch expatriate baseball players in the United States Dutch people of Curaçao descent Gulf Coast Reds players Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Louisville Bats players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball players from the Netherlands Major League Baseball shortstops National baseball team players New York Yankees players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players Peoria Javelinas players Philadelphia Phillies players Reno Aces players Sportspeople from Amsterdam Sarasota Reds players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Dutch expatriate baseball players in Australia