Nick Markakis

Nicholas William Markakis ( ) (born November 17, 1983) is a Greek-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Markakis was the Orioles' first-round draft pick (seventh overall) in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, and made his MLB debut in 2006. Markakis is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, and he won a Silver Slugger Award and was named an MLB All-Star in 2018. Markakis previously held the MLB record for consecutive games by an outfielder without making an error (398). Markakis retired prior to the start of the 2021 season. Early life Markakis was born in Glen Cove, New York, but moved to Woodstock, Georgia, when his family—which includes his parents, Dennis and Mary Lou, and his brothers Dennis, Greg, and Michael—relocated. He is of Greek and German descent. Collegiate and Olympic career Markakis was originally drafted in the 35th round (1,056th overall) of the 2001 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds, from Woodstock High School in Woodstock, Georgia, but did not sign. Markakis instead attended Young Harris College, where he played college baseball for the Young Harris Mountain Lions baseball team. The Reds drafted him again in the 23rd round (675th overall) of the 2002 MLB draft, but he returned to Young Harris. Markakis played as both an outfielder and a pitcher, hitting .439 with 21 home runs and 92 runs batted in (RBIs), while also garnering a 12–0 win–loss record as a pitcher with one save and a 1.68 earned run average in 15 games. He was twice named Georgia Junior College Player of the Year, was awarded Baseball America'''s 2002 National JUCO Player of the Year and was named the American Baseball Coaches Association's 2003 NJCAA Division I Player of the Year. In August 2003, Markakis played for the Greek national baseball team in the European National Championships, winning a silver medal with Team Greece. He also played for the Greek national baseball team in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.