David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American 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 ...

. 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

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

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 ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. DeJesus, who is of Puerto Rican descent, is currently an analyst for the Cubs with

NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) was an American regional sports network that broadcast regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago Chicago metropolitan area, metropolitan area, as well as college sports ...

Career

DeJesus was raised in Manalapan Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and played high school baseball at Manalapan High School. He was drafted out of high school by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in the 43rd round of the

1997 Major League Baseball Draft The 1997 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections Supplemental first ...

. DeJesus did not sign with the Mets, opting instead to attend

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. In 1998 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 ...

in 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 ...

(CCBL) for the Bourne Braves, and returned to the CCBL in 1999 with the Chatham A's where he was named a league all-star. DeJesus was drafted in the fourth round of the

2000 Major League Baseball Draft The 2000 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held in June 2000. A total of 1,452 players were drafted. First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins ...

by the

Kansas City Royals

DeJesus made his Major League debut on September 2, 2003. After Carlos Beltrán was traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in 2004, DeJesus became the starting center fielder for the Royals. He finished sixth in the 2004 Rookie of the Year voting. On March 9, 2006, DeJesus signed a five-year, $13.8 million contract extension with the Royals through 2010, with a club option for the 2011 season. On June 15, 2008, De Jesus hit the first grand slam of his career. This prompted the game caller to remark, "He smashed the living DeJesus out of that ball!" In 2010, DeJesus was in threat of being traded along with his fellow starting outfielders, Scott Podsednik and José Guillén, who were both traded. DeJesus, on the other hand, tore a tendon on his right thumb crashing into a fence in

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

on July 22 trying to catch a fly ball by

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

shortstop

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

that eventually ended up being an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a rare play in which a Batter (baseball), batter rounds all four bases for a home run without the baseball leaving the baseball field, field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-p ...

for Jeter and had season-ending surgery. DeJesus was hoping to return to the team in September, but instead was moved to the 60-Day DL. He finished the 2010 season batting .318 with 5 home runs and 37 RBIs in 352 at-bats. On October 2, 2010, the Royals picked up his $6 million club option for 2011.

Oakland Athletics

On November 11, 2010, DeJesus was traded to the

for pitcher Vin Mazzaro and minor league pitcher Justin Marks. He finished his lone season with Oakland batting .240 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 131 games.

Chicago Cubs

On November 30, 2011, DeJesus signed a two-year deal worth $10 million, to be the primary right fielder for the

. In 2013, due to the signing of Nate Schierholtz, DeJesus moved to center field for the 2013 season.

Washington Nationals

On August 19, 2013, DeJesus was traded to the

for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. He appeared in three games for the Nationals, going 0-for-3.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 23, the Nationals traded DeJesus to the

for future considerations. DeJesus got off to a hot start with the Rays culminating in a walk-off single in the 18th inning against the Baltimore Orioles scoring Desmond Jennings. On November 6, 2013, DeJesus re-signed with the Rays, inking a two-year, $10.5 million deal. The Rays, without a true designated hitter, put DeJesus in that role in 2014, where he appeared the most. On June 19, DeJesus was placed on the disabled list with a left hand fracture on a check swing the previous day. He was hitting .269 with 5 HR and 17 RBI in 62 games before the injury. He was leading the team with a .367 OBP and a .440 SLG.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On July 28, 2015, DeJesus was traded to the

for minor league pitcher Eduar Lopez.

Retirement

On March 22, 2017, DeJesus announced his retirement.

Personal life

DeJesus was married to former high school art teacher and '' The Amazing Race 23'' contestant Kim DeJesus ( Iliff). Together, they have a son named David Kingston DeJesus Jr. He goes by the name Kingston.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dejesus, David 1979 births Living people Baseball players from Brooklyn Baseball players from Monmouth County, New Jersey American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Manalapan High School alumni Major League Baseball center fielders Sportspeople from Manalapan Township, New Jersey Kansas City Royals players Oakland Athletics players Chicago Cubs players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen Tampa Bay Rays players Los Angeles Angels players Rutgers Scarlet Knights baseball players Bourne Braves players Chatham Anglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Wichita Wranglers players Omaha Royals players Peoria Javelinas players Arizona League Cubs players Gulf Coast Rays players Charlotte Stone Crabs players