May 26, 1981
Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (/ˈzoʊbrɪst/; born May 26, 1981) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago Cubs. Zobrist played in three World Series and won the last two, becoming a two-time World Series champion in consecutive seasons of 2015 with the Royals and 2016 with the Cubs. He was the World Series MVP in 2016.
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May 26, 1981
Benjamin Thomas Zobrist was born on May 26, 1981, and raised in Eureka, Illinois, by his parents Cynthia "Cindi" (née Cali) and Tom Zobrist, senior pastor of Liberty Bible Church in Eureka. He grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
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1999
Zobrist played baseball starting when he was eight years old; he and his friends built their own wiffle ball field behind his house. Zobrist attended Eureka High School, graduating in 1999. After no professional scouts or college recruiters considered him by the time he graduated, Zobrist thought baseball was over for him. "Baseball was not even a thought in my mind", Zobrist said, "When I was done with my last high school game, I was driving around town just thinking I'm done with baseball the rest of my life." Zobrist planned to attend Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri, but his high school coach encouraged him to spend $50 to participate in an annual summer event that showcased seniors in Peoria, Illinois. He played in the showcase, and was given an offer to play college baseball at Olivet Nazarene University, which he accepted.
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2002
In his time at Olivet, he pitched and also played at shortstop and second base. In 2002 he was named to both the all-CCAC and all-Region VII First Teams, and received NAIA Honorable Mention All-America status. He was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, first team All-Region VII, and first team NAIA All-America in 2003. He transferred to Dallas Baptist University for his senior year, where he played shortstop and batted .378 with a .590 slugging percentage.
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2002
Zobrist played for the Twin City Stars of the Central Illinois Collegiate League (Now Prospect League) in 2002 and then in Wausau, Wisconsin, for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Summer Collegiate Northwoods League in 2003. He was voted team MVP and led his team to the League Championship.
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July 12, 2006
Zobrist was drafted by the Houston Astros as a shortstop in the sixth round of the 2004 MLB draft. With right-handed pitcher Mitch Talbot, Zobrist was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for first baseman/designated hitter Aubrey Huff and cash on July 12, 2006.
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August 01, 2006
Zobrist made his MLB debut with Tampa Bay on August 1, 2006. He exclusively played shortstop in his first two seasons with Tampa Bay.
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2008
Zobrist was a right fielder and a back-up shortstop during the 2008 season. Zobrist went to his first World Series as a player with the Rays in 2008. His versatility was showcased during Game 3 of the 2008 World Series against the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies when he came in as part of a double switch to play right field.
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2009
His nickname, "Zorilla," was given to him by his manager Joe Maddon while playing for the Rays in 2009. Zobrist chose "Zorilla" as his nickname for the Players Weekend during the 2017 season.
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2009
Zobrist led all hitters in the majors in 2009 for wins above replacement with 8.6, ahead of Albert Pujols' 8.4 WAR.
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2009
Zobrist was placed in right field for the beginning of the 2009 season, and was made the starting second baseman after teammate Akinori Iwamura was injured. Zobrist enjoyed a breakout season, finishing fourth in the American League in on-base percentage (.405), sixth in walks (91), and seventh in slugging percentage (.543). He earned a trip to his first All-Star Game in St. Louis in 2009. The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America named him MVP of the Rays for 2009.
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2010
On April 23, 2010, Zobrist and the Rays agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2013 season, with a team option for 2014 and 2015, a deal potentially worth $30 million. In 2010, Zobrist batted .238, with a .353 slugging percentage.
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April 28, 2011
On April 28, 2011, Zobrist collected a Tampa Bay Rays record eight RBIs in a 15–3 rout of the Minnesota Twins. Another game was held during the day to make up for a previously rained out game and Zobrist drove in another two runs, making a total 10 RBIs for the day.
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April 08, 2013
On April 8, 2013, Zobrist became the strikeout victim on a disputed call that led to Joe Nathan's 300th career save. Zobrist was named an All Star for the second time of his career. He finished the 2013 season with a .275 batting average, his highest since 2009.
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January 10, 2015
On January 10, 2015, Zobrist was traded to the Oakland Athletics with teammate Yunel Escobar in exchange for John Jaso, Daniel Robertson, and Boog Powell. On Opening Day with the Athletics, Zobrist hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat. On April 25, 2015, it was revealed that Zobrist had a torn medial meniscus in his left knee, putting him on the 15-day disabled list. The knee required surgery, keeping Zobrist out of action for 4–6 weeks.
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July 28, 2015
On July 28, 2015, Zobrist was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks. He played 59 games in the regular season for Kansas City and finished with a batting average of .284, with 7 home runs, 37 runs scored, and 23 RBIs.
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December 08, 2015
On December 8, 2015, Zobrist agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. The signing reunited him with Joe Maddon, his manager when he was a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. In 2016, he batted .272/.386/.446 and led the major leagues in walks-per-strikeout at 1.17.
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2017
In 2017, Zobrist played in 159 games, batting .232/.318/.375. Playing five different positions, he committed only three errors and had a fielding percentage of .991. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at second base, along with Dee Gordon and winner DJ LeMahieu.
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2018
In 2018, he had a career-high batting average of .305. He was ejected for the first time in his career on August 14, 2018, by home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi.
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2019
In 2019, Zobrist started the season playing in 26 games before being placed on the restricted list on May 6 to deal with a family matter. Following rumors throughout the next months, Zobrist announced his return in late July 2019, and began rehab assignments with the South Bend Cubs and Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Zobrist also had his first Major League pitching appearance in September 2019, striking out Yadier Molina. In 2019 he batted .260/.358/.313 with one home run in 150 at bats.
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May 2019
Zobrist lives in Franklin, Tennessee. He and his former wife, singer Julianna Zobrist (née Gilmore), have three children, one of whom was born five days after Zobrist's Royals won the 2015 World Series. Julianna gave birth to Blaise Royal the day after the Royals World Series parade. In May 2019, Zobrist filed for legal separation in Tennessee on the same day that Julianna Zobrist filed for divorce in Illinois. Their marital problems had led Zobrist to pause his participation in the 2019 MLB season.
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February 2020
In February 2020, Jon Heyman reported that Zobrist was not planning to play in the 2020 season. Zobrist confirmed his retirement on March 6, and said he was open to joining the Cubs in a non-player capacity "down the line".
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June 2021
In June 2021, Zobrist filed a lawsuit in Tennessee against his former pastor, Byron Yawn, in which he accused Yawn of defrauding Zobrist's charity (Patriot Forward) of millions of dollars. The lawsuit also alleged that Yawn had had a year-long sexual affair with Julianna Zobrist beginning in the spring of 2019. In a deposition for the divorce, Julianna Zobrist admitted to having had an affair with Yawn. In August 2021, Zobrist dropped his lawsuit against Yawn.
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