Major League Baseball first basemen, Jason Giambi, was born on January 8, 1971 in West Covina, California.
Giambi played varsity baseball for South Hills High School, posting a career .386 batting average and helping lead his team to the finals his senior year.
After high school, Giambi attended Long Beach State as business major and played first base for the Dirtbag baseball team. In his freshmen year he was voted the Big West Conference's Freshmen of the Year in 1990 with two all-league honors. In his junior year, he was elected to the 1991 All-College World Series team where they took home the bronze medal.
Giami made his MLB debut in 1995 for the Oakland Athletics. His career with the Athletics spanned from 1995 to 2001 culminating in a monstrous year in 2000 where he won the American League MVP. Giambi led the league that year in on base percentage and walks, while hitting .333 with 43 home runs and 137 RBIs.
Between 2002 and 2008, Giambi put up big numbers with the New York Yankees after signing a 7-year $120 million contract. In 2005 he hit his 300th career home run off of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim relief pitcher Esteban Yan as he continued to be a dominant power force in baseball.
Giambi's number began declining halfway through his contract with the Yankees due to injuries and his ties with MLB's steroid investigation. Giambi testified in the 2003 to a grand jury stating he used steroids between the years 2001 and 2003. In a press conference in 2005 he openly apologized the fans for his actions and urged more players to do so, ultimately saving the legitimacy to his career.
Giambi was one of the few baseball players to come forward about using steroids. In a way it allowed for him to continue his career. Giambi was not ran out of baseball because he admitted his mistake, and now after a brief return stint to the Athleticss last year, plays first base for the Colorado Rockies.
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