Mark Gilbert | |
---|---|
United States Ambassador to Samoa | |
In office May 12, 2015 –January 20, 2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | David Huebner |
Succeeded by | Scott Brown |
United States Ambassador to New Zealand | |
In office February 9,2015 –January 20,2017 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | David Huebner |
Succeeded by | Scott Brown |
Personal details | |
Born | Mark David Gilbert August 22,1956 Atlanta,Georgia,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Florida State University (BS) |
Baseball career | |
Outfielder | |
Batted: Both Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 21, 1985, for the Chicago White Sox | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 27, 1985, for the Chicago White Sox | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .273 |
Home runs | 0 |
Runs batted in | 3 |
Teams | |
| |
Mark David Gilbert (born August 22,1956) is an American former outfielder in Major League Baseball who served as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa from 2015 to 2017. [1]
Gilbert played for the Chicago White Sox in 1985. [2] Subsequently,he had a career as an investment banker.
In 2013,United States President Barack Obama nominated Gilbert to be United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. [3] The U.S. Senate confirmed Gilbert on December 12,2014.
Gilbert is Jewish and was born to a Jewish family in Atlanta,Georgia. [4] [5] He was raised in Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,with his younger brother and sister until 1973,when they moved to Pompano Beach,Florida,where his father and grandfather owned a furniture store. [6] [7] His father Herbert had played professional baseball as an infielder with the Chicago White Sox organization (reaching Triple A),and his grandfather Joseph Gilbert had played semi-pro baseball as a pitcher and was offered a pro baseball contract with the 1919 Philadelphia Athletics. [5]
He is married to Nancy Gilbert. She owns The Masorti Travel Bureau,which developed the itinerary of the first trip of Birthright Israel,an organization that arranges free trips to Israel for first-time visiting Jewish students ages 18 to 25. [4] The couple has two daughters,Dani and Elizabeth. [7] Gilbert served for three terms as the President of B'nai Torah Congregation in Boca Raton,Florida,and the Gilberts live in Boca Raton. [4] [5]
Gilbert starred in baseball,basketball (as a point guard),and track at Churchill High School in Pennsylvania (which later merged with two other schools forming Woodland Hills High School),and subsequently at Pine Crest High School in Fort Lauderdale,Florida. [8] He was a High School All American in basketball and all-state in baseball. [6] [9]
Gilbert earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Florida State University. [10] In his senior year at Florida State,he batted .322 for the Seminoles baseball team,with 48 stolen bases. [11] He also played basketball for the Florida State Seminoles basketball team for one season. [12]
Gilbert was picked by the Chicago Cubs in the 14th round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft and signed with the Cubs that summer. [13] [14] In his debut professional year,in 1978,he batted .338 (5th in the Class A- New York-Pennsylvania League),led the league with 83 runs scored,and stole 35 bases (2nd in the league) for the Geneva Cubs,while playing 65 games as a switch-hitting center fielder. [15] [5] In 1979,he batted .314 (2nd in the Class A Midwest League) and stole 50 bases (3rd in the league) while scoring 80 runs (7th in the league) for the Quad Cities Cubs. [15] [16]
On October 12,1979,Gilbert was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Cincinnati Reds,completing a trade in which the Reds had traded Doug Capilla to the Cubs in exchange for a player to be named later on May 3,1979. [13] He played for the Waterbury Reds in 1980–82,batting .300 (7th in the Class AA Eastern League) with 41 stolen bases (4th in the league) his last year with the team. [15] In 1983,he played for the Indianapolis Indians of the AAA American Association,and in 1984 he played for the Wichita Aeros of the American Association,batting .280 and stealing 55 bases (3rd in the league) and tying for the league lead in walks (77). [15] He became a free agent due to his length of service in the minor leagues on October 11,1984,and that December 25,he was signed by the Chicago White Sox. [13] [5]
Gilbert was promoted to the major league team from the Chicago White Sox's Triple-A Buffalo Bisons of the American Association in July 1985 and went on to play seven games for the team. [14] He had six hits (five singles,and a double off Dennis Martínez). [17] After a week with the White Sox,Gilbert dove for a line drive,injured his right knee,and was sent back to the minor leagues. [5] On October 15,he was granted free agency. [13] The following year,he left baseball and had knee surgery in February 1986. [17]
Gilbert told the Chicago Tribune's Jerome Holtzman that during his career he endured through seven and a half years of playing in baseball's minor leagues because of his ambition to be listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia. [18] In 1992,Gilbert reflected on his baseball career to Holtzman,saying,"I think everybody thought I would flip out after I was told I couldn't play anymore. I didn't. I had played 22 straight years of organized baseball,since I was 7. I had had enough. I would have continued playing if I hadn't hurt my knee. But I was looking forward to doing something else." [17] He added that his career was worth it:"Absolutely. Everywhere I played I had fun. The most impressive thing being with the White Sox was how congenial everybody was. Carlton Fisk. Harold Baines. Tom Seaver. They were all superstars. Yet they were extremely nice to me and tried to help me as much as they could. No question. It was worth it."
After Gilbert was nominated to be a U.S. Ambassador in 2013,his former major league manager,Tony La Russa,told the Associated Press:"Sure,I remember him. I was always taken with his intelligence and how he was committed to what we were trying to teach —to become a teammate,a competitor,and to pursue excellence as a professional. You do that and get a proper foundation and out of the bottom,out drops your fame and fortune. I think he's now raised his excellence to a new level." [19]
After baseball,Gilbert worked as an investment banker at Drexel Burnham Lambert in Boca Raton,Florida from 1986 until 1989 and then as a senior vice president in the equities division at Goldman Sachs in Miami from 1989 until 1996. [10] [7] Gilbert then joined Lehman Brothers in West Palm Beach,Florida,in 1996,and remained with the firm as it became Barclays Wealth. [10] [20] [7]
In 2004,Gilbert was a trustee on the national finance committee for the presidential campaign of John Kerry. [10] In 2007,Gilbert began a close relationship as a fundraiser for then-Sen. Barack Obama and quickly became an early supporter of Obama's successful presidential bid. [20] In 2007,Gilbert was appointed deputy national finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee. [20] Ultimately,Gilbert served as a fundraiser for both of Obama's presidential campaigns. [21] In 2012,the New York Times reported that Gilbert had raised $1.23 million for Obama in 2011 and 2012 and a total of $3.36 million since 2007. [22]
On October 30,2013,Obama nominated Gilbert to be United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. [21] [23] The United States Senate confirmed Gilbert in a voice vote on December 12,2014. [24]
The United States State Department has no record of any other former major league baseball player serving as an ambassador. [19] While Dennis Martínez,Cal Ripken Jr.,and Barry Larkin have served the State Department in roles such as diplomacy envoys,goodwill ambassadors,and baseball sports envoys,Gilbert is the first credentialed ambassador who is a veteran of major league baseball. [19]
Samuel Peralta Sosa is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, Sosa joined the Cubs in 1992 and became regarded as one of the game's best hitters. Sosa hit his 400th home run in his 1,354th game and his 5,273rd at-bat, reaching this milestone quicker than any player in National League history. He is one of nine players in MLB history to hit 600 career home runs.
Bobby Lee Bonds Sr. was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1981. He played for the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs.
Lucius Benjamin Appling, nicknamed "Old Aches and Pains" was an American professional baseball shortstop who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1930–1950). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.
Frank Leroy Chance was an American professional baseball player. A first baseman, Chance played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees from 1898 through 1914. He also served as manager of the Cubs, Yankees, and Boston Red Sox.
Saturnino Orestes "Minnie" Armas Arrieta Miñoso, nicknamed "the Cuban Comet", was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Negro leagues in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB) after the 1948 season as baseball's color line fell. Miñoso went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Afro-Latino in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game.
The Cubs–White Sox rivalry refers to the Major League Baseball (MLB) geographical rivalry between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. The Cubs are a member club of MLB's National League (NL) Central division, and play their home games at Wrigley Field, located on Chicago's North Side. The White Sox are a member club of MLB's American League (AL) Central division, and play their home games at Guaranteed Rate Field, located on Chicago's South Side.
Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1992 as a third baseman and outfielder for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox (1985–86), Detroit Tigers (1988), and the Chicago Cubs (1989–92).
Andre Nolan Dawson, nicknamed "the Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for four different teams as a center and right fielder, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs.
Kenneth Lofton is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th among all-time stolen base leaders with 622. During his career, he played for the Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers.
Rollie Hubert Zeider was a professional baseball player. An infielder, he played nine seasons in the major leagues for the Chicago White Sox (1910–13), New York Yankees (1913), Chicago Chi-Feds/Chicago Whales in the Federal League from 1914 to 1915, and lastly the Chicago Cubs (1916–18).
Matthew Henry Murton is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies. Murton also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers.
David Martinez is an American professional baseball coach and former outfielder who is the manager for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs. He played in MLB for the Cubs, Montreal Expos, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Atlanta Braves from 1986 to 2001. Martinez had a .276 career batting average, 1,599 hits, 91 home runs, 795 runs scored, and 580 runs batted in.
Donald Alvin Buford is an American former professional baseball player scout, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1963 through 1972, most notably as the leadoff hitter for the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the World Series in 1970. He also played for the Chicago White Sox and played in the Nippon Professional Baseball league from 1973 to 1976. Buford also played as an infielder and was a switch hitter who threw right-handed. In 1993, Buford was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.
Mark Alan Parent is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played from 1986 to 1998 and was the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox from 2012 to 2015.
Emilio José Bonifácio Del Rosario is a Dominican professional baseball utility player who captains the Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida/Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. Primarily a second baseman and center fielder throughout his career, Bonifácio has also played shortstop and third base.
Thomas Reid Nichols is an American former outfielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Red Sox (1980–1985), Chicago White Sox (1985–1986), and Montreal Expos (1987). Listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg), he batted and threw right-handed. After his playing career ended, he served as a coach and minor league coordinator for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers.
Mitchell Emri Glasser is an American-Israeli former professional baseball player. He also plays for the Israel National Baseball Team.
Nicklaus Michael Madrigal is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Chicago White Sox. He made his MLB debut in 2020.