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

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 catc ...

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 majori ...

. 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

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. Clement attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC), where he 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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. 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 Major League Baseball 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 drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...

. 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 Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Vetera ...

. 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 (primarily boys) aged 10 to 12 years old, held in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for th ...

. At

Marshalltown High School Marshalltown High School (MHS) is public high school located in Marshalltown, Iowa and is home to 1,600 students in grades 9–12. It is a part of the Marshalltown Community School District. The district, and therefore the high school, serves ...

, he broke the national high school

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

record, formerly held by

Drew Henson Drew Daniel Henson (born February 13, 1980) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman and National Football League (NFL) quarterback. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft. He playe ...

. 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 ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

(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 athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Conference Freshman of the Year, earned ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' 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'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' 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 30 teams in the n ...

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 to ...

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

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 (PH) 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, Am ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. 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. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

. 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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

late in

Spring Training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

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

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

, Nate Adcock, Brett Lorin, and Aaron Pribanic to the Pittsburgh Pirates, in exchange for Jack Wilson and

Ian Snell Ian Dante Snell (born October 30, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. From 2001 to 2003, he went by the name Ian Oquendo ...

. 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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

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 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

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, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. 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 low ...

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 Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization ...

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 pla ...

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 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 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 Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball