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 cat ...

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

, where he was a teammate of his older brother

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yan ...

during the club's division championship-winning seasons in 2000 and 2001. He enjoyed his best season in 2001,

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.283 with 12

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 ...

s and 57

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) 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 the b ...

(RBI), then hitting .308 in the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

loss to 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 ...

. 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 San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

. Like his older brother

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

, Giambi attended South Hills High School in

West Covina, California West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, located east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley and is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census. West Covi ...

. He attended

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans The Cal State Fullerton Titans (also known as CSUF or Fullerton Titans) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Fullerton. The Titans are a member of the NCAA Division I level. The Titans compete within the Big West Co ...

. The Titans won the

1995 College World Series The 1995 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1995 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the 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 The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

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 one thousan ...

and was named a league all-star.

Professional athletic 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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

selected Giambi in the sixth round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. Giambi made his major league debut as a

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 Royals in 1998. The Athletics acquired Giambi from the Royals in exchange for

Brett Laxton Brett William Laxton (born October 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in parts of two seasons for the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the son of former maj ...

prior to the 2000 season. Jason and Jeremy played together during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. During Game 3 of the

2001 American League Division Series The 2001 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 2001 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 9, and ended on Monday, October 15, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team— ...

, Giambi was tagged out at home plate on the "flip play" by

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 ...

. During the 2002 season, the Athletics traded Giambi to the

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 ...

for John Mabry. 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

for

Josh Hancock Joshua Morgan Hancock (April 11, 1978 – April 29, 2007) was a professional baseball pitcher, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was killed in an aut ...

. 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 (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

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 more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects ...

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

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—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 p ...

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 The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) (1984–2003) was an American company led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later re ...

founder

Victor Conte Victor Conte Jr. (born 1950 in Fresno, California) is a former bassist with Tower of Power and the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), a sports nutrition center in California. He served time in prison in 2005 after p ...

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 Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to ''Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He ...

's book ''

Moneyball ''Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game'' is a book by Michael Lewis, published in 2003, about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane. Its focus is the team's analytical, evidence-based, sabermetric appro ...

'', and he became a character in the film that starred

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

, with Giambi portrayed by Nick Porrazzo. Giambi was found dead at his parents' home in

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

, 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 Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

County Medical Examiner announced that Giambi's death had been ruled a suicide via a gunshot wound to his chest. In June 2022, reports say that prior to the suicide, in August 2021, he was "struck in the head by a baseball and fractured his

zygomatic bone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from grc, ζῠγόν, zugón, yoke), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone which articulates with the maxilla, the temporal bone, the sphenoid bone and the frontal bone. It is s ...

" when serving as a pitching coach. His mother also said he felt different after the injury.

References

External links