Jeff Clement

Jeffrey Burton Clement

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Southern California
• High School Marshalltown High School
• Debut September 4, 2007
• Final Game September 28, 2012
• Born August 21, 1983 in Marshalltown, IA USA

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Biographical Information

Once counted among the top prospects in the game, Jeff Clement's big league dreams died hard, playing parts of four seasons in The Show.

Born in Marshalltown, IA, the birth place of Hall of Famer Cap Anson, Jeff led the town to the 1996 Little League World Series. He broke the national high school home run record by belting 75 bombs in those schoolboy days, moving on up to the USC Trojans and winning the Johnny Bench Award as the nation's top catcher in his junior season. He played on the US team that won the Silver Medal at the 2003 Pan American Games and was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft, third overall behind future All-Stars Justin Upton and Alex Gordon. He was signed by scout Greg Whitworth and made his debut that summer, splitting the year between the Everett AquaSox and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. He spent the 2006 season playing for the San Antonio Missions and the Tacoma Rainiers.

Jeff had a solid year at Tacoma in 2007, hitting .275 in 125 games with 35 doubles and 20 home runs. He was called up to Seattle when rosters expanded on September 1st and debuted as a pinch hitter against the New York Yankees on September 4th. All looked well in his 9-game debut: .375/.474/.813 with 2 home runs in 16 at bats. It would never be that good again. With Kenji Johjima blocking the plate both figuratively (keeping the job from Jeff) and literally, Clement was a back-up in 2008, seeing action at DH with a rare game at catcher, hitting only .227/.295/.360 in 66 games. He spent all of 2009 in Triple A, then returned with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010, having moved to the National League the previous summer in a deal that brought Ian Snell and Jack Wilson west. He batted but .201/.237/.368 with 7 homers in 2010, then returned in 2012 for 23 final games, hitting just .136/.208/.182. He retired in 2014.

Clement's brother, Mike Clement, is currently an assistant coach for the Ole Miss Rebels.

Related Sites

• Jeff Clement on mlb.com
• USC bio