Kansas City Royals mourn the death of former player Jeremy Giambi
.JPG "Kansas City Royals designated hitter Jeremy Giambi was 3 for 3 in his first three at-bats against Cleveland during a June 25, 1999 game at Kauffman Stadium.")
Former Kansas City Royals outfielder Jeremy Giambi died Wednesday at his parents’ home in Southern California, his agent Joel Wolfe told various media outlets. Giambi was 47.
Giambi’s brother, Jason, also played in the majors and was the AL MVP in 2000. The two were teammates for portions of their careers with the Oakland Athletics.
Jeremy Giambi also played in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox. He spent six seasons in the majors from 1998-2003. He continued playing in the minors through 2005.
“We stand with the baseball world in mourning the loss of Jeremy Giambi,” a message from the Royals’ Twitter account said on Wednesday night. “Our condolences go to his family, and everyone who loved him.”
The Athletics, Phillies and Red Sox each also tweeted out messages expressing their condolences.
MLB Network Insider and New York Post baseball columnist Joel Sherman wrote in post on Twitter, “Agent Joel Wolfe passed along that Jeremy Giambi, a former player and brother of Jason, passed away today at his parents’ home in Southern California. Jason and the family requested that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.”
Giambi’s professional baseball career began with the Royals, who selected him in the sixth round of the 1996 MLB Draft out of California State Fullerton.
Giambi made his major-league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays at Kauffman Stadium on Sept. 1, 1998.
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In 108 games with the Royals in 1998-99, he slashed .275/.368/.373 with five home runs, 17 doubles and 42 RBIs.
The Royals traded him to the Athletics in February 2000 in exchange for pitcher Brett Laxton.
In 2003, Giambi and his brother testified before a federal grand jury as part of the BALCO performance-enhancing drug case involving Barry Bonds and personal trainer Greg Anderson.
In a 2005 interview with The Star, Giambi became of the first active players to acknowledge he’d used steroids during his playing career. He apologized and expressed a desire to disparage teenagers from using steroids.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 9:09 PM.
