Quick Facts
Biography
Jonathan Rufino Jezus Schoop (/skoʊp/ skohp; born October 16, 1991) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball.
Professional career
Before he became a major leaguer, he played in the 2003 and 2004 Little League World Series for Curaçao. Schoop was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent in 2008. In 2011, Schoop along with Manny Machado represented the Orioles at the 2011 All-Star Futures Game. He was awarded the Brooks Robinson Minor League Player of the Year, given to the best player in the Orioles minor league system. During his minor league career, Schoop was primarily a shortstop.
Schoop played for the Netherlands national baseball team at the 2012 European Baseball Championship.
Prior to the 2012 season, Schoop was ranked by Baseball America as the Orioles third best prospect and the 82nd best overall.
Baltimore Orioles
2013
Schoop was recalled by the Orioles from the Triple-A Norfolk Tides on September 3, 2013.
In his first major league at-bat on September 25, 2013, Schoop hit a single off Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Esmil Rogers. Two at-bats later, he hit his first career home run off Kyle Drabek, with a distance measured at 430 feet. He finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, a walk, and 3 runs scored. In 5 Major League games, Schoop finished the year with 4 hits, a home run and an RBI.
Schoop played in five games at the end of the year and hit .286 (4-for-14), scoring five runs, hitting one homerun, and driving in one run.
2014
On April 9, 2014, Schoop hit the second home run of his career off of Yankees RHP Masahiro Tanaka, a towering three-run shot over the left field foul pole at Yankee Stadium helping the Orioles to a 5-4 victory. In 137 games of 2014, Schoop batted .209 with 16 home runs and 45 RBI. With the Orioles finishing 96-66, the team clinched their first regular season AL East championship since 1997.
Schoop hit .300 in the Orioles ALDS sweep of the Detroit Tigers, while also driving in two runs. In the ALCS, however, Schoop only hit .091 (1-for-11), as the Orioles were swept by the Kansas City Royals
2015
On April 11, 2015, Schoop hit his first career grand slam, off of Toronto Blue Jays reliever, Todd Redmond.During a game against the Boston Red Sox on April 17, 2015, Schoop sustained a partially torn PCL and sprained MCL, which forced the Orioles to place him on the disabled list.
Schoop would end up playing in 86 games during the 2015 season, collecting 85 hits (.279), 17 doubles, 15 homeruns, 39 RBIs, and two steals in as many attempts. In 387 total chances, Schoop only committed seven errors for a .982 fielding percentage. The Orioles finished the season with an 81-81 record and missed out on the postseason.
2016
Schoop got off to a hot start and in his first ten games, hit .351 while hitting three home runs and driving in eight. By the end of April, he had hit four home runs, driven in 11, and hit .256. Schoop hit his first grand slam of the season on May 14 in a 9-3 comeback victory over the Tigers. It was Schoop's second home run of the game, and he drove in a total of five runs. On August 14, Schoop hit a go-ahead three run home run against San Francisco Giants closer Santiago Casilla in the top of the 9th inning to complete a seven run comeback for the Orioles, having trailed 7-1 prior to the 7th inning.
Schoop hit his 20th home run of the season on August 22, his first career 20-homer season. He became the fifth Oriole on the year to have at least 20 home runs, making the Orioles the only Major League club to accomplish this feat on the year. On August 31, Schoop hit his 21st home run of the season, and the 55th of the month for the Orioles, tying an MLB record just two months after setting the home run record in June. Baltimore became the first team to hit 55+ home runs in a month on two occasions.
Schoop hit his 25th home run of the season on September 30 against the Yankees, making him the fifth Oriole on the year with at least 25 homers. This tied the franchise record from 1996. They also became just the 12th team in MLB history to do so. It was also the Orioles 250th home run of the season, passing the 2000 Houston Astros for fifth most home runs in a single-season all-time. He finished the 2016 season with 38 doubles, 25 home runs, 82 RBI and batted .267/.298/.454 while starting all 162 regular season games, and the AL Wild Card game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Personal Life
Schoop competed in the Little League World Series twice on the Pabao Little League team from Willemstad. After a third place finish in 2003, Schoop helped the team win the championship in 2004. His brother, Sharlon Schoop, currently plays in the Orioles' minor league organization.