Jedd Gyorko Joins WVU Baseball Staff

West Virginia Sports Hall of Famer Jedd Gyorko

Jul 22, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Jedd Gyorko (5) reacts during the third inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, West Virginia University head coach Steve Sabins announced Jedd Gyorko as a Special Assistant to the Head Coach.

 “I am thrilled to have Jedd Gyorko and his family part of our team,” Sabins said. “The most accomplished Mountaineer baseball player of all time is a special communicator and teammate. He understands team dynamics at the core level and will be an incredible resource to our players and staff. Jedd reached the pinnacle of baseball and was an elite player. He is humble, selfless, caring and wants to help move Mountaineer Baseball forward. Jedd will aid in player development, alumni relations, and fundraising. I’m excited to name Jedd the Special Assistant to the Head Coach and have him part of what we are building here.”

 Gyorko collected 10 All-American honors during his time at WVU. The Morgantown native cemented his legacy in the record books, is first in career extra-base hits (113) and batting average (.404), tied for second in career home runs (35), second in career runs (207), RBIs (178), doubles (73), assists (475) and total bases (469), third in career hits (281) and slugging percentage (.674), fifth in career on-base percentage (.470), tied for fifth in career sacrifice flies (14) and tied for eighth in career walks (92).

In addition to his All-America honors, Gyorko was also named the Big East Rookie of the Year in 2008, NCBWA District II Player of the Year as both a sophomore and junior as well as the program’s first Brooks Wallace Award winner in 2010, awarded to the nation’s top shortstop.

Gyorko became the 68th Mountaineer selected in the MLB Draft, going in the second round (59th overall) in 2010 to the San Diego. He made his Major League debut on April 1, 2013, as the team’s Opening Day second baseman and finished sixth that season in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

Gyorko played in 364 games with the Padres in three years, accumulating 309 hits in 1,307 at-bats, including 49 home runs, 58 doubles, one triple and 171 runs batted in. He led the Padres in home runs (49), runs batted in (171), hits (309), doubles (58) and walks (96) from his Major League debut in 2013 through 2015. Gyorko set the San Diego Padres single-season home run mark by a second baseman in 2013, when he swatted 23, becoming the first rookie to lead the Padres in home runs and is San Diego’s all-time leader for home runs by a second baseman with 40. Gyorko posted a .992 fielding percentage at second base his rookie season, the highest ever in MLB by a rookie second baseman.

Gyorko was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 where he hit 61 home runs from 2016-18, second most behind infielder Matt Carpenter during that time. In 2016, he hit a career-high 30 home runs. He finished his career in 2020 after stops with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.