Cliff Floyd
Encyclopedia
Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Jr. (born December 5, 1972 in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
) is a former Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
.
Early years
Floyd was born to parents Cornelius Clifford Floyd, Sr. and Olivia Floyd. After spending 13 years as an only child, Floyd was joined by brother Julius. Sister Shanta was later adopted when the Floyds noticed her as a six-year old classmate of Julius' who had been troublesome for her then adoptive parents. The three siblings were raised in Markham, IllinoisMarkham, Illinois
Markham is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,620 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Markham is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, a small suburb south west of Chicago. Floyd's father, a former Marine, worked double shifts at a U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
plant in Chicago to allow the family to live in a safe and stable neighborhood.
At Thornwood High School
Thornwood High School
Thornwood High School is a public high school located in South Holland, Illinois. It was built as part of Thornton Township High Schools District 205.-History:...
in South Holland, Illinois
South Holland, Illinois
South Holland is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States and serves as the seat of Thornton Township. The population was 22,147 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, Floyd was a three-sport star in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. In basketball, he led his high school to the Class AA Sectional Playoffs. In leading his team to the Illinois state baseball championship as a senior, he hit
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.508 with 130 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
during the final two years of his high school prep career. He was heavily recruited by Arizona State University, Stanford
Stanford Cardinal baseball
The Stanford Cardinal baseball team represents Stanford University in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other Stanford athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Cardinal play their home games on campus at the Sunken Diamond, and they are...
, and Creighton University, but when the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
drafted him as the 14th pick in the 1st round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft
1991 Major League Baseball Draft
-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft.-Supplemental First Round Selections:-Other notable players:...
, Floyd made no hesitation and chose to go to the minor leagues.
Major league career
Floyd made his major league debut in , playing in 10 games with the Expos. In , Floyd was traded from the Expos to the Florida MarlinsFlorida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
for Dustin Hermanson
Dustin Hermanson
Dustin Michael Hermanson is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball.After being selected in the 1st round of the amateur draft by, and playing for, the San Diego Padres, he bounced around the majors, playing for the Montreal Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red...
and Joe Orsulak
Joe Orsulak
Joseph Michael Richardson Orsulak III is a former Major League Baseball player from 1983 to 1997 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Florida Marlins, and Montreal Expos. Orsulak, who threw and batted lefthanded, played mostly in the outfield, although he played some games...
. In , Floyd earned a starting position in the Marlins' outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
. In , in 420 at-bats, he hit .300 with 22 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 91 RBI.
In , Floyd was traded from the Marlins back to the Expos, with Claudio Vargas
Claudio Vargas
Claudio Vargas Almonte is a former Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers...
, Wilton Guerrero
Wilton Guerrero
Wilton Alvaro Guerrero is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers , Montreal Expos , Cincinnati Reds , and Kansas City Royals ....
, and cash, for Graeme Lloyd
Graeme Lloyd
Graeme John Lloyd is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who had a ten year career from 1993 to 2003.-Playing career:...
, Mike Mordecai
Mike Mordecai
Michael Howard Mordecai is a right-handed hitting/throwing infielder in Major League Baseball who most recently played for the Florida Marlins.-School and minor leagues:...
, Carl Pavano
Carl Pavano
Carl Anthony Pavano is an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher currently with the Minnesota Twins.-Early career:...
, Justin Wayne
Justin Wayne
Justin Morgan Wayne is a former American professional baseball pitcher. Wayne is from Honolulu, Hawaii, and an alumnus of Punahou School .-High school:...
, and Donald Levinski. Later that year, Floyd was traded from the Expos to the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
for Sun-Woo Kim
Sun-Woo Kim
-Pro career:Kim began his MLB career with the Boston Red Sox in and would be traded to the Montreal Expos the next season. In his career, Kim has pitched in 110 games, starting 37, recording 13 wins against 13 losses...
and Seung Song.
In , Floyd was signed by the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. He played well for the Mets, but was hampered by injuries in 2003 and . However, Cliff stayed healthy in and responded with a career-high and team-leading 34 home runs. The next year, though, Floyd was once again limited by injuries and only played in 97 games during New York's division-winning year. He caught the division-clinching out for the Mets, but was slowed by injuries in the playoffs for New York, only recording twelve at-bats in the his team's ten postseason games.
In , Floyd agreed to a deal with his hometown Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
for the 2007 season, with an option for . Floyd missed nine games in August 2007 to mourn the death of his father, Cornelius. He returned on August 21, 2007, to play the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
, where he hit a game-winning RBI.
On December 14, 2007, Floyd signed a $3 million, one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
. Floyd spent 2008 platooning for the Rays at DH against righties.
On February 5, , Floyd agreed to a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
.
On October 8, 2009, the Padres released Floyd.
Broadcasting career
On February 22, 2010, Floyd accepted a broadcasting job with FOX Sports Florida.Personal life
Floyd lives in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with his longtime companion Maryanne Manning, the couple's two children, his mother, and the two children of his sister Shanta. Shanta died in 2006 after a long battle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.