Jeremy Giambi

Jeremy Dean Giambi (born September 30, 1974 in San Jose, California) is a left-handed, former professional baseball player for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox. He also played in the minors for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. He attended Cal State Fullerton and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round of the 1996 amateur draft. He last played in the majors in 2003 for the Boston Red Sox. After being released by the Red Sox, Giambi signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004 and the White Sox in 2005. He is the younger brother of Jason Giambi.

He is best known for not sliding on a play at the plate (see The Flip) during Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees. Had he slid, he may have gotten the call that he avoided Jorge Posada's tag, thereby scoring, and ultimately affecting the outcome of the game, allowing the Yankees to win and continue to the 2001 American League Championship Series. The Yankees were down two games to none in a best of five series. This play preserved their lead in game three, and they then went on to win the series by winning games four and five. Based on attendance numbers, it also seems that this play left Oakland fans disillusioned. While almost 56,000 filled the Oakland Coliseum for this game, only 44,000 came the next day.

Controversy
On December 10, 2001, Giambi was caught with marijuana at a checkpoint at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport. He was cited for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and released.

On March 13, 2005, The Kansas City Star reported that Jeremy had admitted to having used anabolic steroids. His brother Jason has also admitted to using steroids according to grand jury testimony that has been leaked to the press.

Early years
Born in West Covina, California, Giambi attended South Hills High School and Sierra Vista Middle School in Covina, California.