James McCann

McCann became the first MLB player to hit an inside-the-park home run and two walk-off home runs for his first three career home runs since Tony Piet in 1932.

McCann became the first MLB player to hit an inside-the-park home run and a walk-off home run for his first two career home runs since Tim Raines in 1981.

James Thomas McCann (born June 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Mets.

Prior to his professional career, McCann played college baseball at the University of Arkansas.

McCann has also competed for the United States national baseball team.

McCann was born on June 13, 1990, in Santa Barbara, California.

His mother Carla suffered a torn amniotic sac while she was pregnant with McCann, and she spent the bulk of the pregnancy on bed rest.

During that time, she watched local sports, particularly the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB).

After McCann was born, his mother served as his tee ball coach and drove him to and from Little League Baseball games and tournaments.

As a child, McCann was teammates with future MLB All-Star Jeff McNeil.

McCann attended Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta, California.

He played baseball in the Channel League and was named to the all-league first team in 2006 2007, and 2008.

Out of high school, the White Sox drafted McCann in the 31st round of the 2008 MLB draft, but he did not sign, opting to attend college at Arkansas.

At Arkansas, McCann played college baseball for the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team in the Southeastern Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I.

As a freshman in 2009, he teamed with future big leaguers Dallas Keuchel, Drew Smyly, Mike Bolsinger, Brett Eibner and Andy Wilkins to help the Razorbacks reach the 2009 College World Series.

As a team captain in his sophomore season, McCann hit a walk-off home run to beat the #14 LSU Tigers, 4–3, in front of a Baum Stadium record crowd of 11,103.

In 2010, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

In his junior season, McCann had a .306 batting average, six home runs, 14 doubles, 11 stolen bases, 38 runs batted in (RBIs) and 35 runs scored in 61 games played and was named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award, presented to the best catcher in NCAA's Division I.

After the 2011 college baseball season, McCann played for the United States national baseball team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup and the 2011 Pan American Games, winning the silver medal in the latter.

The Tigers selected McCann in the second round, with the 76th overall selection, of the 2011 MLB draft.

He was Detroit's first selection of the draft, and the first of four catchers the team selected.

He signed with the Tigers and made his professional debut in 2011, playing five games with the Gulf Coast Tigers of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League before being promoted to the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Class A Midwest League.

The Tigers invited McCann to spring training in 2012.

He began the 2012 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, and received a promotion to the Erie SeaWolves of the Class AA Eastern League on June 6, though be batted only .200 for Erie.

After adjusting his offensive approach, McCann responded with a .283 average through July 14 of the 2013 season, and appeared in the All-Star Futures Game.

He ended the season with a .277 average, eight home runs, 30 doubles, 54 RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .731.

The home run was voted as the third-most memorable moment in Baum Stadium history by Razorbacks fans in 2014.

McCann began the 2014 season with the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class AAA International League.

McCann finished the season with the Mud Hens batting .295 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs, and a .770 OPS.

On September 1, 2014, McCann was called up by the Detroit Tigers.

He made his MLB debut that day in the bottom of the ninth inning, replacing catcher Alex Avila.

McCann got his first MLB start on September 19, 2014, catching for Justin Verlander against the Kansas City Royals.

McCann had two hits (both to center field), a stolen base, and scored twice.

In spring training in 2015, McCann won the job as the team's backup catcher to Avila.

He hit his first major league home run, an inside-the-park home run, on April 29, 2015.

On May 21, 2015, he hit his first conventional home run, a walk-off in the 11th inning to give the Tigers a 6–5 victory over the Houston Astros.

On June 28, 2015, McCann hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Tigers a 5–4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

In 2019, as a member of the White Sox, he was named to the MLB All-Star Game.

McCann has caught two no-hitters in the major leagues: one pitched by Lucas Giolito in 2020 with the White Sox, and one pitched by Tylor Megill, Drew Smith, Joely Rodríguez, Seth Lugo and Edwin Díaz in 2022 with the Mets.