Jarrod Dyson

Jarrod Martel Dyson (; born August 15, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2010 to 2021 for the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays.

Dyson was drafted by the Royals in the 50th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft out of Southwest Mississippi Community College. He made his MLB debut on September 7, 2010. He won the 2015 World Series with the Royals. Kansas City traded him to the Mariners before the 2017 season. He signed his first free agent contract with Arizona after that season, playing in a career-high 130 games in 2019. He played with four teams, including returning to the Royals, in his final two seasons in the majors. Dyson was successful at stealing bases, stealing at least 30 bases in 5 MLB seasons, but hit 21 home runs over 12 seasons.

Amateur career Born and raised in McComb, Mississippi, Dyson attended McComb High School, where he starred in baseball and football as a running back. At McComb, Dyson earned All-Division honors but was passed over by most scouts due to his slight stature. He later attended Southwest Mississippi Community College. At Southwest, Dyson tied the single-season record with seven triples and set a record with 47 runs.

Professional career Kansas City Royals Draft and minors Dyson was drafted by the Royals in the 50th round, 1,475th overall, of the 2006 amateur draft. He signed for $5,000 began his professional career that summer with the AZL Royals, hitting .273 with no home runs and 19 stolen bases in 51 games. He played in 10 games in 2007, all for the Burlington Bees, hitting .270.

He spent 2008 with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, hitting .260 with 39 stolen bases in 93 games. He was suspended for 50 games in February 2009 after testing positive for an amphetamine. He split the season between the Bees (17 games) and Northwest Arkansas Naturals (63 games), hitting a combined .276 with 46 stolen bases. He began 2010 in the minors, splitting the season between the AZL Royals, Blue Rocks, Naturals and Omaha Royals. He hit .299 with 24 stolen bases in 71 games. 2010 Dyson was first called up to the major leagues in September 2010, joining the Royals and playing time in center field. He played in 18 games and hit .211/.286/.404 with nine stolen bases in 57 at-bats.

With Melky Cabrera having a breakout season in center field, Dyson spent the majority of the season in Triple-A. When in the major leagues, he served as a late-inning pinch runner for Billy Butler and Brayan Peña. Dyson hit .205/.308/.227 in 44 at-bats, stealing 11 bases. In the minors, he hit .279 with 38 stolen bases in 83 games.

2012 The Royals originally had Lorenzo Cain as their starting center fielder, however Dyson gained significant playing time as a result of Cain's injuries.

In 102 games, Dyson finished the season with 76 hits in 292 at-bats leading to a .260 batting average. He also had nine RBI, eight doubles, five triples, 30 walks, 52 runs scored, and 30 stolen bases, further highlighting his speed and baserunning talent. He finished the regular season tied for third in the American League with 36 steals. He was often used as a late inning pinch runner and defensive substitute, taking over in center field while Cain would shift to right field taking the place of Norichika Aoki. He played in a then-career-high 120 games and had career highs in batting average (.269) and RBIs (24) at the time. His .269 batting average stands as his second-best total in a year. He batted a slash line of .250/.311/.380.

2016 Prior to the start of the 2016 season, Dyson and Paulo Orlando were considered most likely to platoon in right field, though the Royals announced plans for an open competition in spring training. On July 18, Dyson hit a grand slam against the Cleveland Indians. It was the first of his career. That year, he played in 107 games with 83 hits across 299 at-bats. Of those, 14 were doubles and 8 were triples, each being the highest totals of his career in a year. He batted a slash line of .278/.340/.388 and stole 30 bases.

On May 16, he was hit by a pitch three times, tied with many others for the most in an MLB game.

On September 11, it was announced that Dyson would undergo pelvic surgery, ending his season. In 111 games of 2017, Dyson finished with 28 stolen bases, a .251 batting average, 5 home runs, and 30 RBI. His first season with Arizona proved difficult, as he had multiple stints on the disabled list and hit a career-low .189 with a .282 OBP and a .257 slugging percentage in 67 games.

2019 In 2019 he batted .230/.313/.320 in a career-high 400 at-bats.

Chicago White Sox On August 28, 2020, Dyson was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for international signing bonus pool money.

In the 2020 season, between the two teams Dyson batted .180/.231/.180 with no home runs and five RBIs in 61 at bats. He played in 77 games for the Royals, hitting .221 with no home runs, 10 RBI, and 8 steals.

Toronto Blue Jays On August 27, 2021, Dyson was claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. In 25 appearances for Toronto, he went 1-for-13 (.077) with two stolen bases. Dyson became a free agent following the season.

Personal life Dyson has three older brothers, one younger brother and a younger sister, and was raised by his mother. The family lived in public housing until he was eight years old. Dyson has a son.

Dyson had the names of deceased family members stitches onto his fielding glove while playing with Arizona.