Steven Scott Clevenger (born April 5, 1986) is a former 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 professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

. 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

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Clevenger was raised in

Glen Burnie, Maryland Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population of Glen Burnie was 67,639 at the 2010 census. History In 1812, Elias Glenn, a di ...

, attended Overlook Elementary and graduated from

Mount Saint Joseph High School Mount Saint Joseph College (commonly MSJ or Mount Saint Joe) is a Catholic college preparatory school and secondary school / high school for young men from ninth to twelfth grade sponsored by the Xaverian Brothers and founded in 1876. It is locate ...

in 2004. He was the starting

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 ...

on the school's varsity baseball team which won the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) A conference championship in his senior year. He hit .347 as a first-team All-

Southland Conference The Southland Conference, abbreviated as SLC, is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it ...

shortstop in his only year at Southeastern Louisiana University in 2005. After transferring to

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor' ...

, he led the Indians with a .395 batting average and 77 hits.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

He was selected by the

in the seventh round (209th overall) of the 2006 MLB Draft. After signing with the Cubs on June 14, he began his professional career as the starting second baseman with the

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...

. He started making the transition to catcher the following season after Hawks manager Steve McFarland convinced him that a left-handed batter at the position had a better chance of a faster promotion to the majors. During the 2011 season Clevenger played for the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

where he batted .295 and hit 5 home runs. He also played for the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their h ...

where in 86 at bats he batted .407 and hit 3 home runs.

Chicago Cubs

Clevenger was called up to the Cubs from the expanded 40-man roster. He made his major league debut September 26, 2011, however he only played in two games during the 2011 season. Clevenger made the opening day roster during the 2012 season. However, on April 28, Clevenger was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique. Clevenger finished the 2012 season with a .201 batting average, one home run, and 16 RBIs.

Baltimore Orioles

On July 2, 2013, Clevenger was traded to the Baltimore Orioles with

Scott Feldman Scott Wynne Feldman (born February 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati ...

for pitchers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop. He was optioned to the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

after the trade. He was recalled on September 1, but did not play for the Orioles until September 13 against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. On August 17, 2015 he became the first Baltimore native to hit a home run for the Orioles at Camden Yards. Clevenger batted .225/.289/.337 for the 2014 season. Showalter was dissatisfied with Clevenger's defense (he caught 3 of 20 attempted base-stealers), and the team had problems with his conditioning. Clevenger as of December 2014 had one minor league option remaining. Clevenger was optioned to Triple-A

on April 7, 2015 and on April 24, was placed on the DL with a left thumb contusion. He was recalled to Baltimore on May 26, and made his season debut two days later. He went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the game. Clevenger played in four games before being optioned back to Norfolk on June 5. Clevenger would end up making the IL All-Star team. After several roster moves by the Orioles, Clevenger was once again recalled by Baltimore on August 14. Two days later, he set a new career-high in hits, going 4-for-6 with a double and an RBI in an 18-2 rout over 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 ...

. In 2015 he batted .287/.314/.426 in 101 at bats.

Seattle Mariners

On December 2, 2015, the Orioles traded Clevenger to the

for

Mark Trumbo Mark Trumbo (born January 16, 1986) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2010 through 2013, for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2 ...

and

C. J. Riefenhauser Charles Joseph Riefenhauser (born January 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is the head baseball coach at Yorktown High School, a position he has held sin ...

. Clevenger had a poor 2016, appearing in only 20 games at catcher for the Mariners and batting .221/.303/.309 and caught 5 of 16 attempted base stealers before sustaining a broken hand on June 29 in a game against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, an injury that proved season-ending. On November 2, 2016, Clevenger was outrighted to the minors. He elected free agency on November 4.

Suspension

On September 22, 2016 Clevenger

tweeted 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 ...

that he thought it was ironic that black people were beating white people after a black man had been shot dead by a black policeman and that

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

protestors as well as President Obama and all Black Lives Matter supporters should be "locked behind bars like animals," prompting an official response from Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto disavowing those remarks. The next day, Dipoto announced that Clevenger was suspended without pay for the remainder of the season.

Lancaster Barnstormers

On July 21, 2017, Clevenger signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 2017 he batted .293/.357/.366. He became a free agent after the 2017 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clevenger, Steve 1986 births Living people People from Glen Burnie, Maryland Baseball players from Baltimore Major League Baseball catchers Chicago Cubs players Baltimore Orioles players Seattle Mariners players Southeastern Louisiana Lions baseball players Chipola Indians baseball players Boise Hawks players Daytona Cubs players Mesa Solar Sox players Tennessee Smokies players Iowa Cubs players Leones del Escogido players Gulf Coast Orioles players Aberdeen IronBirds players Norfolk Tides players Arizona League Mariners players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players lancaster Barnstormers players