Marcell Ozuna facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Marcell Ozuna |
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Ozuna with the Atlanta Braves in 2021
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| Atlanta Braves – No. 20 | |||
| Designated hitter / Outfielder | |||
| Born: November 12, 1990 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
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| debut | |||
| April 30, 2013, for the Miami Marlins | |||
| MLB statistics (through July 12, 2025) |
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| Batting average | .271 | ||
| Hits | 1,590 | ||
| Home runs | 288 | ||
| Runs batted in | 922 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso (born November 12, 1990), known as "the Big Bear", is a professional baseball player from the Dominican Republic. He plays as a designated hitter and outfielder for the Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball (MLB). Before joining the Braves, he played for the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. He started his MLB career in 2013 with the Marlins.
Ozuna was signed by the Marlins in 2008 when he was still an amateur player. He has been chosen for the MLB All-Star Game three times (in 2016, 2017, and 2024). He also won the Silver Slugger Award twice (2017, 2020) and a Gold Glove Award in 2017. That year, he had a great season, finishing fourth in the National League (NL) for batting average (.312). He was also third in home runs (37) and runs batted in (124). After the 2017 season, the Marlins traded Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2020, he led the NL in both home runs and RBIs.
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Early Life and Family Background
Marcell Ozuna Idelfonso was born in Santo Domingo, which is the capital city of the Dominican Republic. His father used to be a painter, and his mother works as a housekeeper. Marcell has one brother and two sisters. He is also related to Pablo Ozuna, who was a former MLB player.
Professional Baseball Career
Starting in the Minor Leagues
On February 15, 2008, the Florida Marlins signed Marcell Ozuna. He received a $49,000 bonus to join the team. He began his professional career playing for the Dominican Summer League (DSL) Marlins in 2008. In 63 games, he hit .279, had six home runs, 43 runs batted in (RBIs), and stole eight bases. In 2009, he played for the GCL Marlins. There, in 55 games, he hit .313 with five home runs and 39 RBIs.
Ozuna started the 2010 season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers. This team is part of the Class A South Atlantic League. However, he had to stop playing after six games because of a wrist injury. He came back in June with the Short Season Jamestown team. He finished the season playing a total of 74 games. In those games, he hit .258 with 22 home runs and 62 RBIs. In 2011, Ozuna played for Greensboro again. He hit .266 with 23 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 17 stolen bases over 131 games.
For the 2012 season, Ozuna moved up to the Jupiter Hammerheads. This team is in the Class A-Advanced Florida State League. In 129 games, he hit .266 with 24 home runs and 95 RBIs. That year, he was the leader in the Florida State League for home runs, RBIs, runs scored, and total bases. On November 20, 2012, Ozuna was added to the Marlins' 40-man roster. Before the 2013 season, Baseball America ranked Ozuna as the 75th-best young player in baseball.
Ozuna started 2013 with Jupiter, but after only four games, he was promoted. He moved up to the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AA Southern League. On April 29, 2013, Ozuna was named the league's player of the week. On the same day, the Marlins called Ozuna up to play in the major leagues. This happened because Giancarlo Stanton had an injury.
Playing for the Miami Marlins (2013–2017)
On April 30, 2013, Ozuna played his first major league game. He got his first career hit, a single, against Jeremy Hefner of the New York Mets. In his fifth game, he hit his first career home run. This also counted as his first RBI and run scored. It was a solo home run against Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies. Ozuna played as the starting right fielder while Stanton was out. When Stanton returned, Ozuna became the starting center fielder. On July 22, Ozuna was sent back to Jacksonville. However, he was placed on the disabled list for 15 days instead. He had a thumb injury from making a diving catch. On July 26, 2013, he had surgery on his thumb, which ended his season.
In 2014, Ozuna played 153 games for the Marlins. He batted .269 with 23 home runs and 85 RBIs. On September 11, 2014, he hit home runs in four games in a row. This tied a record for the team.
On July 5, 2015, Ozuna was sent to AAA. This happened after he had no hits in nine out of ten games, which dropped his batting average to .249. After playing 33 games in AAA, where he batted .333 with five home runs and 11 RBIs, he returned to the Marlins. He finished the 2015 season batting .278 with six home runs and 18 RBIs.
During the time between seasons, the Marlins received offers from other teams for Ozuna. However, he stayed on the team for the 2016 season. He was placed in the number-two spot in the batting lineup.
In 2017, Ozuna was named NL Player of the Week. This was for the week of April 10–16. During that week, he batted .435 with four home runs, 12 RBIs, and a 1.481 OPS (On-base Plus Slugging).
Ozuna was chosen to be a starter for the NL in the 2017 MLB All-Star Game. He had a fantastic year, setting new personal bests. He batted .312, hit 37 home runs, and had 124 RBIs. He was named the NL Player of the Week again. This was for the week of September 18–24, along with his teammate Giancarlo Stanton. During that week, he batted .500 (10 hits in 20 tries) with three home runs, seven RBIs, and six runs scored.
Time with the St. Louis Cardinals (2018–2019)
On December 14, 2017, the Marlins traded Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals. In return, the Marlins received Sandy Alcántara, Magneuris Sierra, Zac Gallen, and Daniel Castano. On January 12, 2018, the Cardinals and Ozuna agreed on a one-year contract worth $9 million. Before the 2018 season, Mike Petriello of MLB.com said Ozuna was the best left fielder in the major leagues. He called him "a strong fielder."
On June 2, 2018, Ozuna hit his 100th career home run. It was against Chad Kuhl in a 3–2 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This was also his first home run at Busch Stadium as a Cardinal. The next day, he hit a grand slam in a 5–0 win against the Pirates.
Ozuna was named NL Player of the Week for the week of June 11–17. He hit .455 (10 hits in 22 tries) with four home runs and eight RBIs in six games. This was his third Player of the Week award. He had won it twice before with the Miami Marlins in 2017. On July 30, 2018, at Busch Stadium against the Colorado Rockies, Ozuna hit his first walk-off home run. It was a solo shot in the 10th inning, helping St. Louis win 5–4. Ozuna finished his first season in St. Louis batting .280 with 23 home runs and 88 RBIs in 148 games.
Ozuna was placed on the injured list on June 29, 2019, because of a finger fracture. He was able to play again on August 3. In 130 regular season games and 485 times at bat, Ozuna hit .243 with 29 home runs and 89 RBIs.
The Cardinals reached the 2019 National League Division Series. This meant Ozuna played in his first ever postseason series. In the five games against the Atlanta Braves, Ozuna hit .429 with nine hits and five RBIs.
Playing for the Atlanta Braves (2020–present)
On January 21, 2020, Ozuna signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves. The contract was worth $18 million.
On July 24, Ozuna was the starting left fielder for the Braves on Opening Day. On September 1, he made history by becoming the first National League player to hit three home runs in one game at Fenway Park. He also reached 1,000 career hits in MLB. In the very next game, Adam Duvall also hit three home runs against the Boston Red Sox. This made Ozuna and Duvall the first teammates in Major League Baseball history to each hit three home runs in back-to-back games.
In 2020, Ozuna batted .338. He also had an NL-leading 18 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 145 total bases. This was during the shorter 60-game season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ozuna won his second Silver Slugger Award after the 2020 season. This was the first time a designated hitter in the National League won this award. This was because of a new rule that allowed a universal DH across the league in 2020.
On February 5, 2021, Ozuna signed a new contract with the Braves. It was a four-year deal worth $64 million. He did not play for the rest of the 2021 season after September 9. The Braves finished with an 88–73 record, winning the NL East. They then went on to win the 2021 World Series, which was their first championship since 1995.
In the 2022 season, he played 124 games. He hit 23 home runs and batted .226. In the 2023 regular-season finale, Ozuna hit two home runs. This brought his total to a career-high 40 home runs for the season. His two home runs on October 1 also helped the 2023 Braves tie a record. They matched the 2019 Minnesota Twins for the most home runs hit in a single season. During the 2024 season, Ozuna was a key player for Atlanta. He finished the season batting .302 with 39 home runs and 104 RBIs. Ozuna also finished 4th in the voting for the NL MVP award.
Personal Life
Ozuna is married to Genesis Guzman. As of May 2017, they have three children together.
See also
In Spanish: Marcell Ozuna para niños
- Atlanta Braves award winners and league leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
- Miami Marlins award winners and league leaders
Images for kids
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Ozuna with the Atlanta Braves in 2021
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Ozuna with the Jupiter Hammerheads in 2012
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Ozuna with the Miami Marlins in 2016.
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Ozuna with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018
