Cedric Mullins

Boyce Cedric Mullins II[1] (born October 1, 1994) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018.

Cedric Mullins
Mullins with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018
Baltimore Orioles – No. 31
Center fielder
Born: (1994-10-01) October 1, 1994
Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 10, 2018, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through May 19, 2023)
Batting average.263
Home runs59
Runs batted in184
Stolen bases86
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World Baseball Classic
Silver medal – second place 2023 Miami Team

Career

Mullins attended Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia and played college baseball at Louisburg College and Campbell University.

Draft and minor leagues

Mullins was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.[2]

Mullins made his professional debut with the Low-A Aberdeen IronBirds in 2015, spending the whole season there, posting a .264 batting average with two home runs and 32 RBIs in 68 games.[3] He played 2016 with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, batting .273 with 14 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases in 124 games, and spent 2017 with the Double-A Bowie Baysox,[4][5] where he batted .265 with 13 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .778 OPS in 76 games.[6] He began 2018 with Bowie and was promoted to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides during the season.[7]

2018

Mullins was promoted to the major leagues on August 10, 2018,[8] and he made his major league debut that same night, collecting three hits, two RBI, drawing a walk and scoring three runs in a 19-12 loss to the Boston Red Sox.[9] He became the first Oriole in franchise history to collect three hits in his Major League debut and became only the fifth player in MLB history to score three or more runs and collect two or more extra-base hits in his debut, joining Joey Gallo, J. P. Arencibia, Craig Wilson and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. Mullins finished the season with a .235 batting average and four home runs in 45 games played.[10]

2019
Mullins (right) with the Bowie Baysox after his second demotion of the 2019 season

Mullins began the 2019 season as the Orioles starting center fielder.[11] After struggling to start the season, Mullins was demoted to Triple-A Norfolk on April 22.[12] Mullins continued to struggle in Norfolk and was demoted to Double-A Bowie on July 10, though Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said the organization still felt "really highly about Cedric and his ability."[13] He would play in Double-A for the remainder of the season.[14]

Mullins ended his season hitting .094 in 64 at bats for Baltimore.

2020

Despite his lost season in 2019, Mullins was able to play his way onto Baltimore's opening day roster in 2020 with a strong camp.[15] In 2020 for the Orioles, Mullins hit for .271/.315/.407 with 3 home runs, 12 RBI, and 7 stolen bases.[16] He disclosed on February 2, 2022 that he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease,[17] and had 10 to 15 centimeters of intestine removed in November 2020 after playing the entire campaign with chronic abdominal pain.[18]

2021

In February 2021, the Orioles announced Mullins would give up switch-hitting and become a full-time left-handed hitter. Mullins first approached the Orioles with the idea in the spring of 2019 but the team opposed it. Before 2021, he had slashed .251/.305/.394 while batting left-handed and .147/.250/.189 from the right side.[19] On April 26, 2021, Mullins had his first career multi-home run game, with two homers against the New York Yankees.[20] From June 4 through June 6, Mullins collected 9 hits in as many at bats including 3 home runs. On July 4, Mullins was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.[21] On July 12, he was chosen to be the starting center fielder in the 2021 All-Star Game, as a replacement for the injured Mike Trout.[22]

On September 24, Mullins became the first Orioles player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season since the franchise moved from St. Louis.[23] For the 2021 season, Mullins slashed .291/.360/.518 with thirty home runs, 59 RBIs, 37 doubles, and thirty stolen bases, and led all major league outfielders with 389 putouts. He was unanimously voted the winner of the 2021 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award by members of the local media.[24] Mullins finished ninth in the American League MVP balloting. On November 11, 2021, Mullins received his first Silver Slugger Award.[25]

2022

On April 12, 2022, Mullins hit his first career grand slam off of Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer. He continued to perform well in his 2022 season, ending with a batting average of .258/.318/.721, 16 homeruns, 64 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases. On January 13, 2023, he agreed to a one-year, $4.1 million contract with the Orioles for the 2023 season, avoiding salary arbitration.[26]

2023

Mullins was the seventh in Orioles history and second in two years following teammate Austin Hays to hit for the cycle in a 6–3 home victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 12, 2023. He joined Luis Arráez in achieving the feat during the 2023 season. He singled in the third inning, tripled in the fifth, doubled in the seventh and hit a two-out three-run homer to right field off Duane Underwood Jr. in the eighth.[27]

International career

On August 21, 2022, Mullins announced that he would join the United States national baseball team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[28][29]

Personal life

Mullins is a fan of anime, with Naruto serving as an inspiration for him in his childhood and professional career.[30]

References
  1. "'I could just feel the energy coming off him': How 5-foot-8 Cedric Mullins blazed into Camden Yards – The Athletic". Theathletic.com. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  2. "Orioles select Mullins in 13th round of MLB Draft". Archived from the original on April 3, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  3. "Minor leaguer Cedric Mullins made his mark in Orioles' Grapefruit League loss Wednesday". Baltimoresun.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  4. "Mullins has chilled out; Settling in with Shorebirds". Delmarvanow.com. May 18, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  5. Melewski, Steve (March 27, 2017). "For his latest trick, Cedric Mullins homered off Craig Kimbrel". Masnsports.com. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  6. "Cedric Mullens Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  7. RotoWire Staff (May 30, 2018). "Orioles' Cedric Mullins: Promoted to Triple-A". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  8. RotoWire Staff (August 10, 2018). "Orioles' Cedric Mullins: Joining big-league club". CBSSports.com. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  10. "Cedric Mullins Stats". June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  11. "Orioles and Yankees lineups for opening day - School of Roch". March 28, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  12. Young, Tyler (April 23, 2019). "The Warehouse Episode 31: Mullins Demoted, Wright DFA'd". Eutaw Street Report. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  13. Meoli, Jon (July 19, 2019). "From Adam Jones' heir to Double-A Bowie, Cedric Mullins demoted again to 'get some positive mojo working'". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  14. "Cedric Mullins 2019 College & Minor Leagues Game Logs & Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  15. Trezza, Joe (July 23, 2020). "Orioles unveil 2020 Opening Day roster". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  16. "Cedric Mullins Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com.
  17. "Baltimore Orioles All-Star outfielder Cedric Mullins reveals struggle with Crohn's disease, intestinal surgery prior to historic 2021 season". ESPN. March 15, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  18. Melewski, Steve. "Cedric Mullins reveals he produced great year amid health issue," Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), Wednesday, February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  19. Trezza, Joe (February 28, 2021). "Notes: Mullins goes left; Díaz homers". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  20. Trezza, Joe (April 27, 2021). "Cedric the entertainer: Mullins ropes 2 HRs". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  21. Guerrero, Daniel (July 4, 2021). "Mullins headed to first All-Star Game". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  22. Meoli, Jon (July 12, 2021). "Orioles' Cedric Mullins to start 2021 All-Star Game for American League as replacement for Mike Trout". Baltimore Sun. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  23. Trezza, Joe (September 24, 2021). "Mullins becomes 1st Oriole to join 30-30 club". MLB.com. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  24. "Cedric Mullins Named 2021 Most Valuable Oriole - MLB.com". MLB.com. September 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  25. Meoli, Jon (November 11, 2021). "Orioles' Cedric Mullins wins AL Silver Slugger Award after breakout season". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  26. "2023 MLB Arbitration Tracker". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  27. Rill, Jake. "Mullins makes splash with franchise's 12th cycle – literally," MLB.com, Friday, May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  28. [Orioles' Cedric Mullins will play in World Baseball Classic "Phillies' Bryce Harper Commits to Team USA for 2023 World Baseball Classic"]. Baltimore Sun. August 21, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  29. Clair, Michael (August 22, 2022). "Cedric Mullins revealed he's committed to Team USA while mic'd up". MLB.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  30. "For Orioles star Cedric Mullins, anime is more than something fun to watch. It's inspired him since he was a kid. - The Baltimore Sun". Baltimoresun.com. July 25, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
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