David Dennis Lough ( ; born January 20, 1986) 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 ...

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 ...

, and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. While primarily used in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering syst ...

throughout his career, Lough played in all outfield positions.

Baseball career

Amateur career

A graduate of Green High School, Lough attended

Mercyhurst College Mercyhurst University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States. History On September 20, 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors just a few blocks away from the city's southern boundary. It was founded by the Si ...

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, ...

and

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Mercyhurst Lakers The Mercyhurst Lakers, representing Mercyhurst University which is located in Erie, Pennsylvania, are composed of 24 teams in intercollegiate athletics. The Lakers compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Northeast Conference for mos ...

in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Division II. For the baseball team, Lough recorded

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 is ...

s of .409 and .404 in his sophomore and junior years. As a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the football team, Lough had 16 receptions for 223 yards in his junior year.

Kansas City Royals

Lough was drafted by the

in the 11th round 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 ...

. Lough made his major league debut September 1, 2012 against 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 ...

. On June 11, 2013, Lough hit his first Major League home run off

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 ...

starter

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984), nicknamed "Mad Max", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tige ...

. On June 30, 2013, Lough became only the fifth Royal to get four extra base hits in a game, joining

George Brett George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hit ( ...

Hal McRae Harold Abraham McRae (; born July 10, 1945) is an American former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1968, 1970–72) and Kansas City Royals (1973–87). Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his care ...

, Lonnie Smith and

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

. His strong play in 2013 (.286 AVG with 5 HR's and 33 RBI over 96 games) helped him finish 8th in American League Rookie of the Year voting.

Baltimore Orioles

On December 18, 2013, Lough was traded to the

in exchange for third baseman

Danny Valencia Daniel Paul Valencia (; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israel national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red So ...

. Lough played a late-inning utility role for the Orioles in 2014, appearing in 112 games and batting .247/.309/.385 with four home runs, 16 RBI, and eight stolen bases. On April 13, 2015, the Orioles activated Lough from the disabled list so he could join the team full-time for the 2015 season. On April 25, in the tenth inning of a game against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, Lough hit a two-run walk off home run off of closer

Koji Uehara is a Japanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), as well as the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). A rig ...

to win the game 5-4. Lough 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 ...

by the Orioles on August 14. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

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

on August 23. On September 24, the Orioles selected Lough's contract, adding him back to their active roster. In 84 total appearances for Baltimore, he slashed .201/.241/.313 with four home runs, 12 RBI, and two stolen bases. On December 3, the Orioles non-tendered Lough, making him a free agent.

Philadelphia Phillies

On January 25, 2016, Lough signed a minor league contract with the

that included an invitation to spring training. On April 18, the Phillies selected Lough's contract, adding him to their active roster. He made his Phillies debut that evening. In 30 games for Philadelphia, Lough batted .239/.342/.313 with four RBI and one stolen base. On June 2, Lough was designated for assignment.

Detroit Tigers

On February 7, 2017, Lough signed a minor league contract with the

that included an invitation to spring training. In 24 games for the 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 ...

, he batted .170/.210/.203 with no home runs, RBI, or stolen bases. Lough was released by the Tigers organization on May 17.

Cleveland Indians

On May 23, 2017, Lough signed a minor league deal with the

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 ...

organization. Lough would play in only four games for the Triple–A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

on the year and elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Personal life

Lough resides in his home town of Green, Ohio.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lough, David 1986 births Living people Baseball players from Akron, Ohio Major League Baseball outfielders Kansas City Royals players Baltimore Orioles players Philadelphia Phillies players Mercyhurst Lakers baseball players Mercyhurst Lakers football players Burlington Bees players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Omaha Royals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Frederick Keys players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen New Orleans Zephyrs players Toledo Mud Hens players Columbus Clippers players