Ian M. Desmond ¡ married to Chelsey ¡ together they have three sons: Grayson, Cruz and Ashton ¡ they welcomed a baby girl, Dakota, in October 2018 ¡ they reside in Sarasota, Fla., in the offseason ... Has a younger brother, Chris, and two sisters, Nikki and Paige ... Since 2012, has joined forces with the Children's Tumor Foundation to help raise awareness for Neurofibromatosis ... Graduated from Sarasota High School in 2004 ... Committed to play collegiately at University of South Florida prior to signing with the Montreal Expos in 2004.
2019
Made 104 starts in the outfield (67 in center field, 37 in left) in his third season in Colorado ... Recorded the first two pinch-hit home runs of his Major League career, May 30 vs. Arizona and June 10 vs. Chicago-NL ... per Statcast, the estimated distance of 486' on the homer vs. the Cubs made it the second-longest home run hit in the Major Leagues in 2019 ... First career inside-the-park home run June 14 vs. San Diego along with a season-high four RBI ... His 12 RBI vs. San Diego from June 13-16 tied for second-most in a four-game series in franchise history, the most since Jeff Cirillo had 13 vs. the Giants in 2000 ... Hit his fourth career grand slam with a career-high-tying five RBI June 15 vs. San Diego ... Batted .346 from July 25-Aug. 3 (9-for-26), hitting safely in six of eight games ... hit .346 (53-for-153) May 7-July 3, driving in 31 runs ... Made his first career pitching appearance Sept. 2, pitching a scoreless eighth inning with one hit allowed at Dodger Stadium ... in the top of the ninth, became the first Rockies position player to ever hit a home run while batting as the pitcher.
2018
Led the Rockies with 160 games in his second season in Colorado, recording a team-high 49 RBI on the road, tied for eighth in the NL ... Second on the club with 20 stolen bases and fourth with 22 home runs, his fifth career 20/20 season … ranked third on the club with 88 RBI ... Career-high eight triples were tied for fourth in the NL ... Reached base in a career-high-tying 19 consecutive games July 10-Aug. 4 (also: May 27-June 17, 2013) ... Became the fifth player in Rockies history to record three walks in consecutive games June 20-21 (last: Jonathan Herrera, April 9-10, 2011) ... His 13-game hitting streak July 10-28 was the second longest of his career, his longest since a 13-game string in 2015 ... Hit his second career walk-off home run on Aug. 23 vs. San Diego (also: May 2, 2012 vs. Arizona), his seventh career walk-off RBI ... Started at first base in all four postseason games … went 2-for-17 with two stolen bases.
2017
Signed a five-year contract with Colorado on Dec. 13, 2016 … appeared in 95 games, his fewest since his rookie season in 2009 after landing on the disabled list three separate times...Fractured his left hand in a Spring Training game and was reinstated on April 30 at Arizona, his first stint on the disabled list since 2012 … went 1-for-5 in his Rockies debut that night...Had two separate stints on the disabled list with a right calf strain: July 3-16 and July 28-Aug. 28...Led the Rockies with 15 stolen bases … was caught stealing four times for a 78.9 stolen base percentage...Started 64 games in left field, 22 games at first base, one game in center field and one game at shortstop … made his first career start at first base on May 2 at San Diego, and made his one start at shortstop on Sept. 4 vs. San Francisco, his first start at shortstop since Oct. 4, 2015...Four of his seven home runs came at Petco Park, including his third career multi-home run game on May 3 and his third career grand slam on June 3.
2016
Signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers and converted to outfield after spending parts of seven Major League seasons as a shortstop ... was selected as an All-Star for the second time in his career...Set career highs in at-bats (625), runs (107), hits (178) and total bases (279)...Became just the fifth player in Rangers history to record at least 100 runs, 20 home runs, 80 RBI and 20 stolen bases in a single season, joining Rafael Palmeiro (1993), Ivan Rodriguez (1999), Alfonso Soriano (2005) and Ian Kinsler (2009)...Batted .322 (113-for-351) with 65 runs, 22 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 55 RBI, 28 walks, 94 strikeouts and 15 stolen bases in 89 first-half games en route to his second career All-Star selection ... reached on a fielder's choice in his one plate appearance at the All-Star game in San Diego...Stole home plate for the second time in his career Sept. 3 vs. Houston...Started all three games of the ALDS in center field for the Rangers and batted second ... went 3-for-14 (.214) with one double, two RBI and three strikeouts.
2014
Won third straight NL Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger award after hitting .255 with 26 doubles, three triples, 24 home runs, 91 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 73 runs scored...Posted third straight 20-homer, 20-stolen base campaign...Only two shortstops in history have more: J. Rollins & H.Ramirez (4 each)...Was one of just five players to post a 20-20 season (T. Frazier, B. Dozier, C. Gomez, M. Brantley)...24 HR in 2014 paced MLB shortstops (T.Tulowitzki & J.Peralta tied for second with 21)...Hit game-winning homers in NL East clincher (W3-0, Sept. 26 at ATL) & J.Zimmermann's no-hitter (W1-0, Sept. 28 vs. MIA)...Career high 15 GWRBI paced MLB shortstops...Went 8-for-12 (.750) with one double, one home run and 17 RBI with the bases loaded...Hit second career grand slam, April 10 vs. MIA (Arquimedes Caminero)...For the second straight seasons, posted a career-high in walks (46)...Posted a career-high five RBI, June 9 at SF (3-for-5, 2B, 3B, 5 RBI)...Collected a team-high five hits, matching a career mark, July 21 at COL...Hit safely in seven straight plate appearances, July 21-22, nearly matching club record (8, Dmitri Young, May 31-June 1, 2007)
2013
Won 2nd consecutive NL Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger after hitting .280 with a career-high 38 doubles, 3 triples, 20 home runs, 80 RBI and 21 stolen bases in 4th complete big-league campaign...started a career-high 158 games at shortstop...earned 20-home run, 20-stolen base status for 2nd straight year...was one of just nine 20-20 players in MLB this season, the only infielder (the other 8 were all outfielders: Shin-Soo Choo, Coco Crisp, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Gonzalez, Andrew McCutchen, Hunter Pence, Mike Trout, Will Venable)...paced MLB shortstops with 61 extra-base hits and 12 GWRBI...earned a career-high 43 walks...28 June RBI set a Nationals single-month mark (bested Adam Dunn, 27 in May 2009)...first career grand slam came in 11th-inning of 6-2 win, June 19 at PHI...NL Gold Glove finalist played career-high/DC-baseball record 59 straight errorless games at SS, April 22-June 27...hit solo homer in the 11th inning to snap a 5-5 tie and set stage for a 7-6 win on April 6 at CIN...starting/batting cleanup for the first time in career, plated both runs in 2-0 win on May 1 at ATL with 2-run shot in the 4th inning of Paul Maholm.
2012
NL All-Star won first Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award as NL's top offensive shortstop...led all MLB shortstops in homers (25), slugging percentage (.511) & OPS (.845)...with 25 homers and 21 stolen bags, joined Alfonso Soriano (46, 41 in '06) in the Nationals' 2-member 20-20 club...
the 25 homers trumped career total (22) entering '12 and set a new standard for DC-based (1901-71, 2005-present) middle infielders...17 of the
25 homers came prior to the All-Star break, but hit .308 in the 2nd "half"...was named an NL All-Star by skipper Tony La Russa, but later pulled
out due to a left oblique strain that rendered a DL stint 2 weeks later...increased fielding percentage by 23 points, made 19 fewer errors and upped
zone rating by 49 points compared to rookie season (2010) totals...was NL Gold Glove Finalist.
2011
Avoided sophomore slump with especially strong second half (.289, 22 extra-base hits, 5 home runs, .338 OBP in 69 post All-Star break contests), which rendered .253 batting average, 27 doubles, 40 extra-base hits, 49 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 154 games ... when starting, Washington went 74-72 ... when batting leadoff, Washington finished 25-25 ... was much improved defensively, posting a .966 fielding percentage, 23 errors and a .836 zone rating (3rd in NL) in 152 games ... increased fielding percentage by 19 points, made 11 fewer errors and upped zone rating by 46 points compared to rookie season (2010) totals (.947, 34, .790 respectively) ... paced the Nationals with 25 stolen bases, 20 of which came in season's first 70 contests (through June 17) ... posted a career-best 11-game hit streak from June 5-17, going 15-for-47 (.319) with 5 RBI ... punched game-ending RBI infield single in bottom of 9th in 3-2 victory vs. NYM on July 31 ... down 5-4 in the 9th and facing a 1-2 count, hit game-tying homer off Antonio Bastardo in eventual 10-inning, 5-4 win on Aug. 21 vs. PHI ... went 5-for-6 with a double and 3 RBI in a 10-1 win on Sept. 16 at NYM ... thus, notched the 5th 5-hit effort in Nationals (2005-pres.) history.
2010
Posted strong offensive effort and showed "plus" makeup in first complete big league campaign...was one of 2 rookies
on Washington's Opening Day roster (LHP Jesse English)...blasted 10 home runs to become the first franchise shortstop
to post a double-digit home run total since Orlando Cabrera hit 17 long balls for the 2003 Expos...also became the first
DC-based shortstop to register a double-digit homer total since Joe Cronin (HOF '56) hit 12 long balls for the 1931 AL
Nationals...was one of just 5 NL shortstops to tally 40 or more extra-base hits, joining Troy Tulowitzki (62), Stephen
Drew (58), Hanley Ramirez (51), Jose Reyes (50)...via a .700 OPS, became just the 12th rookie shortstop since 2000
to record an OPS of at least .700...paced NL rookies with 42 multi-hit games...also ranked among NL rookie leaders in
stolen bases (tied 2nd, 17), hits (3rd, 141), total bases (4th, 206), RBI (6th, 65), runs (6th, 59), doubles (6th, 27),
triples (tied 6th, 4) and extra-base hits (8th, 41)...of 10 home runs, 8 came at Nationals Park, and 4 came at ATL's
expense...batted .300 against left-handed pitching...went 6-for-11 (.545) with the bases loaded...flashed impressive
range (ranked 3rd among NL shortstops, 6th in MLB, with 4.75 total chances per 9.0 innings), but posted the most
errors in MLB (34)...went 3-for-5 and 4-for-5 on back-to-back nights at PHI, August 20-21.
2009
Enjoyed fantastic season in minor leagues and made strong impression in 21-game debut with the Nationals in September...
in MLB debut, Sept. 10 vs. PHI, went 2-for-4 with double, homer and 4 RBI...became 2nd shortstop since
1920-when RBI became an official stat-to post as many as 4 RBI in a MLB debut (also PHI's Ted Kazanski, June
25, 1953 at CHI)...became just the 2nd big-leaguer since 1920 to record at least 6 hits and 4 RBI in his first 2 MLB
games (joining STA's Guy Sturdy)...went 10-for-17 with 4 doubles, a homer and 4 RBI in his first 4 games, becoming
the first player to collect 10 or more hits in initial 4 MLB contests since SFG's Jim Davenport (10-for-18) in 1958...also
became first big-league player to start his career with multi-hit efforts in first 4 games since BOS's Morgan Burkhart in
2000...he was the first NL player to do so since CHI's Doug Dascenzo (1988)...had surgery to remove hook of hamate
in left hand, April 23, performed by Dr. Thomas Graham in Baltimore.
Game-By-Game Highlights: Went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and 4 RBI (game-winning RBI) in debut, Sept. 10 vs.
PHI, becoming the first player in franchise history to tally more than 3 RBI in first big-league game...with a 3-run homer
off Joe Blanton in the 5th inning of his debut, became just the 2nd Nationals player and 5th player in franchise history
(1969-present) to homer in his first big-league game (also Coco Laboy, April 8, 1969 at NYM, Tim Wallach, September
6, 1980 at SFG; Brad Fullmer, September 2, 1997 vs. BOS; Brandon Watson, August 9, 2005 at HOU).
In Minor Leagues: Combined to hit .330 in 97 games with Harrisburg and Syracuse...began with Double-A Harrisburg...
was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse, July 16...on DL with hamate fracture (left hand), April 25-June 7...hit 2 grand slams:
one with Harrisburg (June 17 vs. Birmingham), one with Syracuse (Aug. 29 vs. Lehigh Valley).
2008
Appeared in 96 games, batting combined .256 with 12 home runs, 46 RBI and 15 stolen bases with Harrisburg of the
Double-A Eastern League and the Nationals' Gulf Coast League affiliate...was on DL from June 4-July 21 with left
hamate fracture...served 3-game rehab stint with GCL Nationals...played in the prestigious Arizona Fall League...hit
.267 (27-for-101) with 6 doubles, 4 triples, 4 home runs and 17 RBI in 28 games with the Peoria Saguaros.
2007
After being named the No. 10 prospect in the Nationals' chain by Baseball America, batted .264 with 13 homers, and
45 RBI in 129 games with Single-A Potomac of the Carolina League...lead team with 69 runs and 27 stolen bases.
2006
Played in 129 games with Double-A Harrisburg and Single-A Potomac, batting combined .228 with 24 doubles, 3 triples,
9 homers, 48 RBI and 18 stolen bases...played first 2 months of season with Harrisburg, then finished campaign with
Potomac...following the season, batted .247 with one home run, 5 RBI and 6 stolen bases in 26 games with the Waikiki
BeachBoys of the Hawaiian Winter League.
2005
Made major splash in Spring Training before advancing 2 levels in the Nationals' system...capped season with Potomac
of the Single-A Carolina League despite being just 20 years old...was not originally issued an invitation to big league
camp, but that changed on February 21, when GM Jim Bowden prompted the move to see talents and skill firsthand...at
ripe old age of 19, hit .306 (11-for-36) with a double, triple and 4 RBI in 20 Grapefruit League contests with the Nationals...
made numerous dazzling plays at SS and in shallow left field, ranging back to catch bloopers...with Savannah of
the Single-A South Atlantic League, went 0-for-2 on Opening Day, but began a 12-game hitting streak the next day...
despite spending only half a season there, was rated as one of the SAL's top 20 prospects by Baseball America...also
honored as SAL's top defensive SS in a BA post-season survey of league managers.
2004
Combined to hit .228 with 2 home runs and 28 RBI in 59 games for GCL Expos and Vermont of the short-season Single-A
New York-Penn League during professional debut...hit first pro home run on August 26 vs. GCL Mets.
