James Patrick Edmonds (born June 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and sports commentator. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California / Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds from 1993 to 2010.
Edmonds was well known for his defensive abilities, earning eight Gold Glove Awards. He also was a prolific hitter, batting .284 with 393 home runs and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .903. He is affectionately known by Cardinal fans as "Jimmy Baseball" or "Jimmy Ballgame".
Edmonds was born on June 27, 1970, in Fullerton, California. His parents divorced when he was a child and had joint custody. His father's home was within a few miles of Anaheim Stadium. He attended Diamond Bar High School in Diamond Bar in eastern Los Angeles County.
Edmonds was selected in the seventh round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft by the California Angels. He had injured his shoulder in his senior year of high school, causing him to fall in the draft.
Following the draft, he was assigned to the Bend Bucks, the Angels' A-Short Season affiliate in the Northwest League. In 1988, he played in 35 games for the Bucks and hit .221 with no home runs and 13 runs batted in. The following year, he was promoted to the Quad Cities Angels, the team's Class-A affiliate in the Midwest League. He played in 31 games and hit .261 with 1 home run and 4 RBIs.
In 1990, Edmonds advanced to the Palm Springs Angels, the Angels' High-A affiliate in the California League. He played 91 games and hit .293 with 3 home runs and 56 RBIs. He remained with Palm Springs for the 1991 season, playing 60 games while batting .294 with two home runs and 27 RBIs. In 1992, he was promoted to Double-A with the Midland Angels in the Texas League. He hit .313 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs in 70 games for Midland. He was promoted again in 1992, moving up to the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers for 50 games, batting .299 with six home runs and 36 RBIs. In 1993, Edmonds played for the new Angels Triple-A affiliate, the Vancouver Canadians. He played 95 games for the team, batting .315 and hitting nine home runs with 74 RBIs.
1993–1996: Emergence as a power hitter
On September 7, 1993, the Angels promoted Edmonds to the majors for the first time. He made his MLB debut on September 9, starting in left field against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Edmonds collected his first major league hit on September 10 against the Toronto Blue Jays in the SkyDome, a pinch-hit double in the ninth inning off of Duane Ward. Edmonds collected his first major league RBI on September 14 against Seattle Mariners pitcher Roger Salkeld, driving in Chad Curtis with a single. In his September call-up 1993 season, Edmonds batted .246 in 61 at-bats across 18 games.
Despite the signings of outfielders Bo Jackson and Dwight Smith in the offseason, Edmonds made the Angels' 1994 Opening Day roster. Edmonds received sporadic playing time for the first half of the season, often pinch hitting and rarely starting games. He did not hit his first major league home run until May 11, 1994, in a game against the Texas Rangers where he hit a two-run shot off Rick Helling. Through his first 50 games in 1994, Edmonds was batting .328 with a .405 on-base percentage. By June, Edmonds began to receive more regular playing time, serving as the primary left fielder after Bo Jackson had been benched and Dwight Smith had been traded to Baltimore. Midway through the season, Edmonds was considered by the media to be a prime candidate for the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Although Edmonds's high averages regressed as he played more games, he finished the strike-shortened season batting .273 with five home runs and 37 RBIs. He placed eighth in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
With the departure of Chad Curtis in the offseason, Edmonds became the Angels' everyday center fielder for the 1995 season. In his new role as the team's primary center fielder, Edmonds also emerged as a formidable power hitter; he only had 29 home runs in his six-year minor league career and five in his true rookie season, leading to him being initially recognized as a contact hitter when coupled with his high batting averages. Edmonds did not hit any home runs through the first 17 games of the 1995 season, but hit six with an .857 slugging percentage in an eight-game stretch from May 15 to May 23. Edmonds received his first All-Star Game selection in 1995 and was batting .291 with 13 home runs and 52 RBIs at the All-Star break. Edmonds finished the 1995 season batting .290 with 33 home runs and 107 RBIs.
Edmonds returned to the Angels in 1996 as one of the team's best all-around hitters. On March 7, he agreed to a four-year, $9.5 million contract extension with the Angels that included a team option in the fifth year. He suffered groin and stomach injuries on May 25, sidelining him for a month. Edmonds returned to the field on June 10 but sprained his thumb the following day, causing him to be out for another month. He returned to action on July 18, going 2-for-5 with a home run against the Seattle Mariners. Edmonds finished the 1996 season batting .304 with 27 home runs and 66 RBIs.
1997–1999: Gold Glove selections
Edmonds, along with Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, and Darin Erstad, comprised a group of four outfielders that emerged as viable options for the Angels in the mid-1990s. This created a dilemma for the team's front office, who sought to have all four players serve as everyday starters. As a result, the Angels traded designated hitter Chili Davis and first baseman J. T. Snow for pitching in the 1996–97 offseason in order to create playing time for all four outfielders. Amid the positional shakeup, Edmonds was able to stay in center field while Erstad moved to first base. Edmonds received recognition for his defensive prowess in 1997, often making highlight reels. During a June 10, 1997, game against the Kansas City Royals, Edmonds ran straight back towards the center field wall of Kauffman Stadium and dove outstretched for a fly ball over his head, making the catch on the warning track. The catch is widely viewed as one of the greatest defensive plays in baseball history, with Joe Posnanski of The Athletic ranking it as the 29th-greatest moment in all of baseball history. In the 1997 season, Edmonds batted .291 and hit 26 home runs with 80 RBIs. Following the season, he received his first career Gold Glove Award.
In September 1998, the division-leading Angels fell behind the Texas Rangers in the standings, ultimately losing the division and missing out on the playoffs. Edmonds, despite batting .340 that month with five home runs and 20 RBIs, was criticized by some teammates for his purported nonchalance towards the Angels' late-season elimination. In an interview, Edmonds said that he wasn't "going to come in the next day and want to kill himself" if the Angels were mathematically eliminated. In 1998, Edmonds played a career-high 154 games, hitting .307 with 25 home runs and 91 RBIs. He received his second career Gold Glove Award.
During spring training in 1999, Edmonds tore the labrum in his right shoulder while lifting weights, aggravating an injury he had been playing through for several years prior. He underwent surgery to correct the injury, sidelining him for the first half of the season. In addition to the deactivating surgery, tensions were also rising in the clubhouse as some teammates were taking exception to Edmonds's alleged nonchalant, dismissive attitude. These factors created doubt that the Angels would bring back Edmonds after the 1999 season. Team newcomer Mo Vaughn, who had yet to share the field with Edmonds, accused him of not accepting responsibility for team struggles. Edmonds returned to the field as a designated hitter on August 2, 1999, going 2-for-4 against the Texas Rangers with a double. He returned to center field on August 7. He finished his abbreviated 1999 season batting .250 with 5 home runs and 23 RBIs in 55 games.