Joseph Patrick Wendle (born April 26, 1990) is an American

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 professional ...

second baseman for the Miami Marlins of

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 (AL), ...

(MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics from 2016 to 2017 and for 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 ...

from 2018 to 2021. He is one of the few MLB players to not use

batting glove Batting gloves are a component in bat-and-ball games sportswear. Typically consisting of a leather palm and back made of nylon or another synthetic fabric, the glove covers one or both hands of a batter, providing comfort, prevention of blisters ...

Early life

Wendle was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

on April 26, 1990. He attended

Avon Grove High School Avon Grove High School is a public high school located in Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Avon Grove School District. Avon Grove High School enrolls about ~1,826 students in grades 9-12. The school was es ...

West Grove, Pennsylvania West Grove is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,775 at the 2020 census. History The village of West Grove derived its name from the Friends Meeting House on Harmony Road built in 1787 several miles w ...

, and

West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester University (also known as West Chester, WCU, or WCUPA, and officially as West Chester University of Pennsylvania) is a public research university in and around West Chester, Pennsylvania. The university is accredited by the Middle ...

. Wendle played travel baseball for the Chester County Crawdads. Wendle was a four-year starter for the West Chester Golden Rams baseball team, where he compiled a .366 career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 23

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 185

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 ba ...

(RBIs). During his senior season, Wendle hit .399 with 12 home runs and 59 RBI as the Golden Rams went on to win the 2012

NCAA Division II baseball tournament The NCAA Division II baseball tournament is an annual college baseball tournament held at the culmination of the spring regular season and which determines the NCAA Division II college baseball champion. The initial rounds of the tournament are ...

Professional career

Minor Leagues

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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

selected Wendle in the sixth round of the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League. In 61 games he hit .327/.375/.469 with four home runs and 37 (RBIs). Wendle played the 2013 season with the

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. ...

of 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 ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. He hit .295/.372/.513 with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs over 107 games. He won the Lou Boudreau Award as the Indians minor league player of the year. He started the 2014 season with the

Akron RubberDucks The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League.

Oakland Athletics

On December 8, 2014, the Indians traded Wendle to the Oakland Athletics for

Brandon Moss Brandon Douglas Moss (born September 16, 1983) is an American former professional baseball outfielder / first baseman / designated hitter (DH). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelp ...

. On April 21, 2015, Wendle (as a member of Oakland's Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds) hit the first

in the history of

First Tennessee Park First Horizon Park, formerly known as First Tennessee Park, is a baseball park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the International League, it opened on April 17, 2015, and can sea ...

. The Athletics added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Joey Wendle ST 2017

Wendle began the 2016 season with Nashville. The Athletics promoted Wendle to the major leagues on August 31, 2016. He made his major league debut that day. Over the next season and a half, Wendle would appear in 36 games for the Athletics, collecting 29 hits in 109 at bats. Following the conclusion of the 2017 season, Wendle was designated for assignment on December 7, 2017.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 11, 2017, the Athletics traded Wendle to the

for catcher Jonah Heim. Wendle entered spring training in 2018 competing for the starting second baseman job with Micah Johnson and Daniel Robertson. After hitting .327 in 52 spring training

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, Rays manager

Kevin Cash Kevin Forrest Cash (born December 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Cash played catcher in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, ...

announced Wendle had made the team's Opening Day roster to platoon at second base with Robertson. Wendle ended the season leading all rookies in

wins above replacement Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...

(4.3),

(.300), on-base percentage (.350), and triples (6), as well as placing second in hits (146), doubles (33), and runs (62). Wendle was the first Rays player since 2011 to hit .300, and the first rookie to ever reach that mark. He tied for the major league lead in

sacrifice flies 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 ...

(10). At the conclusion of the season, Wendle was unanimously chosen as the Rays Outstanding Rookie award for the 2018 season and finished fourth in the

American League Rookie of the Year award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

. Wendle began the 2019 season starting at second base with the intention of playing nearly every day. However, on March 31, Wendle injured his hamstring tagging out

Jake Marisnick Jacob Shawn Marisnick (born March 30, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Diego Padr ...

attempting to steal second base and was placed on the 10-day injured list. He was activated 3 weeks later. He was placed back on the disabled list on April 24 due to a fracture in his right wrist by a hit by pitch. Overall, Wendle ended the season playing in just 75 games. Wendle appeared in 5 postseason games, recording 2 hits in 10 at bats as the Rays were eliminated In the ALDS in five games by the Houston Astros. In 2020, Wendle started 50 games for the Rays despite being considered a back-up player. His defensive versatility allowed him to give fellow teammates Willy Adames and

Brandon Lowe Brandon Norman Lowe ( ; born July 6, 1994) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Amateur career Lowe attended Nansemond River High School in Suffolk, Virginia, where he played ...

games off, while platooning at Third baseman, third base with Yandy Díaz, Yandy Diaz. For the season, Wendle hit .286 with 4 home runs and 17 RBI as the Rays clinched their first division title in ten years. In the ALDS against the Yankees, Wendle hit .353 as the Rays beat the Yankees in 5 games. Against the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series, ALCS, Wendle garnered attention for his stellar defense at Third baseman, third base. 2020 Houston Astros season, Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker went as far to compare his play to Brooks Robinson. The Rays would go on to beat the Astros in 7 games. Wendle was named to the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, 2021 All-Star Game as a reserve on July 9, 2021. He singled in his only plate appearance.

Miami Marlins

On November 30, 2021, Tampa Bay traded Wendle to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Kameron Misner.

References

External links

*
West Chester Golden Rams bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wendle, Joey 1990 births Living people American League All-Stars Baseball players from Wilmington, Delaware Major League Baseball second basemen Oakland Athletics players Tampa Bay Rays players Miami Marlins players West Chester Golden Rams baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Carolina Mudcats players Akron RubberDucks players Surprise Saguaros players Arizona League Indians players Nashville Sounds players Yaquis de Obregón players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico