George Springer

George Chelston Springer III (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional baseball player who plays outfield and designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent the first seven seasons of his MLB career with the Houston Astros, from 2014 through 2020. Though he has mostly played right field, he has also logged significant time in center field.

Springer played college ball at the University of Connecticut, where he was named Big East Conference Baseball Player of the Year and a First Team All-American. The Astros picked him in the first round of the 2011 draft. He made his MLB debut in 2014. In 2017, Springer became an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and helped the Astros win the World Series. He was named World Series MVP that year after hitting five home runs (tying a record) as Houston beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games. He was also an All-Star in 2018, 2019, and 2022. Before the 2021 season, he signed with Toronto as a free agent.

Springer spent his freshman year at New Britain High School in Connecticut, playing varsity baseball despite being 5 feet tall and weighing 100 pounds. He then transferred to Avon Old Farms School for his sophomore through senior years, repeating his junior year after his grades slipped. The Minnesota Twins selected him in the 48th round of the 2008 draft, but he decided he wasn’t ready for pro ball and didn’t sign.

At UConn, Springer was named to Baseball America’s Freshman All-America First Team in 2009 and was the Big East Rookie of the Year. He played summer ball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he was Big East Player of the Year and a first-team All-American according to Perfect Game USA, Louisville Slugger, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, while Baseball America named him a second-team All-American.

The Astros took Springer with the 11th overall pick in the 2011 draft, making him the highest-drafted player in UConn history. He signed for a $2.52 million bonus and played eight games for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A Short-Season New York–Penn League. Before 2012, MLB.com ranked him the 84th-best prospect in baseball.

In 2012, Springer played for the Lancaster JetHawks (Class A-Advanced California League) and the Corpus Christi Hooks (Class AA Texas League), hitting 22 home runs and stealing 28 bases with Lancaster. Splitting 2013 between Corpus Christi and the Oklahoma City RedHawks (Class AAA Pacific Coast League), he joined the 30–30 club with more than 30 homers and steals. He was named MVP of the Texas League All-Star Game and played in the All-Star Futures Game at Citi Field. Despite only 73 games with Corpus Christi, he was named Texas League Player of the Year and was a finalist for USA Today’s Minor League Player of the Year Award.

Before the 2014 season, Baseball America ranked Springer the 18th-best prospect. During spring training that year, he and his agent turned down a reported seven-year, $23 million contract offer, even though he hadn’t yet played in the majors. He started 2014 with Oklahoma City, hitting .353 with a .647 slugging percentage, before being called up to the big-league club on April 16.

Springer made his MLB debut on April 16, 2014, at Minute Maid Park against the Kansas City Royals. Batting second and playing right field, he got his first career hit—an infield single off Jeremy Guthrie. He hit his first home run on May 8 at Comerica Park off Detroit’s Drew Smyly. By June 26, he had 15 homers, making him the first Astros rookie to reach that mark before the All-Star break. On July 23, he went on the 15-day disabled list with a left quad strain, and on September 16 the Astros announced he was done for the season. He played 78 games in 2014, batting .231 with 20 home runs, 51 RBIs, and 114 strikeouts.

On April 12, 2015, against the Texas Rangers, Springer robbed Leonys Martín of a potential game-winning grand slam with a leaping catch at the wall in the 10th inning at Globe Life Field. The Astros won 6–4 in 14 innings. On June 10 against the Chicago White Sox, he had his first five-hit game—the first for an Astro since Brandon Barnes’s cycle in 2013. Along with Jose Altuve, rookie Carlos Correa, and Dallas Keuchel, Springer was a key part of the Astros’ playoff run that year, their first in a decade. They beat the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card Game, then lost to the eventual World Series champion Royals in the AL Division Series, 3 games to 2. In that series, the Astros held and lost the lead in every game.

After cutting down his strikeout rate from his rookie year, Springer improved the quality of his at-bats.