Nick Markakis is an American professional baseball player in the Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for Baltimore Orioles and is currently playing for the Atlanta Braves. His annual salary in his current club is something that will interest baseball fans. Let’s take a look at that and other facts about him – his bio, contract, career stats and profile.
Nick Markakis’ Profile
Nick Markakis was born Nicholas William Markakis on November 17, 1983, in Glen Cove, New York, but he spent his teenage days in Woodstock, Georgia as his family moved there when he was ten years old. Nick was born to his parents, Dennis Lou (father) and Mary Lou (mother). Little is known about his siblings, but we know he is the second child among three brothers, Dennis, Greg and Michael, who are also baseball players. As far as his education history goes, Nick attended Woodstock High School in Woodstock, Georgia and then moved on to obtain his college education from Young Harris College, a liberal arts college in Georgia. Nick Markakis has both German and Greek ancestry and holds both American and Greek nationalities. His ethnicity is white.
Nick’s interest in baseball began at the tender age of two as he was introduced to the game by his mother, Mary. She would pitch him and his older brother Dennis against each other and he would outshine his bigger brother. The family members were huge fans of the American professional baseball team, the Boston Red Sox. Young Nick would watch the Red Sox for hours and not do anything else and as he grew up, baseball became a passion (if not an obsession) for him. His favourite Red Sox player was Roger Clemens who went by the nickname “Rocket”. Clemens played for the Red Sox between 1984 to 1996. So great was Nick Markakis’ fascination with his baseball idol that when he started his professional career, he wore the same jersey number (21) as his idol.
He developed a deep friendship with Taylor Scott Randahl, a boy who lived around the neighbourhood where he moved in with his parents in Georgia. Their friendship caught the eye of Nick’s parents who labelled them “Frick and Frack.” While Nick loved baseball, Taylor had a thing for the mountains – he was a mountain biker. Taylor died from an accident while they were in high school which made Nick Markakis name his first son, Taylor.
He started playing in high school with the school’s baseball team – Wolverines, the baseball team of the Woodstock High School. He posted impressive stats in his senior year as the best left-handed pitcher on the team, which got the interest of the Cincinnati Reds, a professional baseball team based in Ohio. He refused to give up his college education and sign for the Reds in 2001 and 2002 when they drafted him, instead, he decided to play in college with the Young Harris Mountain Lions, which was the baseball team of his college as a pitcher and an outfielder. He won the Georgia Junior College Player of the Year award twice and also won Baseball America’s 2002 National JUCO Player of the Year. He represented Greece in the 2003 European National Championships and the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Career Stats, Contract, Salary
Nick Markakis has played for two Major League Baseball sides so far – the Baltimore Orioles (2006–2014) and the Atlanta Braves (2015–), however, his blistering career began in college. While pitching for the Mountain Lions (of the Young Harris College), Nick had an impressive run. He hit .439 with 21 homers and 92 RBIs, produced a .843 slugging percentage and a .541 on-base percentage, and in 20 attempts, he stole 19 bases. He went 12-0 on the mound, had just .182 hits against him, had one save and a 1.68 ERA.
He was selected by Baltimore Orioles in the 2003 draft as the seventh overall pick. He started out in the minor league, playing for Aberdeen IronBirds in 2003, Delmarva Shorebirds in 2004, Frederick Keys in 2005 and also moved to Bowie Baysox in the same 2005. But his stats made sure he didn’t stay there (minor league) for so long. he was promoted to the major league for the 2006 season and made his major league debut against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on April 3, 2006, howbeit, from the bench. But he would get his first major league start two days later.
Nick moved over to the Atlanta Braves in 2014. He was announced as a Brave after putting pen to paper for a four-year contract deal worth $44 million with a $2 million signing bonus on December 3, 2014. The contract would make Nicki Markakis earn an annual average salary of $11,000,000 plus other contract bonuses/clauses. Some of the bonuses include an extra $25,000 if he wins the Gold Glove or League Championship Series MVP and an extra $50,000 if he wins an All-Star award, World Series MVP or Comeback Player of the Year award.
Who is Nick Markakis’ Wife, Family?
Nick Markakis is married and is the brother-in-law of his teammate at Atlanta Braves, Ryan Flaherty as both of them are married to two sisters. His wife, Christina Dutko is the elder sister of Ryan’s wife, Ashley Dutko. Nick met Christina through a mutual friend at a Super Bowl Party in 2006. They started dating and got married in 2008 while he still played for Baltimore Orioles. Christina is also a track and field athlete and worked as an elementary school teacher with a degree in education from Florida Atlantic University. She also earned All-Atlantic Sun Conference honours for indoor track.
The couple has three kids and they are all boys. Their first son came on March 11, 2009, and was Nicknamed Taylor Jason, in honour of his late friend Taylor Scott Randahl. Their second child, Tucker Edward, came on May 27, 2010, and the third, Toby, on September 11, 2013.
