Jeffrey Burton Clement (born August 21, 1983) 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 ...

player. Clement was a

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 ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

. He 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) ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

. Clement attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC), where he played

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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

and won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top collegiate catcher. The Mariners selected Clement in the first round (third overall) in the

2005 MLB draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

. He struggled with injuries, which have limited his playing career.

Amateur career

Clement was born and raised in

Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...

. As a twelve-year-old, Clement led the 1996 Marshalltown team to the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the ...

. At Marshalltown High School, he broke the national high school

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 ...

record, formerly held by

Drew Henson Drew Daniel Henson (born February 13, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and National Football League quarterback. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football ...

. He finished his high school career with 75 home runs. Clement led his high school team as a catcher/

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

to the Iowa 4-A State Championship game in his senior year (2002). Clement was featured in the September 16, 2002, issue of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' as part of the "For the Love of the Game" article. Out of high school, Clement was drafted in the 12th round 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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

(362nd overall) due to a poor performance at a pre-draft showcase, but did not sign. Clement then went to

and also played on the U.S. National Team. In his freshman year, he was named Collegiate Baseball Freshman National Co-Player of the Year,

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Conference Freshman of the Year, earned ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

'' Freshman All-America first team, and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American first team honors. As a sophomore, Clement earned ''Baseball America'' Preseason All-America first team and NCBWA Preseason All-America first team honors, as well as Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America second team honors. He was also named as a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award. In , he won the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top collegiate catcher, earned 2005 ''Baseball America'' All-America First Team, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'' Sports Weekly All-America first team and Collegiate Baseball All-America first team honors, as well as 2005

National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962. The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the nat ...

All-America third team honors and was a Finalist for the 2005

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given ...

and named All-Pac-10 for the third straight year.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

He made his MLB debut on September 4, , and ended up appearing in nine games for the season, registering 16

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. On April 30, , Clement was called up for his second stint in the MLB by the Mariners. He went 1-for-1 in a

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

appearance against 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

. With catcher Kenji Johjima signed to a large contract, Clement spent 2008 playing both catcher and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. He was optioned to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

late in

Spring Training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

2009. On July 29, 2009, the Seattle Mariners sent Clement, along with

Ronny Cedeño Ronny Alexander Salazar Cedeño (born February 2, 1983), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Houston Astros ...

Nate Adcock Nathan Masler Adcock (born February 25, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds. High school Before playing professionall ...

, Brett Lorin, and Aaron Pribanic to the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for Jack Wilson and Ian Snell. Clement was immediately optioned to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opene ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

He entered 2010 spring training competing for the job of starting

with Steve Pearce and Garrett Jones. In 2010, Clement played 54 games for the Pirates, hitting .201 with 7 home runs. Clement was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

in August 2010 with left knee irritation, ending his season. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster in November 2010. Clement had knee surgery in the offseason, and missed all of 2011

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. He started a rehab assignment in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

on July 21, 2011. Clement became a free agent after the 2011 season. In December 2011, he re-signed with the Pirates on a minor league deal. On June 2, 2012, Clement hit for the cycle in a minor league game, while playing for the

. On August 24, 2012, Clement was promoted to the majors. On August 31, 2012, Clement was outrighted to the minors, but was called up again on September 3. He 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 play ...

on October 25, 2012. In November 2012, Clement elected free agency.

Minnesota Twins

Clement signed with the

in November 2012. He announced his retirement from baseball on March 31, 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clement, Jeff 1983 births Living people All-American college baseball players Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Baseball players from Iowa Everett AquaSox players Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball first basemen Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Peoria Javelinas players Pittsburgh Pirates players Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Missions players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Marshalltown, Iowa Tacoma Rainiers players United States national baseball team players USC Trojans baseball players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games