Jonathan Van Every

Jonathan Eugene Van Every

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School Itawamba Community College
• High School University Christian School (Brandon)
• Debut May 14, 2008
• Final Game May 20, 2010
• Born November 27, 1979 in Brandon, MS, USA

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Biographical Information

Jonathan Van Every was an outfielder and an occasional pitcher in the majors, along with also doing some pinch-running and pinch-hitting. In all, he was in 40 games, of which 36 were in the outfield and two were as a pitcher, both times performing mop-up duty in blowout losses. His overall hitting line was .255/.327/.447 while his pitching involved 1 2/3 innings in which he gave up two runs.

Van Every was born in Brandon, MS, in the center of the state of Mississippi. He attended high school in the same town and then went to junior college at Itawamba Community College in the northeastern part of the state. He was drafted in a late round (29th round) of the 2000 Amateur Draft and spent seven years in the minors in the Cleveland Indians organization before he got to the majors.

Jonathan typically did not hit for a high average in the minors, hitting over .300 only once, in 2007. He drew plenty of walks, however, giving him a decent OBP. As for his power, it tended to increase as he got older, with a peak of 27 home runs in 118 games with the 2005 Akron Aeros. Van Every usually played center field. He began playing in AAA ball in 2006.

Granted free agency after the 2007 season, he was signed by the Boston Red Sox. During the 2008 season he hit 26 home runs for the Pawtucket Red Sox, and was up in the big leagues for 11 games, of which nine were in the outfield. He hit .235 with one triple.

In 2009 he was appeared with the major league team in late April and early May, but otherwise had only 20 appearances in the minors. With the Red Sox, he hit .364 with a home run and a couple of walks in 13 plate appearances. He also pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run. He was, however, released in mid-season by the Red Sox and signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Knee surgery prevented him from playing a full season. The Pirates traded him back to the Red Sox in April of 2010.

He appeared in 21 games with the Red Sox in 2010, hitting .211 with one home run, and was traded back to the Pirates in May. He played most of the 2010 season with the Indianapolis Indians in the Pirates' organization, hitting .214 with 10 home runs in 74 games. Jonathan was signed by the Washington Nationals in December 2010 and assigned to the Syracuse Chiefs, but was released before the 2011 season began. He then appeared in independent ball in 2011, hitting 19 home runs in 85 games.

He earned a college degree in business administration in 2013 from the University of Southern Mississippi. He served in 2019-20 as the volunteer director of operations of the baseball team for the College of the Holy Cross. [1]