Caleb Joseph

Caleb Joseph

Joseph with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles – No. 36
Catcher
Born: (1986-06-18) June 18, 1986
Nashville, Tennessee
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 7, 2014, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average .213
Home runs 20
Runs batted in 77
Teams

Caleb Martin Joseph (born June 18, 1986) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014.

Career

Joseph attended Franklin High School in Franklin, Tennessee, where he played for the high school baseball team. He attended Lipscomb University, choosing to play college baseball for the Lipscomb Bisons in the Atlantic Sun Conference, due to the promise of more playing time than he was offered by Vanderbilt University and the University of Arkansas, where he was also recruited.[1] In his junior year, Joseph led the Bisons with a .342 batting average, 17 home runs, and a .615 slugging percentage.[2] He was named to the All-Conference team and was named the Most Valuable Player of the conference tournament.[3]

Minor leagues

The Baltimore Orioles drafted Joseph in the seventh round, with the 206th overall selection, of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Orioles, receiving a $125,000 signing bonus and tuition payments for his final three semesters of college.[3] In his first professional season, the Orioles assigned him to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League,[2] where he batted .261 with eight home runs and 34 runs batted in in 63 games. In 2009, the Orioles assigned Joseph to the Frederick Keys of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League.[4]

He played for the Bowie Baysox of the Class AA Eastern League in 2010, and for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League after the season.[5][6] The Orioles returned Joseph to Bowie in 2011 and 2012.[7] In 2013, Joseph had a .299 batting average, 22 home runs, and 97 RBI for the Baysox. He was named an All-Star at mid-season and for the season-ending team, and was named the Eastern League's Minor League Player of the Year by Topps.[8] At the mid-season Eastern League All-Star Game, Joseph won the Home Run Derby.[9] The Orioles did not renew his contract, and he was not picked up in the Rule 5 draft in December 2013.[10]

In six and a half minor league seasons, he has hit .268.[10]

Baltimore Orioles

After Joseph started the 2014 season with the Norfolk Tides of the Class AAA International League, the Orioles promoted him to the major leagues on May 7. Joseph recorded his first major league hit off of Detroit Tigers pitcher Drew Smyly on May 13.[8] On June 22, Joseph hit his first major league home run off of New York Yankees reliever David Huff.

On August 9, Joseph hit a home run in the Orioles' 10–3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals; making him the first Orioles catcher to homer in 5 consecutive games.[11] He batted .207/.264/.354 in 246 at bats for the 2014 season.

With Matt Wieters still recovering from Tommy John surgery, Joseph began the 2015 season as the Orioles starting catcher. Joseph was hitting .243 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 43 games until Wieters was activated on June 5, and following his activation, Joseph and Wieters split catching duties. In 100 games in 2015, Joseph hit .234/.299/.394 with 11 HR and 49 RBI. Joseph also caught 33% of attempted base stealers, and led the pitching staff to a 3.65 ERA when he was behind the plate.[12]

On April 20th of the 2016 season, Joseph scored on a walk off wild pitch in the tenth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2016, Joseph finished the season with zero RBIs in 141 plate appearances, the second most plate appearances all-time without an RBI in a single season in MLB history. Joseph ended his 2016 season with a .174 batting average.

Personal

Joseph's brother, Corban, has also played in MLB. Corban was also selected in the 2008 draft, chosen by the New York Yankees in the fourth round.[3][13][14]

References

  1. ↑ "Rebels' Joseph opts for Lipscomb over Vandy, Arkansas". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. November 24, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2012. (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 "IronBirds' Joseph feels right at home — Baltimore Sun". Articles.baltimoresun.com. July 21, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Strasinger, Mike (June 9, 2008). "Joseph brothers both selected in major league baseball draft". Nashville City Paper. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Joseph balances hitting, defense". InsideNova. July 4, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Joseph's clutch hit paces Scorpions rally | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. June 19, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  6. ↑ Melewski, Steve (November 13, 2010). "Caleb Joseph makes changes with his defense". Masnsports.com. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  7. ↑ Miller, Avi (April 3, 2012). "Bowie Baysox Roster Preview". Baltimore Sports Report. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "O's move Joseph up to majors, demote Weeks | Sports — WBAL Home". Wbaltv.com. May 1, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ Seiner, Jake. "Bowie's Joseph wins Home Run Derby | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "After years of late-night bus rides, Caleb Joseph enjoying chance with Baltimore Orioles". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ Townsend, Mark. "Orioles rookie Caleb Joseph has homered in five straight games". YahooSports. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  12. ↑ Kubatko, Roch (November 14, 2015). "Caleb Joseph on Matt Wieters taking qualifying offer". MASN.
  13. ↑ Nalbone, John. "Thunder are expecting big things from Corban Joseph". NJ.com. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  14. ↑ Stewart, Donovan (May 21, 2005). "Franklin earns first trip to state tourney". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 6, 2012. (subscription required)
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