Cameron Maybin

Cameron Keith Maybin was born on April 4, 1987, and now works as a baseball broadcaster after a long playing career. A center fielder, he appeared in the majors for ten different teams: the Detroit Tigers, Florida and Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. The Tigers selected him tenth overall in the 2005 draft, and he made his MLB debut with them in 2007. He won a World Series ring with the Astros in 2017.

Growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, Maybin attended T. C. Roberson High School. As a freshman, he led his squad to the 2002 state 3A title and earned MVP honors for the championship series. His coach in the Connie Mack amateur league, Joe Hayden, compared his instincts in the outfield and at the plate to those of Ken Griffey Jr., whom Hayden had also coached. The summer before his senior year, Maybin won the Connie Mack batting title and the league’s World Series MVP award. Baseball America named him the 2004 Youth Player of the Year.

Before the 2005 draft, Baseball America rated Maybin the top outfield prospect and the third-best hitting prospect overall. He slid to the Tigers at pick ten partly because teams thought he’d be tough to sign. He eventually signed in September for a $2.65 million bonus. In 2006, his first pro season, he played for the Class-A West Michigan Whitecaps, helping them win the Midwest League championship while batting .304 with nine homers and 27 steals.

He was selected for the All-Star Futures Game. That November, MiLB.com gave him the Class A Playoff Performer Award. He started 2007 with the High-A Lakeland Flying Tigers, then moved up to Double-A Erie in August, playing just six games there before getting called to the majors. Throughout his time in the Tigers’ system, he was consistently ranked their top minor league prospect.

In 2008, now with the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate in Carolina, he hit .277 with 13 homers, 49 RBIs, and 21 steals, though he also struck out 124 times in 390 at-bats.

Maybin debuted for the Tigers on August 17, 2007, going 0-for-4. At 20, he was the youngest player in the American League. The next day, he collected his first career hit (a single) and first home run—both off Roger Clemens—and was then hit by a Clemens fastball, making him the first player to homer off a Cy Young winner born before he was. In December 2007, the Tigers traded him to the Florida Marlins as part of a package for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

Called up in September 2008, he went 16-for-32 (.500) with four steals in eight games, and on September 28 he caught the final out at Shea Stadium, a fly ball from the Mets’ Ryan Church. He started 2009 as Florida’s Opening Day center fielder but was sent down to Triple-A New Orleans in May after hitting .202 in 22 starts. He returned in August after batting .319 in the minors. In 2010, he again began as the starter but was demoted in June with a .225 average, then hit .340 in Triple-A before rejoining the club in August. He finished that season at .234 with nine steals over 82 games.

After 2010, the Marlins traded Maybin to the Padres for Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. In 2011, he became the ninth Padre to steal 40 bases, hitting .264 with nine homers and 40 RBIs. He was the team’s nominee for the Hank Aaron Award, and the San Diego Union-Tribune called his acquisition one of the best trades in Padres history, naming him the team’s MVP. MLB.com noted his center-field defense was Gold Glove-caliber. In March 2012, he signed a five-year, $25 million contract with a club option. That season, he slumped to .212 in the first half but rebounded to .283 after the break, finishing at .243/.306/.349 with 26 steals. He credited removing a high leg kick from his swing for the improvement, though a sore wrist also caused him to miss some games.