Brent Lillibridge

Brent Stuart Lillibridge (born September 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. He was known for his versatile playing skills and defensive prowess in the outfield. As a utility player, he started at every position except pitcher and catcher in his career.

Brent Lillibridge
Lillibridge with the Chicago White Sox in 2011
Utility player
Born: (1983-09-18) September 18, 1983
Everett, Washington, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 26, 2008, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
August 4, 2013, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Batting average.205
Home runs19
Runs batted in71
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2003 Santo Domingo Team competition

Amateur career

Lillibridge attended Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek, Washington.[1]

Lillibridge played for the Washington Huskies baseball program for three seasons, where he was named to the All-Pac-10 Conference Team for three straight seasons.[2][3] In 2004, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4][5]

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Lillibridge in the fourth round, with the 121st overall selection, of the 2005 MLB draft.[6]

Lillibridge during his tenure with the Atlanta Braves in 2008

Atlanta Braves

On January 17, 2007, the Pirates traded Lillibridge with Mike Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves for Adam LaRoche and Jamie Romak.[7]

Lillibridge began the 2008 season in Triple-A for the Richmond Braves. He played 19 games and batted .195 with one home run before his contract was purchased on April 26, 2008.[8] He made his major league debut on that same day against the New York Mets and had four at bats and struck out three times. He doubled for his first major league hit on June 25, 2008 at Toronto.

On July 12, 2008 in a game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, Lillibridge hit his first major league home run against relief pitcher Joe Thatcher.[9]

Chicago White Sox

On December 4, 2008, the Braves traded Lillibridge, Tyler Flowers, Jon Gilmore, and Santos Rodriguez to the Chicago White Sox for Javier Vázquez and Boone Logan.[10]

On April 11, 2011, Lillibridge hit a fifth-inning home run off Dallas Braden. It was the 10,000th home run hit in the 112-year history of White Sox baseball.[11]

Lillibridge garnered media coverage after he made two back-to-back, game-saving and game-ending defensive catches while playing right field on April 26, 2011. The catches comprised the two final outs of a game played against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium and resulted in the White Sox getting the victory.[12]

Boston Red Sox

On June 24, 2012, Lillibridge was traded to the Boston Red Sox with Zach Stewart for Kevin Youkilis and cash.[13] The Red Sox designated him for assignment on July 16.

Cleveland Indians

Lillibridge was traded by Boston to the Cleveland Indians on July 24, for minor league pitcher José De La Torre.[14] On November 20, 2012, Lillibridge was assigned outright to the Indians Triple-A affiliate Columbus Clippers.[15][16] Lillibridge declined the assignment to Columbus and was granted free agency on November 26.

Chicago Cubs
Lillibridge playing for the Iowa Cubs, triple-A affiliates of the Chicago Cubs, in 2013

On January 10, 2013, Lillibridge signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs.[17] On March 31, the Cubs added Lillibridge to their major league active roster.[18][19] He was designated for assignment on April 16, 2013.[20] On April 19, Lillibridge cleared waivers, and was assigned to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League.[21]

New York Yankees

On June 21, 2013, Lillibridge was traded to the New York Yankees for cash considerations.[22] The Yankees promoted Lillibridge to the major leagues when they placed Derek Jeter on the disabled list on July 19.[23] He was designated for assignment to make room for the activation of Alex Rodriguez on August 5.[24] He was outrighted from the 40-man roster and optioned to Triple-A on August 9.[25] He declared free agency on October 1.

Texas Rangers

Lillibridge signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on December 12, 2013.[26] He was assigned to the minor league camp on March 22, 2014 failing to make the Rangers' opening day roster.[27] He became a free agent after the 2014 season and had chosen to retire by the start of the 2015 season.[28][29]

Personal life

Lillibridge is married to Stephanie, with whom he has three children.[29] Lillibridge is a Christian, and his invitation to baseball player Steven Souza to attend church with him led to Souza becoming baptized.[30]

References
  1. "Brent Lillibridge Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  2. "2005 Washington Baseball Roster". University of Washington. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
  3. "University of Washington Baseball Players Who Made It to a Major League Baseball Team". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2005. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  4. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. "2004 Harwich Mariners". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. "Lillibridge, Everitt Selected In MLB Draft". Gohuskies.com. June 7, 2005. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  7. "Braves trade LaRoche to Bucs for Gonzalez". Sports.espn.go.com. January 19, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  8. "Lillibridge To Make MLB Debut Today". Gohuskies.com. April 26, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  9. "Francoeur's tiebreaking single helps Braves bury Padres". Espn.go.com. July 12, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  10. "Braves complete Vazquez deal". MLB.com. December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  11. "10,000 Franchise HR". MLB.com. April 11, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  12. "In case you missed the game-saving catches by White Sox OF Brent Lillibridge (video)". Chicago Sun-Times. November 27, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  13. Merkin, Scott. "White Sox acquire Youkilis from Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  14. Bastian, Jordan (July 24, 2012). "Tribe acquires Lillibridge from Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  15. Bastian, Jordan (November 20, 2012). "Tribe adds four Minor Leaguers to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  16. Hoynes, Paul (November 20, 2012). "Matt LaPorta outrighted as Cleveland Indians add 4 to 40-man roster for Rule 5 Draft". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  17. Muskat, Carrie (January 10, 2013). "Cubs sign Valbuena, announce 16 spring invites". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  18. Muskat, Carrie (March 31, 2013). "Cubs to decide on Barney's status Monday". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  19. Muskat, Carrie (April 1, 2013). "Takahashi, Gonzalez, Lilllibridge make roster". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  20. Nowak, Joey (April 16, 2013). "Cubs shake up bench, 'pen, add Ransom, Loe, Gregg". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  21. John Arguello (April 19, 2013). "Cubs Game Notes and Thread: Doing the roster shuffle — Lillibridge, Gonzalez, Takahashi | Cubs Den". Chicagonow.com. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  22. Padilla, Doug (April 26, 2011). "Cubs trade utility man Lillibridge to Yanks". Espn.go.com. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  23. Hoch, Bryan (July 19, 2013). "Lillibridge excited for opportunity with Yanks". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  24. Randhawa, Manny (August 5, 2013). "Calf strain forces Jeter back to disabled list". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  25. Eddy, Matt (August 19, 2013). "Minor League Transactions: Aug. 8-15". Baseball America. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  26. Sullivan, T. R. (December 13, 2013). "Rangers in good shape after Winter Meetings". MLB.com. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  27. "Texas Rangers send Brent Lillibridge to minor league camp". DallasMorning News. March 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  28. Eddy, Matt (November 7, 2014). "Minor League Free Agents 2014". Baseball America. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  29. Myhre, Rich (April 20, 2015). "Lillibridge is teaching others how to play the game he loves". Everett Herald. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  30. "Faith helps Rays' Steven Souza Jr. turn around life, career". March 8, 2015.
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