Nicholas William Markakis (/mɑːrˈkeɪkɪs/ mar-KAY-kis)[1] (born November 17, 1983) is a Greek-American former professional baseball right fielder.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves.

[12] Owning a fastball that was clocked as high as 96 miles per hour, Markakis was widely viewed as a pitching prospect, but the Orioles preferred his potential as a hitter.

Markakis spent his first professional season with the Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds in 2003, batting .283 with a home run and 28 RBI in 59 games.

[13] In 2005, Markakis started the year with the Single-A Frederick Keys and was named the top Orioles prospect by Baseball America.

[14] Markakis was promoted a short time later to the Double-A Bowie Baysox and was ultimately named to the Second Team in the 2005 Minor League All-Star Roster.

Markakis began his first spring training with the Orioles in 2006 by reaching base in nine of his first ten plate appearances.

[15][10] Markakis made his major league debut on April 3, 2006, when he was used as a late-inning defensive replacement against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

[23] Markakis also continued to play good defense as finished fifth in the league with 13 assists and sixth with a .994 fielding percentage.

He played well early in the year, but as the season went into the summer months, Orioles manager Dave Trembley opted to move him into the #2 hole, placing Melvin Mora behind him.

[31] After surgery to remove part of the hamate bone in his right wrist, Markakis was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career on June 1, 2012.

[35] On September 8, Markakis was hit by a pitch by Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and suffered a fractured thumb.

[38] April 26, Markakis got the start at first base against the Kansas City Royals due to an injury to teammate Chris Davis in the previous game.

[citation needed] On August 3, 2014, Markakis collected his 1,500th career hit against Seattle Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma in the bottom of the third inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

In his previous at-bat, he collected his first career lead-off home run, a solo shot to right field to give the Orioles a 1–0 lead in the first inning.

[43] On July 20, Markakis hit his first home run with the Braves against the Los Angeles Dodgers, given up by Brandon Beachy.

[47] Batting .322 with 10 home runs and 59 RBIs, he was named a starting outfielder for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game.

In addition to the Gold Glove, Markakis also won his first career Silver Slugger as an outfielder after finishing the season with a .297 batting average, 185 hits, 14 home runs, and 93 RBIs in 162 games, all highs while a member of the Braves.

[51][52] On July 26, 2019, Markakis was struck by a pitch from Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Irvin, and left the game.

[71] He wore #21 while with the Orioles in honor of Roger Clemens,[72] but changed to #22 upon joining the Braves, as #21 is retired for Warren Spahn.

Coincidentally, #22 was the number of right fielder Jason Heyward, who was traded from the Braves to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 2015 season, and replaced by Markakis.

The foundation was created to help distressed children, whether they are disadvantaged, sick, lonely, or grieving, throughout Maryland.

As new parents, we see great promise in our son and want to do our part to ensure that other children in Maryland have opportunities to grow and enjoy life," Christina explained.