LaMonte Wade Jr.

LaMonte Aaron Wade Jr. (born January 1, 1994), nicknamed "Late Night LaMonte," is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the University of Maryland, College Park. The Minnesota Twins selected Wade in the ninth round of the 2015 MLB draft. He previously played in MLB for the Twins, with whom he made his MLB debut in 2019.

LaMonte Wade Jr.
Wade with the Giants 2023.
San Francisco Giants – No. 31
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1994-01-01) January 1, 1994
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 28, 2019, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.241
Home runs45
Runs batted in133
Teams

Amateur career

Wade attended St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Maryland. He played baseball and basketball.[1] In baseball he played outfield and pitched. He was named to the All-Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association team in 2010, 2011, and 2012, to the 2011 and 2012 Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches Preseason All-State team, and to the 2011 Baltimore Sun All-Metro Second Team.[1] He was also named to the 2012 Preseason Under Armour All-American Team and the 2012 Baltimore Sun All-Metro First Team, and was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2012 in Maryland by Dynamic Baseball.[1]

He then attended the University of Maryland, College Park, where he played college baseball for the Maryland Terrapins. He played as a first baseman in his freshman year, but then became a center fielder.[2] In 2015 he batted .335/.453 (2nd in the Big Ten Conference)/.468.[3] For the Terrapins, Wade had a .394 on-base percentage in three seasons, walking more times than he struck out.[4] In 2014, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5]

Professional career

Minnesota Twins (2015–20)
Wade with the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2016.

The Minnesota Twins selected Wade in the ninth round, with the 260th overall selection, of the 2015 MLB draft, and he signed for a signing bonus of $163,800.[6] He made his professional debut with the Elizabethton Twins of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, batted .312/.428 (6th in the league)/.506 with a .934 OPS (7th) and 46 walks (2nd), 5 triples (3rd), 9 home runs (6th), 44 RBIs (4th), and 12 stolen bases (8th), and was an Appalachian League post-season All Star.[7][8] He was promoted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Single–A Midwest League in the final week of the season.[4][9][10]

Wade began the 2016 season with Cedar Rapids.[9] He started in the 2016 Midwest League All-Star Game.[11] Following the All-Star Game, the Twins promoted Wade to the Fort Myers Miracle of the High–A Florida State League.[12][13] Wade finished 2016 batting .293/.402/.438 with eight home runs and 51 runs batted in (RBIs).[14] He was an MILB.com organization All Star.[7]

Wade spent the 2017 season with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Double–A Southern League, where he batted .292./.397 (10th in the league)/.408 with 74 runs (6th), seven home runs, and 67 RBIs (7th), while leading the league with 11 sacrifice flies, coming in second with five intentional walks, and drawing 76 walks (third in the league).[15] He was a Southern League mid-season All Star.[7] After the season, the Twins assigned Wade to the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.[16]

Wade began the 2018 season in Chattanooga. He was a Southern League mid-season All Star.[7] He was promoted to the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple–A International League in June.[17] The Twins added Wade to their 40-man roster after the 2018 season.[18] He opened the 2019 season back with Rochester.[19]

On June 27, 2019, the Twins promoted Wade to the major leagues.[20] He made his major league debut on June 28 versus the Chicago White Sox.[21] In 2019 for the Twins he batted .196/.348/.375 with 10 runs, 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs in 56 at bats, playing primarily center field.[22] In 2020 for the Twins he batted .231/.318/.308 with three runs, no home runs, and one RBI in 39 at bats.[22]

San Francisco Giants (2021–present)
Wade Jr. in St. Louis, 2023.

On February 4, 2021, the Twins traded Wade to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Shaun Anderson.[23] Players and fans dubbed Wade "Late Night LaMonte" and "Late Inning LaMonte" due to his late-game heroics during the regular season.[24]

In the 2021 regular season, Wade batted .253/.326/.482 with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in 336 at bats, and six steals in seven attempts.[22] Batting in games that were late and close, he hit .362/.444/.511, with 2 out and runners in scoring position he hit .407/.484/.889, and in the 9th inning he hit .565/.583/.826.[25] He played 52 games in right field, 42 games in left field, 31 games at first base, and 2 games in center field.[22] He won the 2021 Willie Mac Award as the team's most inspirational player.[26]

In 2022, other than 58 at bats with the Triple–A Sacramento River Cats in which he batted .250, with the Giants he batted .207/.305/.359 in 217 at bats, in which he had 29 runs, 8 home runs, and 26 RBIs.[27] With the Giants he played 33 games in right field, 22 at first base, 19 in left field, 10 at DH, and one in center field.[27]

On January 13, 2023, Wade agreed to a one-year, $1.375 million contract with the Giants, avoiding salary arbitration.[28] On June 2, Wade made history by hitting the 100th splash hit (off of Dean Kremer of the Baltimore Orioles) at Oracle Park.

Personal life

Wade is from Owings Mills, Maryland.[29] He has a brother, Jamal, who also played baseball for the Terrapins.[30][29]

References
  1. "LaMonte Wade - Baseball". University of Maryland Athletics.
  2. "Versatile LaMonte Wade blossoming into a star for Terps". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  3. "2015 Big Ten Conference Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. "In passing on Stefon Diggs and LaMonte Wade, Ravens and Orioles missed out on Terps talent". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  5. "#9 LaMonte Wade". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. "LaMonte Wade - Stats - The Baseball Cube". TheBaseballCube.com.
  7. "LaMonte Wade Jr Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com.
  8. "2015 Appalachian League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. "LaMonte Wade continues torrid start as Cedar Rapids Kernels topple Clinton, 7-3". The Gazette. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  10. "LaMonte Wade joins Kernels from Elizabethton; Chris Paul activated from DL - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  11. "LaMonte Wade, Luis Arraez of C.R. Kernels named starters for Midwest League All-Star Game". The Gazette. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  12. "A bunch of new faces to begin 2nd half for Cedar Rapids Kernels". The Gazette. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  13. "Florida State League notebook: Minnesota Twins' LaMonte Wade continues to impress since promotion to Fort Myers Miracle". MiLB.com. August 10, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  14. "LaMonte Wade Jr Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  15. "2017 Southern League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.
  16. "Surprise Saguaros Active Roster". Major League Baseball. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  17. "Mining the Minors: Alan Busenitz blocked; Adalberto Mejia, LaMonte Wade on the rise - 1500 ESPN Twin Cities". Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  18. Bollinger, Rhett (November 20, 2018). "Twins protect Nick Gordon from Rule 5 Draft | Minnesota Twins". Mlb.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  19. "LaMonte Wade". Baseball Cube. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  20. Connor Byrne. "Twins To Call Up LaMonte Wade Jr". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  21. Phill Miller (June 29, 2019). "Debut of Twins rookie LaMonte Wade Jr. has its ups and downs". Star Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  22. "LaMonte Wade Jr Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  23. Guardado, Maria (February 4, 2021). "Giants add OF Wade Jr. in deal with Twins". MLB.com. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  24. Brisbee, Grant (September 22, 2021). "LaMonte Wade Jr.'s late-inning heroics for the Giants are among some of the greatest in baseball history". theathletic.com.
  25. "LaMonte Wade Jr 2021 Batting Splits". Baseball-Reference.com.
  26. Kroner, Steve (October 2, 2021). "LaMonte Wade Jr. earns Giants' Willie Mac Award as most inspirational player". San Francisco Chronicle.
  27. "LaMonte Wade Jr. College, Amateur, Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  28. "2023 MLB Arbitration Tracker". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  29. "St. Paul's graduate LaMonte Wade is part of historic run for Terps baseball team". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  30. "Proficiency at table tennis helps LaMonte Wade turn into a Midwest League all-star". The Gazette. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
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