| Corey Dickerson | |
|---|---|
 Dickerson with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 | |
| Tampa Bay Rays | |
| Left fielder /Coach | |
| Born: (1989-05-22)May 22, 1989 (age 36) McComb, Mississippi, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 22, 2013, for the Colorado Rockies | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 2, 2023, for the Washington Nationals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .280 |
| Home runs | 136 |
| Runs batted in | 469 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
McKenzie Corey Dickerson (born May 22, 1989) is an American professionalbaseballcoach and formerleft fielder who currently serves as the first base coach for theTampa Bay Rays ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for theColorado Rockies (2013–2015), Rays (2016–2017),Pittsburgh Pirates (2018–2019),Philadelphia Phillies (2019),Miami Marlins (2020–2021),Toronto Blue Jays (2021),St. Louis Cardinals (2022), andWashington Nationals (2023).
The Rockies selected Dickerson in the eighth round of the2010 Major League Baseball draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2013. Dickerson was anMLB All-Star in 2017 and won aGold Glove Award in 2018. The Nationals released him in August 2023, and he officially retired in 2024, becoming the coach atJackson Academy earlier that year.
Dickerson was born inMcComb, Mississippi and raised inBrookhaven, Mississippi.[1] He attendedBrookhaven Academy in Brookhaven, where he played baseball and also starred infootball andbasketball.[2][1] In his junior year, he injured his shoulder at a baseball camp, forcing him to move fromshortstop to theoutfield in baseball, and fromquarterback towide receiver in football.[3] Dickerson holds the State Private School Association career and single-season records forhome runs, with 45 over four seasons, and 15 his senior year.[4] Also, his single-season .591batting average and 55runs batted in (RBIs) are both Brookhaven Academy records.[4]
Dickerson then enrolled atMeridian Community College inMeridian, Mississippi on a full baseball scholarship, where he playedcenter field and was the leadoff hitter for the school's baseball team.[4] During his freshman season at Meridian, Dickerson hit .459 with 21 home runs.[5][6]
TheColorado Rockies drafted Dickerson out of high school in the 29th round in 2009, but he did not sign and attended community college. The Rockies then selected Dickerson in the eighth round of the2010 Major League Baseball draft.[7]
In 2010, he played forCasper Ghosts in thePioneer League, andbatted .348(6th in the league)/.412(8th in the league)/.632(leading the league) with 54 runs (8th), 22 doubles (2nd), 9 triples (2nd), 13 home runs (tied for 3rd), and 61 RBI (tied for the league lead) in 276 at bats.[3][8][9] On September 6, 2010, he was aPioneer League Player of the Week.[10] In 2010 he was a Pioneer League postseason All Star, an MiLB Organization All Star, and aTopps Short-Season/Rookie All Star.[10]
On June 3, 2011, while playing with theSingle-AAsheville Tourists, Dickerson recorded 10 RBIs on three home runs, tied for the most RBIs in a single game inSouth Atlantic League history, a record that had stood for 33 years.[11] On July 11, 2011, he was the league's Player of the Week.[10] In 2011, he batted .282/.356/.629(3rd in the SAL) with 78 runs (5th), 5 triples (tied for 10th), 32 home runs (leading the league), and 87 RBI (tied for 3rd) for Asheville in 435 plate appearances and was an MiLB Organization All Star.[10][8] He was fourth in the minor leagues in both home runs and slugging percentage in 2011.[10]
In 2012, Dickerson played for theTulsa Drillers of theDouble-ATexas League and for theModesto Nuts of theCalifornia League.[12] He batted a combined .304/.358/.542 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI in 559 plate appearances.[8] He was a California League mid-season All Star.[10] He then played in theArizona Fall League, where he batted .364/.368/.515 in 68 at bats and was named a Rising Star.[10]
Prior to the 2013 season, MLB named him the 16th-best prospect in the Rockies system. In 2013, he batted .371(2nd in thePacific Coast League)/.414/.632(3rd) with 14 triples (leading the league), 11 home runs, and 50 RBI in 345 plate appearances withColorado Springs and was a PCL postseason All Star, and an MiLB Organization All Star.[10][13]
The Rockies promoted Dickerson to the major leagues on June 21, 2013.[14] He made his debut the next day atNationals Park, where he picked up his first two career hits, both doubles, and his first career RBI as the Rockies beat theWashington Nationals. On July 28, Dickerson hit his first career home run offMilwaukee Brewers pitcherDonovan Hand, in a Rockies victory.[15] In 2013, in the majors he batted .263/.316/.459 with 5 home runs and 17 RBI in 213 plate appearances.[16]
Dickerson began the 2014 season with the Rockies, but wasoptioned back to theTriple-AColorado Springs Sky Sox when relieverBoone Logan was activated from thedisabled list.[17] On June 18, in a game versus theLos Angeles Dodgers, Dickerson was the only batter to reach base safely duringClayton Kershaw'sno-hitter, reaching on anerror. In 2014 in the majors, he batted .312(9th-best in the league)/.364/.567(3rd-highest in the NL) with 24 home runs, 18.2at bats per home run (6th-best in the NL), and 76 RBI in 478 plate appearances.[16]
Dickerson suffered two broken ribs while diving for a catch on June 30, 2015.[18] In 2015, he batted .304/.333/.536 with 10 home runs and 31 RBI in 234 plate appearances.[16]
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On January 28, 2016, Dickerson was traded withKevin Padlo to theTampa Bay Rays for pitchersJake McGee andGermán Márquez.[19] In 2016, Dickerson's first season away fromCoors Field, his batting line dropped to .245/.293/.469, as he hit a career-high 36 doubles (10th in the AL) with 24 home runs and 70 RBIs in 510 at bats.[16] He spent most of his time as the DH and left fielder.[20]
In 2017, Dickerson's play was completely transformed, and he hit in the leadoff spot. His turnaround led him to a .325/.367/.569 line with 17 home runs at the All-Star break, leading the DH position in nearly every category. His numbers led him to beat out incumbentNelson Cruz for the starting DH spot in theAll-Star Game,[21] becoming the first Ray to start the game since 2010 (Carl Crawford,Evan Longoria,David Price).[22] Dickerson's performance waned in the second half. Dickerson ended 2017 batting .282/.325/.490 with a career-high 27 home runs and 62 RBIs in 588 at-bats.[23] He swung at 45.6% of pitches outside thestrike zone (the highest percentage in the majors).[24] On defense, his twodouble plays were the most by an American League left fielder, and hisrange factor/9 IP of 2.22 was second-best among AL left fielders.[16]
The Rays designated Dickerson for assignment on February 17, 2018.[25] On February 22, they traded him to thePittsburgh Pirates forDaniel Hudson,Tristan Gray, and cash.[26] On April 26, Dickerson hit his first careerwalk-off home run, off ofAlex Wilson. It was the only run of the game as the Pirates beat the Tigers 1–0.[27]
In 2018, Dickerson hit .300 (8th in the NL)/.330/.474 with seven triples (9th), 13 home runs, and 55 RBIs in 504 at-bats, and swung at 59.3% of all pitches he saw, tops in the major leagues.[28][29] He had the highestfielding percentage among major league left fielders, at .996, the highest range factor/9 IP among NL left fielders (2.23), and had five double plays (most among NL outfielders) and seven assists (second-most among NL left fielders).[30][16] He also earned his first careerGold Glove Award.[31]
In 2019 with the Pirates, he batted .317/.376/.556 with four home runs and 25 RBIs in 126 at-bats.[16]
On July 31, 2019, the Pirates traded Dickerson to thePhiladelphia Phillies for aplayer to be named later and international signing bonus money.[32] The teams would later agree to replace the player to be named later with more cash paid to the Pirates.[33] At the time of the trade, he was owed $2.8 million of his annual $8.5 million salary for the final two months of the season.[34]
In 2019 with the Phillies, he batted .293/.307/.579 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 133 at-bats. His season was cut short by a fracturednavicular bone in his left foot.[35]
On January 6, 2020, Dickerson signed a two-year, $17.5 million contract with theMiami Marlins.[36][37] In 2020, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all major league left fielders, at .970.[38] On the offensive side, Dickerson slashed .258/.311/.402 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 194 at-bats.[39] In 62 games with Miami in 2021, Dickerson slashed .260/.321/.377 with two home runs and 14 RBI.
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On June 29, 2021, Dickerson was traded to theToronto Blue Jays alongsideAdam Cimber forJoe Panik and minor league pitcher Andrew McInvale.[40]
On March 18, 2022, Dickerson signed a one-year, $5 million deal with theSt. Louis Cardinals.[41] Over three games from August 23 to 25, Dickerson recorded 10 hits in 10 consecutive at-bats, giving him the longest such streak by a Cardinal in the expansion era.[42]
On January 10, 2023, Dickerson signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal with theWashington Nationals.[43] In 49 games, Dickerson hit .250/.283/.354 with 2 home runs and 17 RBI. The Nationals released him on August 2; appearing as a pinch hitter in the ninth in what would turn out to be his final major league appearance, Dickerson had reached first and eventually scored the walk-off winning run on a close play at the plate earlier that day.[44]
Dickerson officially retired from professional baseball on December 31, 2024.[45]
On June 10, 2024, Dickerson was hired as the head baseball coach atJackson Academy inJackson, Mississippi.[46]
On December 22, 2025, theTampa Bay Rays hired Dickerson to serve as their first base coach.[47]
Dickerson's wife gave birth to their first son in 2014.[48] On February 22, 2018, the same day he was traded to the Pirates, the couple had their second son.[49] In the offseason, Dickerson resides inMadison, Mississippi.[50]
