Caleb Martin Joseph (born June 18, 1986) is an American former

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 catcher ...

. He previously 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 (AL) ...

for the

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 ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

, and

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 ...

Career

High school and college

Joseph attended Franklin High School in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

, where he played for the high school baseball team. He attended

Lipscomb University Lipscomb University is a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike o ...

, choosing to play

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

Lipscomb Bisons The Lipscomb Bisons are the athletic teams that represent Lipscomb University, located in Nashville, Tennessee, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division I level of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing ...

in the

Atlantic Sun Conference The ASUN Conference, formerly the Atlantic Sun Conference, is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Div ...

, due to the promise of more playing time than he was offered by

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

and the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, where he was also recruited. In 2007, 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 operate ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

and

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

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 thous ...

and was named a league all-star. In his junior year, Joseph led the Bisons with a .342

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 i ...

, 17

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 is ...

s, and a .615

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player ...

. He was named to the All-Conference team and was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the conference tournament.

Baltimore Orioles

The

drafted Joseph in the seventh round, with the 206th overall selection, of the

2008 Major League Baseball draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. He signed with the Orioles, receiving a $125,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

and tuition payments for his final three semesters of college. In his first professional season, the Orioles assigned him to the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of ...

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 The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, where he batted .261 with eight home runs and 34

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 ...

in 63 games. In 2009, the Orioles assigned Joseph to the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

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 un ...

. He played for the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

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 in 2010, and for the

Scottsdale Scorpions The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco G ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

after the season. The Orioles returned Joseph to Bowie in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, Joseph had a .299 batting average, 22 home runs, and 97 RBI for the Baysox. He was named an All-Star at mid-season and for the season-ending team, and was named the Eastern League's Minor League Player of the Year by

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, an ...

. At the mid-season Eastern League

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

, Joseph won the Home Run Derby. The Orioles did not renew his contract, and he was not selected in the Rule 5 draft in December 2013. In six and a half minor league seasons, he has hit .268. Joseph began the 2014 season with the

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 ...

, where he batted .261 with a .284 OBP and .402

in 22 games. He was promoted to the Orioles on May 7, going 0-for-3 in his MLB debut in a 4–3 win over 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 ...

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (commonly known as the Trop) is a multi-purpose domed stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. The stadium has been the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) since the team's inaugural seas ...

that night. His first major league hit was a fourth-inning single off

Drew Smyly Todd Andrew Smyly (born June 13, 1989), nicknamed "Big Shooter", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texa ...

in a 4–1 loss to 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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...

six nights later on May 13. He hit his first major league

off David Huff in the ninth inning of an 8–0 triumph over 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 o ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

on June 22. On August 9, Joseph hit a home run in the Orioles' 10–3 win over the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

; making him the first Orioles catcher to homer in 5 consecutive games. He batted .207/.264/.354 in 246 at bats for the 2014 season. With

Matt Wieters Matthew Richard Wieters (; born May 21, 1986) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, and St. Louis Cardinals. Wieters played college basebal ...

still recovering from

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), 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 ...

, Joseph began the 2015 season as the Orioles starting catcher. Joseph was hitting .243 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 43 games until Wieters was activated on June 5, and following his activation, Joseph and Wieters split catching duties. In 100 games in 2015, Joseph hit .234/.299/.394 with 11 HR and 49 RBI. Joseph also caught 33% of attempted base stealers, and led the pitching staff to a 3.65 ERA when he was behind the plate. After driving in a pair of runs in a 14–8 home victory over 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 expa ...

on September 11, 2015, Joseph would not be credited with a run batted in (RBI) in any MLB regular season game until 19 months and 18 days later. The span included the entire 2016 campaign in which he had 132 at-bats and 141 plate appearances, breaking a major-league record which was previously held by

Wilbur Wood Wilbur Forrester Wood Jr. (born October 22, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched for the Boston Red Sox (1961–64), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1964–65), and the Ch ...

who had 96 and 124 respectively in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

. The drought ended when he hit a two-run homer off Tommy Layne in the ninth inning of a 12–4 away loss to the Yankees on April 29, 2017. In February 2017, the Baltimore Orioles beat Joseph in arbitration, and he was given the team's $700,000 offer (an increase from his prior salary of $523,500), instead of his $1 million request. Joseph struggled early in the 2018 season. On May 18, the Orioles optioned Joseph to Norfolk.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 13, 2019, Joseph agreed to a one-year contract with the

. On December 2, 2019, Joseph was non-tendered by Arizona and became a free agent.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 19, 2020, Joseph signed a minor league contract with the

. On September 5, the Blue Jays selected Joseph from their taxi squad, then he was designated for assignment on September 11. Joseph elected free agency on October 15, 2020.

New York Mets

On February 25, 2021, Joseph agreed to a deal with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

, reportedly a split contract. On April 30, 2021, Joseph was released by the Mets organization.

Seattle Mariners

On May 7, 2021, Joseph signed a minor league contract with the

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 team ...

organization.

Broadcasting Career with Toronto Blue Jays

In 2022, Joseph joined Rogers Sportsnet to serve as an analyst for Toronto Blue Jays television and radio broadcasts.

Personal life

Joseph is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. Joseph is married with two children. Joseph's brother, Corban, is also a baseball player. Corban was also selected in the 2008 draft, chosen by the New York Yankees in the fourth round. They played together with the Orioles in 2018. Their father, Mark, played college baseball for

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Caleb 1986 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Nashville, Tennessee Baltimore Orioles players Arizona Diamondbacks players Toronto Blue Jays players Lipscomb Bisons baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Cotuit Kettleers players Aberdeen IronBirds players Frederick Keys players Bowie Baysox players Scottsdale Scorpions players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Norfolk Tides players Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Reno Aces players