Joey Rickard

Joseph Mark Rickard (born May 21, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). 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.

Rickard attended Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, and the University of Arizona. 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.

Minor leagues

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Rickard in the ninth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Rickard began the 2015 season with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class-A Advanced Florida State League, and received promotions to the Montgomery Biscuits of the Class AA Southern League 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

2016

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 (23), going 26-for-93 (.280), with five doubles, two homeruns, seven RBIs, one steal, and 11 runs. He slashed .280/.303/.398, had a .701 OPS, and had seven multi-hit games, as the Orioles finished the month with a 14-9 record.

On May 20, Rickard hit his first career lead-off homerun to start a game against the Angels. The very next batter (Manny Machado) would also hit a homer, giving the Orioles their 8th set of back-to-back homers on the year. The Orioles would win the game 9-4 and Rickard would collect two hits (10th multi-hit game).

After a 5-0 loss against the New York Yankees on July 20, Rickard was placed on the 15-day DL 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.

Rickard played baseball at Bishop Gorman with his brother, John.