Akil Neomon Baddoo (born August 16, 1998) is an American 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 ...

in 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

organization. He made his

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) debut in 2021.

Early life

Baddoo was born in Silver Spring,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, to parents John and Akilah. His father's family is originally from

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and his mother's family is from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. He was educated and played varsity baseball at Salem High School in

Conyers, Georgia Conyers is a city and the county seat of Rockdale County, Georgia, United States. The city is 24 miles (38.6 km) east of downtown Atlanta and is a part of the Metro Atlanta, Atlanta metropolitan area. As of 2020 United States census, 202 ...

Career

Minnesota Twins

Baddoo was drafted out of high school by 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

in the second round, with the 74th overall selection, of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. After two seasons in Twins' rookie leagues with the

Gulf Coast League Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, the ...

and

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

, he was assigned to the Single–A

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium (Cedar Rapids), Veter ...

for the 2018 season. In 113 games, Baddoo batted .243/.352/.419 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. Baddoo moved up to the High–A

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

for the 2019 season, but played only 29 games before requiring

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery 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 body, ...

on his left elbow. The injury and cancellation of the minor league season as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

contributed to Baddoo playing in no games in 2020.

Detroit Tigers

On December 10, 2020, the

selected Baddoo with the third pick in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Baddoo made the team's 2021

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 year ...

roster after hitting .325 with five home runs in the spring training season. He made his major league debut on April 4, hitting a home run in his first at-bat, on the first pitch he saw from

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 , the team ...

starter

Aaron Civale Aaron James Civale ( ; born June 12, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians / Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Milwauke ...

. Baddoo became the ninth player in Tigers' franchise history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, and only the second to do so on the first pitch, following George Vico, who accomplished the feat in 1948. The following day, Baddoo hit his first career grand slam off of

Randy Dobnak Randy Travis William Dobnak (born January 17, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2019. Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed. Career ...

of the

. He became the first player in franchise history to hit a home run in his first two career games and the first player in MLB history to do so from the ninth spot in the batting order. On April 6, Baddoo recorded his first career walk-off hit, a tenth-inning RBI single off of Twins closer

Hansel Robles Hansel Manuel Robles (born August 13, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota ...

to give the Tigers a 4–3 victory. He became the first Tiger with a walk-off hit within his first three major league games since

Gabe Alvarez Gabriel de Jesus Alvarez (born March 6, 1974) is a Mexican Minor League Baseball coach and former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Detroit Tigers (1998–2000) and the San Diego Padres (2000). Playing career A 6'1, 205 lbs. rig ...

in 1998 and the first MLB player since at least 1900 with two homers, including a grand slam, and a walk-off hit in his first three career games. On April 13, Baddoo recorded his fourth home run of the season. He became the first player in franchise history to post four homers and 10 RBIs within his first eight games, and the first major league player to do so since

Kyle Lewis Kyle Alexander Lewis (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. Prior to his MLB debut, he ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

. He also became the first Tigers' player since Don Ross in 1938, and the sixth player in MLB history, to drive in a run in at least six of his first eight career games. On August 11, Baddoo was placed on the 7-day concussion protocol injured list, following a collision with center fielder Derek Hill the previous night. Baddoo was activated off the injured list on August 23. Baddoo finished the 2021 season hitting .259 with 13 home runs and 55 RBI, while stealing 18 bases in 22 attempts. Baddoo earned the Detroit Tigers-Detroit Sports Media Association 2021 Rookie of the Year award. Baddoo made the 2022 Opening day roster and began the season as the Tigers' center fielder. On May 9, he was sent down to Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

after posting a .140 average. After hitting .300 with a .405 on-base percentage in 30 games with Toledo, he was recalled to the Tigers on July 11. He finished the season hitting .204 with 2 home runs. Baddoo was optioned to Toledo to begin the 2023 season, and was called up on April 8, after Austin Meadows was placed on the 10-day injured list. He played in 112 games for Detroit, batting .218/.310/.372 with 11 home runs, 34 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Baddoo was again optioned to Triple–A Toledo to begin the 2024 season. In 31 games for Detroit, he batted .137/.220/.301 with two home runs, five RBI, and one stolen base. Baddoo was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

following the signing of

Alex Cobb Alexander Miller Cobb (born October 7, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Angels, San Fr ...

on December 10, 2024. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Toledo on December 17. On February 20, 2025, Baddoo underwent surgery to repair a

hamate The hamate bone (from Latin language, Latin wiktionary:hamatus, hamatus, "hooked"), or unciform bone (from Latin language, Latin ''wikt:uncus, uncus'', "hook"), Latin os hamatum and occasionally abbreviated as just hamatum, is a bone in the huma ...

hook fracture in his right hand, necessitating a recovery of at least 4-to-8 weeks. After returning from the injury, he batted .245 with seven home runs and 15 RBI across 28 games for Toledo and the Single-A

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

. On May 14, the Tigers selected Baddoo's contract, adding him to their active roster. In seven appearances for Detroit, he went 2-for-17 (.118) with one RBI and one stolen base. Baddoo was designated for assignment by the Tigers on June 6. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo on June 10.

References

External links