Award-winning former American professional baseball player who is the number one second-baseman and usefulness outfielder for the Chicago Cubs is named for Ben Zobrist. His shirt/jersey number is 18. He has also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago Cubs. He made his first All-Star team in 2009 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. He played in three World Series and won the last two, becoming a two-time World Series champion in consecutive seasons of 2015 with the Royals and 2016 with the Cubs. On 6th March 2020, he confirmed about taking retirement from his career as a baseball player. In the 2013 film “Ring The Bell”, released by Provident Films, Zobrist plays himself in a cameo role alongside Rick Sutcliffe, John Kruk, Mark Hall (also playing themselves), Ryan Scharoun, Ashley Anderson McCarthy, and Casey Bond. He is also a former counselor for Camp of Champions USA, a Christian summer day camp in central Illinois. He speaks at church events about his early life and success, which he credits all to God. He often talks about his Christian faith, saying God helped him realize that he was supposed to play baseball. “I just felt like everything fell into place so much, that this is what I was supposed to do. This is what I was made to do.” His nickname, “Zorilla,” was given to him by his manager Joe Maddon while playing for the Rays in 2009. He chose “Zorilla” as his nickname for the Players Weekend during the 2017 season. With Tim Dillard, Ryan Schmalz, and Joshua Costello, Ben Zobrist had their podcast named The SHOW and GO Podcast, categorized as a baseball podcast. In the podcast, they talked about baseball basics for amateur players, coaches, leagues, and various players, basically involving everyone and everything that comes under baseball. The podcast has a total of 17 episodes, the last episode airing on March 18th, 2019.
Ben Zobrist alleges former pastor had affair with his wife, Julianna Zobrist
Former Chicago Cubs star Ben Zobrist filed a lawsuit last month alleging that his former minister had a sexual relationship with his wife and defrauded his charity foundation. Zobrist is seeking $6 million in damages in the lawsuit against Byron Yawn-his former pastor and current CEO of a Nashville-area counseling firm. It was filed last month in Nashville Circuit Court. Ben and Julianna started attending the Community Bible Church in 2005. Yawn, the senior pastor at that church, had been there for nearly two decades and started serving as the couple’s pre-marital counselor that year, per the report. Yawn is no longer associated with the church. In 2018, per the report, Yawn started having daily conversations with Julianna and “began secretly pursuing an intimate relationship” with her just a month later. By the following spring, Zobrist alleges, Yawn started “meeting her for sex” regularly. Zobrist said that while Yawn was still serving as their counselor, he kept having his relationship with Julianna and the two started using “burner phones” to keep it secret. Ben and Julianna filed for divorce in 2019. Julianna admitted to the relationship with Yawn last summer, according to the lawsuit.
Source: @chicagotribune
Famous For
- Being an above-average hitter with a career slash line of .264/.354/.429 and a wRC+ of 118.
- Being noted for his defensive versatility.
- For playing over 4,200 defensive innings at second base, over 2,200 in right field, over 1,700 at shortstop, and over 500 innings at other outfield positions.
Source: @michiganave.mlchicagosocial.com
What is the Real Name of Ben Zobrist?
Ben Zobrist was born on 26th May 1981 in Eureka, Illinois, the USA where he grew up and experienced his childhood. His real name is Benjamin Thomas Zobrist. He is American by nationality whereas he is of Mixed ethnicity of Swiss-Germanic. He is the son of Cynthia Zobrist (mother) and Tom Zobrist (father). His father, Tom is a senior pastor of Liberty Bible Chruch in Eureka. He also has four siblings including two sisters; Serena Zobrist and Jessica Zobrist and two brothers; Peter and Noah Zobrist. Gemini is his Zodiac sign and his religion is Christian. As of 2021, he celebrated his 40th birthday. At the age of eight, he started playing baseball.
Moving to his educational qualification, he attended Eureka High School from where he graduated in the year 1999. After high school, he attended the Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri. His high school coach encouraged him to spend $50 to participate in an annual summer event that showcased seniors in Peoria, Illinois. He played in the showcase and was given an offer to play college baseball at Olivet Nazarene University, which he accepted. Playing for the university, he received the honors like all-CCAC and NAIA honorable mentions. In his senior year, he took the transfer and joined the Dallas Baptist University. For his senior year, he played shortstop and batted .378 with a .590 slugging percentage.
How was the Baseball Career of Ben Zobrist?
- Ben Zobrist initially played for the Twin City Stars of the Central Illinois Collegiate League (Now Prospect League) in the year 2002.
- Then, he played for the Wisconsin Woodchucks of the Summer Collegiate Northwoods League in 2003.
- He was drafted by the Houston Astros as a shortstop in the sixth round of the 2004 MLB draft. Later, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for first baseman/designated hitter Aubrey Huff and cash on 12th July 2006.
- He made his MLB debut with Tampa Bay on August 1, 2006, as a shortstop.
- During the 2008 season, he was for the most part used as a right fielder and a back-up shortstop.
- He went to his first World Series as a player with the Rays in 2008.
- He was placed in the right field for the beginning of the 2009 season.
- He earned a trip to his first All-Star Game in St. Louis in 2009.
- He and the Rays agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2013 season, with a team option for 2014 and 2015, a deal is potentially worth $30 million on 23rd April 2010.
- During his 2010 season, he batted .238, with a .353 slugging percentage.
- He collected a Tampa Bay Rays record eight RBIs in a 15–3 rout of the Minnesota Twins on 28th April 2011.
- In his 2012 season, he played 47 games at shortstop, the most since his rookie season. He finished the year with 20 home runs, accomplishing the feat for the second time in a row.
- He finished the 2013 season with a .275 batting average, his highest since 2009.
- He recorded his 1,000th career hit against the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium on 10th September 2014.
- He was traded to the Oakland Athletics on 10th January 2015. He hit a two-run homer in his first at-bat on an opening day with Athletics.
- Later, it was revealed on 25th April 2015 stating that Zobrist had a torn medial meniscus in his left knee, putting him on the 15-day disabled list.
- The knee required surgery, keeping Zobrist out of action for 4-6 weeks.
- He was traded to the Kansas City Royals on 28th July 2015. He played 59 games in the regular season for Kansas City and finished with a batting average of .284, with 7 home runs, 37 runs scored, and 23 RBIs.
- Later, he agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Chicago Cubs on 8th December 2015.
- He batted .272/.386/.446 and led the major leagues in walks-per-strikeout at 1.17 in 2016.
- In-Game 4 of the 2016 National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants with the Cubs having a 2-1 series lead, he drove in Kris Bryant to score the first run in the top of the ninth and later scored the tying run on a two-run single by Willson Contreras. The Cubs scored another run later that inning, sending them to the National League Championship Series.
- What’s more, he was also named the World Series Most Valuable Player and received his second World Series ring.
- He played in 159 games, batting .232/.318/.375 in his 2017 season being a finalist for the Gold Glove Award at second base, along with Dee Gordon and winner DJ LeMahieu.
- He had a career-high batting average of .305 in his 2018 season.
- He batted .260/.358/.313 with one home run in 150 at-bats in his 2019 season.
- In February 2020, Jon Heyman reported that Ben Zobrist was not planning to play in the 2020 season. He confirmed his retirement on 6th March and said he was open to joining the Cubs in a non-player capacity “down the line”.
Awards and Achievements
- 3× All-Star (2009, 2013, 2016)
- 2× World Series champion (2015, 2016)
- World Series MVP (2016)
Who is Ben Zobrist’s Wife?
Ben Zobrist was a married man. He married his long-term girlfriend, Julianna Zobrist on 17th December 2005. Their wedding took place in Iowa City, Iowa. By profession, Julianna Zobrist is an American Christian musician and author. In 2014, the few co-authored an autobiographical book entitled Double Play: Religion and Family First. Julianna has up to now published a full-size studio record Shatterproof which has offered at 3,000 copies and also a solitary Safe. Together, they have three children; a son, Zion Benjamin Zobrist (born on 1st February 2009), and two daughters; Allegra Zobrist (born on 10th September 2011), and Balise Royal Zobrist (born on 6th November 2015). His sexual orientation is straight and he is not gay. After 14 years of their marriage, he filed for divorce in Williamson County. On the same day, his wife, Julianna filed for divorce in Cook County. Zobrist claimed in his filing that his wife has been “guilty of inappropriate marital conduct which renders further cohabitation impossible.” He stated that he was “unsure if the family can be salvaged.” Julianna deleted her Twitter and scrubbed her IG of most of their pics together. They also had a home in Franklin, Tennessee. Their marital problems had led Zobrist to pause his participation in the 2019 MLB season. As of June 2021, he filed a lawsuit in Tennessee against his former pastor, Byron Yawn, in which he accused Yawn of defrauding Zobrist’s charity, Patriot Forward, of millions of dollars. The lawsuit also alleged that Yawn had had a year-long sexual affair with Juliana Zobrist beginning in the spring of 2019.
Everything You Need To Know About Julianna Zobrist
Source: @instagram.com/benzobrist18
How much is Ben Zobrist Net Worth and Salary?
As of 2021, the estimated net worth of Ben Zobrist is $52 Million. In 2019, his salary as the baseball player for the Chicago cubs was $3,086,022 whereas his salary was $16,000,000 as of 2018 and 2017. The total cash he received during his career as a baseball player from the year 2004 to 2009 is in the range of $78.3 million including the signing bonus and incentives. His major source of wealth comes from his baseball career and he is living a lavish lifestyle. His ex-wife, Julianna Zobrist’s net worth is $1 Million at present.
How tall is Ben Zobrist?
Ben Zobrist is a handsome man with brown eyes and auburn hair. He has got a medium-length beard which suits him well. He stands at a perfect height of 6 feet and 3 inches and he weighs around 95 kg. His other body measurements are not available at a moment. Overall, he has got a healthy body with an athletic body type.
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