Joey Rickard


Joseph Mark Rickard is an American professional baseball outfielder in the San Francisco Giants organization. Prior to his professional career, he played college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats of the University of Arizona, and was a member of the 2012 College World Series champions. The Tampa Bay Rays selected Rickard in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2016. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles.

Amateur career

Rickard attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, where he played baseball with his brother John, and the University of Arizona. In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star. Playing for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team, Rickard was a member of the 2012 College World Series champions and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Rickard in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Draft, and he signed for a $125,000 signing bonus. He spent 2014 with the Montgomery Biscuits of the Class AA Southern League, and batted.243/.337/.296. Rickard began the 2015 season with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class-A Advanced Florida State League, and received promotions to the Biscuits and the Durham Bulls of the Class AAA International League, where he played in 29 games. With Montgomery, Rickard set a league record by walking six times in a game.

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles selected Rickard in the 2015 Rule 5 draft. Rickard made the Orioles' Opening Day roster, and started for the Orioles on Opening Day. He recorded his first major league hit in his first game off of Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins. On April 7, he hit his first major league home run, also against the Twins. During his first month in the Majors, Rickard played in every game for the Orioles, going 26-for-93, with five doubles, two homeruns, seven RBIs, one steal, and 11 runs.
On May 20, Rickard hit his first career lead-off home run to start a game against the Angels. The next batter would also hit a homer, giving the Orioles their 8th set of back-to-back homers on the year.
On July 20, Rickard was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a thumb ligament injury, ending his season, as he was later placed on the 60-day DL. In his rookie season, he played in 85 games, slashing.268/.319/.377 with 13 doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs. He stole four bases in five attempts and collected 69 hits. Rickard split time between all three outfield positions, primarily playing in right field.
In 2017 in the majors, Rickard batted.241/.276/.345 with four home runs and 19 RBIs. In 16 games in the minor leagues, he batted.211/.338/.281.
Rickard played 79 games for the Orioles in 2018, hitting.254/.300/.413 with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs.
Rickard started the 2019 season with Orioles, playing 42 games of.203/.304/.347 ball with two home runs and six RBIs in 118 at bats before being sent down to the minors on May 24. With AAA Norfolk, he batted.203/.338/.469 with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs in 64 at bats. Rickard was designated for assignment by the Orioles on June 17, following the promotion of Sean Gilmartin.

San Francisco Giants

On June 21, 2019, Rickard was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants and assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. With Sacramento he batted.372/.431/.587 with 45 runs, 6 home runs, and 23 RBIs in 172 at bats. He was promoted to the Giants roster on August 8. With the Giants in 2019, playing primarily left field he batted.280/.333/.380 with one home run and four RBIs in 50 at bats. He was non-tendered on December 2, 2019, and became a free agent. On January 5, 2020, the Giants resigned Rickard to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.