Ben Zobrist

Baseball Player

Ben Zobrist was born in Eureka, Olio Township, Woodford County, Illinois, United States on May 26th, 1981 and is the Baseball Player. At the age of 42, Ben Zobrist biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Other Names / Nick Names
Benjamin Thomas Zobrist, Zorilla
Date of Birth
May 26, 1981
Nationality
United States
Place of Birth
Eureka, Olio Township, Woodford County, Illinois, United States
Age
42 years old
Zodiac Sign
Gemini
Profession
Baseball Player
Social Media
Ben Zobrist Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 42 years old, Ben Zobrist has this physical status:

Height
191cm
Weight
95kg
Hair Color
Dark Brown
Eye Color
Blue
Build
Athletic
Measurements
Not Available
Ben Zobrist Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Christianity
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Eureka High School, Olivet Nazarene University
Ben Zobrist Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Julianna Gilmore (2005
Children
Not Available
Dating / Affair
Julianna Gilmore (2005
Parents
Thomas ‘Tom’ Zobrist, Cynthia ‘Cindi’ Zobrist
Siblings
Serena Zobrist (Sister), Noah Zobrist (Brother), Peter Zobrist (Brother), Jessica Zobrist (Sister)
Other Family
Lloyd Zobrist (Paternal Grandfather), Jeanine Pederson (Paternal Grandmother), Andrew Cali III (Maternal Grandfather), Dorothea ‘Dot’ Marshall (Maternal Grandmother), Cheryl Gilmore (née Kauk) (Ex-Mother-in-Law), Jeff Gilmore (Ex-Father-in-Law) (Pastor), Jonathan Gilmore (Ex-Brother-in-Law), Jeffrey Paul Gilmore (Ex-Brother-in-Law), Caroline Kay Gilmore (Ex-Sister-in-Law), Rosie Hansen (Ex-Sister-in-Law), Liz Gilmore (Ex-Sister-in-Law)
Ben Zobrist Life

Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (born May 26, 1981), also known as Zorilla, is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is a free agent.

He has played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, his first MLB team and where he spent the majority of his time, as well as the Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago Cubs.

Zobrist has competed in three World Series, winning the last two seasons with the Royals and the Cubs, as well as in 2016.

Zobrist was the Most Valuable Player in the 2016 World Series.

He is one of seven players to win back-to-back World Series championships on different teams, with Jake Peavy, Jack Morris, Bill Skowron, Clem Labine, Don Gullett, and Ryan Theriot among the other six finalists in MLB history. He has played approximately half of his innings at second base, as well as stints at shortstop and various outfield positions. He has been a versatile defender and a switch-hitter with a high walk rate.

He has also been described as a "super utility player" in the past.

Early life

Zobrist was born and raised in Euka, Illinois, by his parents, Cynthia "Cindi" (née Cali), and Tom Zobrist, senior pastor of Liberty Bible Church in Eureka. He grew up a Cardinals fan.

Zobrist played baseball from the age of eight; he and his classmates constructed their own wiffle ball field behind his house. Zobrist attended Eureka High School, graduating in 1999. Zobrist thought baseball was over for him after no serious scout or college recruiters considered him by the time he graduated. "Baseball was not even a thought in my mind," Zobrist said, "I was driving around town thinking I'm done with baseball the rest of my life." Zobrist intended to attend Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri, but his high school coach encouraged him to invest $50 to participate in an annual summer festival that showcased seniors in Peoria, Illinois. He participated in the showcase and was offered a chance to play college baseball at Olivet Nazarene University, which he accepted. He pitched and also played at shortstop and second base in Olivet during his time there. He was appointed to both the all-CCAC and all-Region VII First Teams in 2002 and was given NAIA Honorable Mention All-America status. He was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, the first team All-Region VII, and the first team to NAIA All-America in 2003. He enrolled at Dallas Baptist University for his senior year, where he played shortstop and batted.378 with a.590 slugging percentage.

Personal life

Zobrist lives in Franklin, Tennessee. He and his estranged wife, singer Julianna Zobrist (née Gilmore), have three children, one of whom was born five days after Zobrist's Royals defeated the 2015 World Series. Blaise Royal was born the day after the Royals World Series parade. Zobrist filed for divorce in Tennessee on the same day as Julianna Zobrist filed for divorce in Illinois in May 2019. Zobrist had to cancel his participation in the 2019 MLB season due to his marital woes.

Zobrist filed a lawsuit in Tennessee against his former pastor, Byron Yawn, alleging that he defrauded Zobrist's charity, Patriot Forward, of millions of dollars. Yawn was also charged with a year-long sexual affair with Julianna Zobrist, which began in the spring of 2019.

Zobrist is a former counselor at Camp of Champions USA, a Christian summer day camp in central Illinois. He speaks at church services about his youth and triumph, which he attributes entirely to God. Zobrist often speaks about his Christian faith, saying that God made him know that he was not meant to play baseball. "I just felt like everything fell into place so much that this was supposed to be done." This is what I was made to do." Gabe Gross, a former teammate, and he and his colleagues have discussed how they organize Bible studies with their colleagues. Zobrist "doesn't judge or proselytize, instead of enforcing his convictions on anyone, but willing to get involved if asked."

Zobrist stars in the 2013 film Ring The Bell, which was released by Provident Films.

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Ben Zobrist Career

Baseball career

Zobrist played for the Twin City Stars of the Central Illinois Collegiate League (Now Prospect League) in 2002 and then for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Summer Collegiate Northwoods League in 2003 in Wausau, Wisconsin. He was named team MVP and led his team to the League Championship.

In the sixth round of the 2004 MLB draft, Zobrist was drafted by the Houston Astros as a shortstop. On July 12, 2006, Mitch Talbot, a right-handed pitcher, was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for first baseman/designated hitter Aubrey Huff and cash.

On August 1, 2006, Zobrist made his MLB debut with Tampa Bay. In his first two seasons with Tampa Bay, he only played shortstop.

Zobrist struggled with the Rays in 2006 and 2007. He encountered a "swing mechanic" (batting coach) looking for students one day. During the 2008 season, the swing coach was able to assist Zobrist, and it was evident to the Rays. "He introduced the power component," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said, "He became a lot more physical."

During the 2008 season, Zobrist was for the most part a right fielder and a back-up shortstop. In some situations where a fifth infielder was needed, he or B.J. During the season, Upton (a former infielder himself) will be moved to outfield. In 2008, Zobrist appeared in his first World Series as a Rays player. He was a hit in Game 3 of the 2008 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies as part of a double switch to play right field. However, Zobrist played initially timid, effectively becoming a fifth infielder.

Zobrist was drafted in right field for the 2009 season, and he was named as the starting second baseman after teammate Akinori Iwamura was hospitalized. Zobrist had a breakout season in the American League, finishing fifth in on-base percentage (.404), sixth in walks (91), and seventh in slugging percentage (.543). In 2009, he won a trip to his first All-Star Game in St. Louis. He was named MVP of the Rays by the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Union of America in 2009.

With 8.6, Zobrist led all hitters in the majors in 2009, ahead of Albert Pujols' 8.4 WAR.

Zobrist and the Rays agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2013 season, with a roster option for 2014 and 2015, potentially worth $30 million. Zobrist batted.238, a.353 slugging percentage.

In a 15–3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on April 28, 2011, Zobrist had a game eight RBIs in a Tampa Bay Rays record. Zobrist drove in another two runs in a previously rainout game, resulting in a total of ten RBIs on the day.

With 8.8, Zobrist led the American League in WAR, ahead of MVP Justin Verlander and MVP Jacoby Ellsbury.

Zobrist's abilities were used in a variety of positions throughout the 2012 season. He appeared in 47 games at shortstop, the most since his rookie season. He was also used as an outfielder and second baseman.

For the second time in a row, Zobrist ended the year with 20 home runs, marking the achievement.

Zobrist was the strikeout survivor on a tense call that resulted in Joe Nathan's 300th career save on April 8, 2013. For the second time in his career, Zobrist was named an All Star. He had a.275 batting average in 2013 this season, his highest since 2009.

Zobrist hit the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium on September 10, his 1,000th career victory.

Zobrist was traded to the Oakland Athletics by Yunel Escobar in exchange for John Jaso, Daniel Robertson, and Boog Powell on January 10, 2015. Zobrist's first at-bat on Opening Day with the Athletics, had a two-run home run. Zobrist had a torn medial meniscus in his left knee, putting him on the 15-day disabled list on April 25, 2015. The knee required surgery, and Zobrist was out of action for 4 to six weeks.

Zobrist was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks on July 28, 2015. He played 59 games for Kansas City in the regular season and finished with a batting average of.284, with 7 home runs, 37 runs scored, and 23 RBIs.

For the ALDS, the Royals won the AL Central Division and played the Houston Astros, with Zobrist starting in all five games. After defeating the Toronto Blue Jays in six games to become the American League Champions, the Royals have advanced to the World Series. In four of the five games played, the Royals won the 2015 World Series after defeating the New York Mets in four of the five games played. In every game of the 2015 Royals postseason, Zobrist played second base and batted second. In the 2015 playoffs, he hit.303 with 66 at bats, 15 runs scored, 20 runs, 2 home runs, and 6 RBIs.

Zobrist agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Chicago Cubs on December 8, 2015. Since he was a Tampa Bay Rays fan, Joe Maddon, his boss, was reunited with him. He batted.272/.446/.446/.446 in 2016 and led the major leagues in walks-per-strikeout at 1.17.

With the Cubs leading by 2–1 in Game 4, Zobrist drove in Kris Bryant for his first run in the ninth and then scored the tying run on a two-run single by Willson Contreras for the first run in Game 4 of the National League Division Series. The Cubs won another run after inning, sending them to the National League Championship Series for the second time. Following the Cubs' Game 7 victory in the 2016 World Series, he was named the World Series Most Valuable Player and received his second World Series ring. He was the eighth player in Major League history to win consecutive World Series championships on different teams.

Zobrist played in 159 games in 2017, batting.232/.375.375. He made only three mistakes and had a.99 percent fielding percentage. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at second base, as well as Dee Gordon and winner DJ LeMahieu.

He had a batting average of.305 in 2018. On August 14, 2018, home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi was dismissed for the first time in his career.

Zobrist started the season on June 6 in 2019 after being placed on the restricted list for a family emergency. Zobrist announced his return in late July 2019 and began rehab work with the South Bend Cubs and Myrtle Beach Pelicans in response to rumors throughout the next month. Zobrist made his first Major League pitching appearance in September 2019, defeating Yadier Molina. He batted.260/.313 with one home run at bats in 2019.

Jon Heyman revealed in February 2020 that Zobrist did not want to play in the 2020 season. On March 6, Zobrist announced his resignation and said he was keen to join the Cubs in a non-player capacity "down the line."

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