Brandon Eric Guyer (born January 28, 1986) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

former 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 ...

and mental strength coach for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

and the University of Virginia Cavilers Baseball team. He played in

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) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

and

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 ...

. His knack for getting

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provide ...

es earned him the nickname, "La Piñata."

Early life and education

Guyer was born on January 28, 1986, in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...

. He attended Herndon High School in

Herndon, Virginia Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia, it is part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In 2020, the population at the census was 24,655, which makes i ...

, where he was a three-year

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winner in baseball as well as

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. In football, he rushed for over 1,000 yards as a tailback for the Hornets in both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he set the school single-game touchdown record, scoring seven touchdowns during a 285-yard rushing performance on homecoming night (October 4, 2003, Herndon 44, West Potomac 26). Guyer helped Herndon break a six-year Northern Region playoff drought, leading the Hornets to a 7–4 season. He was a third team all-state pick as a junior and a second team all-state pick as a senior. In baseball, Guyer is the Hornets' all-time career home run hitter (13) and holds the single-season home run record with eight. He was a part of the Hornets 19-4 Concorde District championship squad in 2002—the last time Herndon won a district title. As a senior, he had 23 RBI, a .483 batting average and was walked 19 times. Guyer attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers baseball The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team represents the University of Virginia in NCAA Division I college baseball. Established in 1889, the team participates in the Coastal division of the Atlantic Coast Conference and plays its home games at Da ...

team. In 2006, 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

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

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 1,000 forme ...

Professional career

Chicago Cubs

Guyer was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in the 5th round, with the 157th overall selection, of the

2007 Major League Baseball draft The 2007 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "l ...

. In 2010, playing for the

' Double–A affiliate, the

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

of the Southern League, he was second in the league in batting (.344), third in doubles (39) and slugging percentage (.588), tied for seventh in steals (30), and ninth in OBP (.398).

Tampa Bay Rays

After the 2010 season, the Cubs traded Guyer, Hak-ju Lee,

Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Clayton High School ( ...

, Robinson Chirinos, and

Sam Fuld Samuel Babson Fuld (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current executive for the Philadelphia Phillies organization of Major League Baseball (MLB), where he most recently served as the team's gener ...

to the

for

Matt Garza Matthew Scott Garza (born November 26, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Minnesota Twins, and also played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Texas ...

, Fernando Perez, and

Zac Rosscup Zachary Martin Rosscup (born June 9, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles ...

. On May 5, 2011, Guyer was called up to the majors after a successful stint with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. The next day, in his first major league at bat, he hit a two-run home run off of

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

rookie pitcher Zack Britton. Guyer became the second player in Rays history to hit a home run in his first career at-bat, as well as the first Rays player to hit a home run in his first career at-bat in Camden Yards. On May 8, he was optioned back to Durham, where he batted .312/.384/.521 for the season. Guyer began the 2012 season with Triple-A Durham, hitting .294 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 22 games before being recalled to Tampa Bay on May 9 after Jeff Keppinger was placed on the restricted list. Guyer played in three games with Tampa Bay, going 1–for-7 with a home run, before he hit the disabled list with a shoulder strain. On May 25, the Rays announced that Guyer was placed on the injured reserve list after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Guyer returned to the majors in 2014, and was on the Rays roster on Opening Day. In 2015, Guyer led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in being hit by the most pitches, with 24, in 332 at bats. The MLB single-game record for being hit by pitches is three, and Guyer has been the recipient twice: on October 2, 2015, vs. the Mets, and on April 21, 2016, vs. the Red Sox. His knack for getting pegged earned him the nickname, "La

Piñata A piñata (, ) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container fill ...

Cleveland Indians

On August 1, 2016, the Rays traded Guyer to the

in exchange for prospects Nathan Lukes and Jhonleider Salinas. In 2016 he batted .241/.347/.406 in 293 at bats, and led the major leagues in

, with 31. On January 18, 2017, Guyer signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Indians. The contract also included a $3 million club option for the 2019 season. In 2017, Guyer batted .236/.326/.327 in 165 at bats. In 2018, Guyer batted .206/.300/.371 in 194 at bats. The Indians bought out Guyer's contact for 2019, making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

, on October 30, 2018.

Chicago White Sox

On February 5, 2019, Guyer signed a minor league contract with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. He was released on March 23. On March 26, he re-signed with the White Sox. In 16 games for the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

, he batted .244/.367/.366 with no home runs and 6 RBI. He became a free agent following the season on November 4. On February 3, 2020, Guyer signed a minor league contract with the

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

. The Giants released him in March. Guyer subsequently announced his retirement on July 6.

Coaching career

On February 23, 2023, the

hired Guyer as a mental strength coaching consultant.

Personal life

Guyer was included as a defendant in a $5 million lawsuit filed in April 2012 with fellow Rays prospect, Matt Bush. The lawsuit was based on Bush being involved in an accident while driving Guyer's

Dodge Durango The Dodge Durango is a mid-size SUV produced by Dodge starting with the 1998 model year. The first two generations were very similar in that both were based on the Dodge Dakota and Dodge Ram, both featured a body-on-frame construction and both ...

; the lawsuit was settled in 2013. Guyer and his wife, Lindsay, have three children.

References

External links

*
Virginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guyer, Brandon 1986 births Living people Baseball players from Charlottesville, Virginia Major League Baseball outfielders Tampa Bay Rays players Cleveland Indians players Virginia Cavaliers baseball players Harwich Mariners players Arizona League Cubs players Boise Hawks players Peoria Chiefs players Daytona Cubs players Tennessee Smokies players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Durham Bulls players Baseball players from Chester County, Pennsylvania Charlotte Knights players