Xavier Nady

With deep Monterey County roots, Xavier Nady played more than a decade for several Major League Baseball teams. The 1997 Salinas High alum was drafted by the San Diego Padres in second round of the 2000 MLB draft, 49th overall, following his junior year at UC Berkeley. He was the 18th player in MLB history to immediately go to the major leagues. While with the Lake Elsinore Storm, Nady was the Padres’ Minor League Player of the Year in 2001 as well as the California League Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year. Nady played for eight MLB teams, where he won World Series championships with the 2009 New York Yankees and 2012 San Francisco Giants. His best MLB season was 2008, where he hit 25 home runs and totaled 97 RBIs with the Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished his career with 104 home runs and 410 RBIs along with a .268 batting average. Nady was one of 13 players inducted into the inaugural California League Hall of Fame. Nady currently is a hitting coach.