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Joey Gallo

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For people with a similar name, see Joseph Gallo.
Joey Gallo
Gallo with the Texas Rangers in 2017
Free agent
Outfielder / Third baseman / First baseman
Born: (1993-11-19) November 19, 1993 (age 30)
Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 2, 2015, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.194
Home runs208
Runs batted in453
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Joseph Nicholas Gallo (born November 19, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder, third baseman and first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals.

The Rangers selected Gallo in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 2015. He was selected to the 2019 and 2021 MLB All-Star Games and won the Gold Glove Award in 2020 and 2021. He currently has the most home runs ever (203) for a player with a career batting average under .200 (.195).[1]

Early life

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Gallo attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2] As a senior, he was the Nevada Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year and a High School All-American by MaxPreps, ESPNHS and USA Today.[3][4][5][6] He hit a Nevada high school record 67 career home runs in 446 at bats, and during his senior year of high school he had a .509 batting average with 21 home runs and 80 runs batted in (RBIs) in 114 at bats.[7][8]

Gallo signed a National Letter of Intent to play college baseball for the LSU Tigers.[9]

Professional career

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Draft and minor leagues

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The Texas Rangers selected Gallo in the first round, with the 39th overall selection, in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.[10][11] Rather than enroll at LSU, Gallo signed with the Rangers for a $2.25 million signing bonus.[9]

Gallo with the Hickory Crawdads in 2013

Gallo started his professional career with the Arizona League Rangers, where he hit .293/.435/.733 with 18 home runs and 52 runs batted in in 150 at bats over 43 games, and was named a Post-Season AZL All Star, a Topps Short-Season/Rookie All Star, and the Topps AZL Player of the Year.[12] The 18 home runs were an Arizona League record.[13] He was named the Arizona League MVP.[14][15] He was promoted to the Spokane Indians of the Class A Short-Season Northwest League, hitting .214/.343/.464 with four home runs and 26 strikeouts in 56 at bats in 16 games.[12]

Prior to the 2013 season, Gallo was the Rangers 10th-best prospect according to Baseball America.[16] He played the season with the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League, leading the league with 38 home runs and 165 strikeouts in 392 at bats, and was named a Mid-Season All Star and a Post-Season All Star.[17][12] He became the first teenager since Dick Simpson in 1962 to hit 40 home runs in a minor league season.[18] Between two minor league teams, he batted .251/.338/.623 with 40 home runs and 172 strikeouts in 411 at bats. Gallo won the Joe Bauman Home Run Award for hitting the most home runs in minor league baseball for the 2013 season.[19] Over the offseason, he worked out with Troy Tulowitzki and Jason Giambi at the Philippi Sports Institute in Las Vegas.[20]

Gallo started the 2014 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, batting .323/.463/.735 and leading the league with 21 home runs as he struck out 64 times in 189 at bats and was named a Mid-Season All Star and a Post-Season All Star as well as the Carolina League MVP, and was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Class AA Texas League in June where he was named a Post-Season All Star, a Baseball America High Class A All Star, a Baseball America Minor League All Star, and a Topps Class A All Star.[21][22][12] In July, he played in the All-Star Futures Game, where he was named the MVP of the game after hitting a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning.[23] Between the two minor league teams he batted .271/.394/.615 with 42 home runs and 179 strikeouts in 439 at bats.[12] Gallo began the 2015 season with Frisco, and was named a Mid-Season Texas South All Star.[12]

Texas Rangers (2015–2021)

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On June 1, 2015, the Rangers promoted Gallo to the major leagues.[24] On June 2, in his first major league game, Gallo hit a home run and drove in four runs, becoming the first Ranger to achieve four RBIs in an MLB debut game.[25] On June 5, Gallo earned his first MLB Golden Sombrero against the Kansas City Royals.[26] On June 30, 2015, Gallo was optioned to Triple A to make room for Josh Hamilton. In the minors in 2015, he batted .240/.342/.520 with 23 home runs and 139 strikeouts in 321 at bats. In 2015 in the majors, he batted .204/.301/.417 with six home runs and 57 strikeouts in 108 at-bats.[12]

Gallo with the Round Rock Express in 2016

In 2016, Gallo spent the majority of the season in the minors, appearing in only 17 games for the Rangers. In 2016, in 25 at-bats in the majors, he had 19 strikeouts and one hit (a home run).[27] With Round Rock, he batted .240/.367/.529 with 25 home runs and 150 strikeouts in 359 at-bats.[12]

In 2017, Gallo won a major league roster spot out of spring training and played multiple positions all season for the Rangers. For the season, he batted .209/.333/.537 with 196 strikeouts (second in the American League), 41 home runs (third in the league), and 80 RBIs in 449 at bats.[27] He hit the third-longest home run in MLB in 2017, at 490 feet.[28]

In 2018, Gallo batted .206/.312/.498, hit 40 home runs (third in the league), drove in 92 runs, and struck out 207 times in 148 games.[29]

In 2019, Gallo was named the AL Player of the Week for the week of April 15–21 after hitting .478 (11-23) with four home runs and 11 RBI over six games.[30] On May 8, Gallo hit his 100th career home run versus Nick Kingham of the Pirates.[31] He became the fastest player in American League history to reach 100 home runs, doing so in his 377th career game (his record was since surpassed by Gary Sanchez, who reached 100 home runs in 355 games).[31] Gallo also set an MLB record by recording the fewest career singles (93) at the time of reaching the 100 home run mark.[31] On May 31, Gallo hit his first career grand slam off of Danny Duffy of the Kansas City Royals.[32] Gallo was placed on the injured list from June 2 to 25 with a left oblique strain.[33] He was selected as an American League reserve outfielder for the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game,[34] and hit a home run off of Will Smith in his lone All-Star at-bat.[35] Gallo was placed on the injured list and underwent surgery to remove a broken right hamate bone on July 25,[36] ending his season. Gallo finished the 2019 campaign hitting .253/.389/.598/.986 with 22 home runs and 49 RBI over 297 plate appearances in 70 games.[37]

On July 6, 2020, it was announced that Gallo had tested positive for COVID-19,[38] despite being asymptomatic.[39] He hit the first home run at the Rangers' new stadium Globe Life Field on July 26. At the end of the season, Gallo won the AL Gold Glove Award as a right fielder.[40] He finished the shortened season batting .181 with 10 home runs.[41]

On April 9, 2021, Gallo was the only baserunner allowed by Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove in his no-hitter against the Rangers, getting hit by a pitch in the fourth inning. Gallo was named to the 2021 MLB All-Star Game,[42] drawing a walk in his only plate appearance.[43] Gallo also participated in the 2021 Home Run Derby.[44]

New York Yankees (2021–2022)

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On July 29, 2021, the Rangers traded Gallo and Joely Rodríguez to the New York Yankees in exchange for Josh Smith, Glenn Otto, Trevor Hauver, and Ezequiel Durán.[45]

In 2021, he batted .199/.351/.458 with 38 home runs and 77 RBIs.[27] He led the majors in strikeouts with 213 and led the American League in walks with 111.[46] Gallo also won his second consecutive Gold Glove Award.[47]

Gallo in March 2022

On March 22, 2022, Gallo signed a $10.275M contract with the Yankees, avoiding arbitration.[48] Gallo's performance dropped off dramatically in 2022, continuing what was described in the New York Post as a "nightmare tenure in The Bronx." He was further described as "one of the biggest trade busts in Yankees history."[49] Shortly before being traded away from the Yankees, Gallo said of his time in New York, "I don't go out in the streets... I really don't want to show my face too much around here... I went through a lot of adversity and I really had to question myself a lot. My confidence suffered. I would say I hit rock bottom for the big leagues." He went on to say that opposing players would try to give him encouragement in the face of boos from fans but that their pity "makes me feel like a piece of s**t, [sic] honestly... it makes me feel like I'm a problem."[50] In 82 games for the Yankees in 2022, he batted a career low .159 with 12 homers and 24 RBIs.[27]

Los Angeles Dodgers (2022)

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On August 2, 2022, Gallo was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Clayton Beeter.[51] He played in 44 games for the Dodgers, hitting .162 with seven homers and 23 RBIs.[27]

Minnesota Twins

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The Minnesota Twins signed Gallo to a one-year, $11 million contract on December 20, 2022.[52] He played in 111 games for the Twins, batting .177/.301/.440 with 21 home runs and 40 RBIs.[27] He became a free agent following the season.

Washington Nationals

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Gallo with the Nationals in 2024

On January 27, 2024, Gallo signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Washington Nationals.[53] On November 3, the Nationals declined the mutual option on Gallo's contract, making him a free agent.[54]

Personal life

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Gallo grew up in Las Vegas and played on youth baseball teams with Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant.[55][56] Mike Bryant, Kris' father, was one of Gallo's coaches growing up.[56] He is of Italian descent. Gallo's father, Antonio (Tony), is the son of Italian immigrants from Sciacca, Sicily, and was raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

During the delay of the 2020 Major League Baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gallo stayed in his Dallas apartment and set up a batting cage in his living room.[57]

References

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  1. ^ "Who Has the Most Hr While Hitting Below 200 in a Career". StatMuse.
  2. ^ Brewer, Ray (February 15, 2012). "Gorman baseball player Joey Gallo has big bat, talent to merit first-round draft pick". Lasvegassun.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  3. ^ Rohrbach, Ben (May 30, 2012). "Nevada Baseball POY: Joey Gallo". Espn.go.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  4. ^ Kevin Askeland (July 4, 2012). "Joey Gallo leads 2012 MaxPreps All-American Baseball Team". Maxpreps.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  5. ^ "ESPNHS 2012 Baseball All-Americans". Espn.go.com. June 21, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  6. ^ Halley, Jim (January 14, 2013). "Tampa Jesuit's Lance McCullers Jr. Leads All-USA Baseball Team". USA Today High School Sports. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  7. ^ Davison, Drew. "Home run ball has gotten Rangers prospect Joey Gallo plenty of love". Star-telegram.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  8. ^ "Joey Gallo's High School Baseball Stats". MaxPreps.com.
  9. ^ a b Dabe, Christopher (June 2, 2015). "Former LSU signee Joey Gallo homers in major league debut". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  10. ^ RunThisTown (Matt Philips) (June 4, 2012). "Bishop Gorman's Joey Gallo goes 39th overall to the Texas Rangers". Lasvegassun.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  11. ^ "Rangers draft high school power on Day 1". Texas.rangers.mlb.com. May 24, 2013. Archived from the original on November 10, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h "Joey Gallo Stats, Fantasy & News". MiLB.com.
  13. ^ "Fresh out of high school, prospect Joey Gallo puts on Texas Rangers uniform for first time". Rangersblog.dallasnews.com. March 16, 2013. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  14. ^ Wild, Danny (August 29, 2012). "Rangers' Gallo named AZL's best". Milb.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  15. ^ Boedeker, Adam (November 6, 2012). "Gallo Takes MVP Honors in Arizona". Nbcdfw.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  16. ^ Eddy, Matt (December 5, 2012). "Baseball America 2013 Texas Rangers top 10 prospects". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  17. ^ "2013 South Atlantic League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  18. ^ Seiner, Jake (August 31, 2013). "Gallo makes history with 40th homer". Milb.com. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  19. ^ "Late charge earns Gallo Bauman Award: Rangers slugger edges Astros' Springer in season's final week". MiLB. September 5, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  20. ^ "Slugging prospect Gallo works out with two All-Stars | texasrangers.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
  21. ^ "2014 Carolina League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  22. ^ "Gallo, Gonzalez promoted to Double-A Frisco". Texas Rangers. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  23. ^ "Joey Gallo earns Futures Game MVP honors after leading Team USA to victory - HardballTalk". nbcsports.com. July 13, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  24. ^ "Grant: Why Rangers feel time is right for Joey Gallo to join big club". dallasnews.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  25. ^ Sullivan, T.R. (June 2, 2015). "Gallo homers in second big league at-bat". MLB.com. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  26. ^ Grant, Evan (June 6, 2015). "Why Rangers aren't concerned about Joey Gallo's first 'Golden Sombrero'". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  27. ^ a b c d e f "Joey Gallo Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  28. ^ "Statcast Leaderboard". baseballsavant.com.
  29. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2018 » Batters » Plate Discipline Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball". www.fangraphs.com.
  30. ^ David Adler (April 22, 2019). "Yelich, Gallo power way to POTW honors". MLB.com. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  31. ^ a b c Crouse, Jake (May 8, 2019). "Weird record: Gallo has 100 HRs, 93 singles". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  32. ^ "Joey Gallo Connects For First Career Grand Slam As Rangers Defeat Royals 6-2". CBS DFW. May 31, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  33. ^ James Schmehl (June 25, 2019). "Joey Gallo back from IL, batting fifth". MLB.com. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  34. ^ Dawn Klemish (June 30, 2019). "Career years earn Gallo, Minor 1st All-Star nods". MLB.com. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  35. ^ T.R. Sullivan (July 9, 2019). "Gallo swats record blast on first pitch he sees". MLB.com. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  36. ^ T.R. Sullivan (July 25, 2019). "Gallo headed for surgery to fix hamate bone". MLB.com. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  37. ^ Evan Grant (September 20, 2019). "Joey Gallo moved to 60-day IL, Rangers don't expect him to play again this season". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  38. ^ Blum, Sam (July 6, 2020). "Rangers OF Joey Gallo tests positive for COVID-19". The Dallas Morning News.
  39. ^ Hawkins, Stephen (July 6, 2020). "Asymptomatic All-Star slugger Gallo tests positive for virus". AP NEWS. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  40. ^ "2020 Rawlings Gold Glove Award® Winners Announced". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  41. ^ "Joey Gallo Player page". Baseball-Reference.com.
  42. ^ Landry, Kennedi (July 7, 2021). "902 feet?! Gallo hits 22nd, 23rd HRs of '21". MLB.com. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  43. ^ Landry, Kennedi (July 14, 2021). "'Just special': Rangers trio represents in ASG". MLB.com. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  44. ^ "Washington Nationals' Juan Soto, Texas Rangers' Joey Gallo join field for All-Star Home Run Derby at Coors Field". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  45. ^ Hoch, Brian (July 29, 2021). "Yankees get Gallo in 6-player deal". MLB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  46. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2021 » Batters » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball". fangraphs.com.
  47. ^ Hoch, Bryan (November 7, 2021). "Back to back! Gallo wins Gold Glove in RF". MLB.com. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  48. ^ Franco, Anthony (March 22, 2022). "Yankees Avoid Arbitration With Joey Gallo". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  49. ^ Martin, Dan (August 3, 2022). "Yankees' Aaron Boone: This place had 'adverse effect' on Joey Gallo". New York Post. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  50. ^ Miller, Randy (August 2, 2022). "Joey Gallo sums up Yankees fans, feeling 'like a piece of s**t' on eve of new start". NJ.com. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  51. ^ Toribio, Juan (August 2, 2022). "Dodgers get slugger Gallo from Yankees". mlb.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  52. ^ "Twins sign Joey Gallo to one-year contract". MLB.com.
  53. ^ Svoboda, Dylan; Camerato, Jessica (January 29, 2024). "Slugger Gallo excited to bring defensive versatility to Nats". MLB.com. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  54. ^ "Joey Gallo to hit free agency after Nationals decline option". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
  55. ^ Joey Hayden (April 17, 2018). "Joey Gallo's career as a catcher ended because a young Bryce Harper once made him cry". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  56. ^ a b Maun, Tyler (April 9, 2015). "Rise to top a family affair for Bryant, Gallo". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  57. ^ Hayden, Joey (March 29, 2020). "'I'm sorry neighbors': Rangers' Joey Gallo turns home into indoor batting cage during MLB's hiatus". Dallas News. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
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