Jeffrey Hammonds

Class of 2026

The spring of 1993, not long after representing the United States on the Olympic baseball team, was a fast-moving one for Jeffrey Hammonds. He was assigned to the Baltimore Orioles’ major league camp for spring training, then assigned to the Double-A team for more seasoning. A month later he earned a promotion to Triple-A.

Then, on June 25, he made his major league debut. “I got the call and really didn’t have time to do anything but go,” Hammonds recalls. “I actually didn’t get to the ballpark till the third inning.  I got dressed real fast and was in the dugout trying to not act like a rookie.  Our DH got injured early in the game and manager Johnny Oates inserted me in the DH spot.  My first at-bat, against Jim Abbott, I hit a bullet up the middle for a single.  When I got to first base, (New York first baseman) Don Mattingly, a childhood idol, told me, ‘Nice hit, kid. Call time out and tip your cap to the crowd. You only have one first hit in the big leagues.”

That launched a 13-year career in the majors for Hammonds, who has settled in Madison after his retirement from the game. His mother Laverne was born in Limestone County and father Ferdinand was born in Madison, and after they moved back home from New Jersey, where they raised their family of three sons, it was only natural for Jeffrey to move closer to them.

Jeffrey was the youngest of the three, “so I had several things going in my favor. One, I was always playing with my older brothers (one of whom, Reggie, also played pro ball and was a minor league teammate of Barry Bonds), so being the youngest I had to match their skill level or they wouldn’t let me play.”

Jeffrey played three sports in middle and high school, but a knee injury during his junior football season forced him to miss basketball and thus focus on baseball. “I was actually a better football player and followed Deion Sanders, John Elway and Bo Jackson, because they did both in college,” he says. But when scouts attended a summer league before his senior year to see another player, Hammonds caught their attention.

He was drafted in the ninth round by Toronto, but also had scholarship offers from powerhouses Stanford, Michigan, UNC and Miami. “Finally my mom told me ‘You have the opportunity to go to Stanford on scholarship, you’re going to Stanford.’ It really was the best decision for me.”

Under legendary coach Mike Marquess, Hammonds played a huge role as a freshman to lead Stanford to the College World Series semifinals, with a school record 37-game hitting streak He was named to the All-CWS team and a first-team All-American. He was first-team All-America again as a junior, and he opted out that year for the draft. He was selected in the first round by the Orioles, the fourth overall pick, and during the summer of 92 he also represented the USA in the Barcelona Olympics, batting .414. (He would later be inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame and named to USA Baseball’s All Century Team.)

Hammonds followed up his MLB debut success by going 2-for-4 the next day with his first major league homer, and became a regular outfielder for an Orioles team that included Hall of Famers Cal Ripken, Harold Baines and Mike Mussina, and for the favorite of his managers, Davey Johnson. Hammonds was traded to Cincinnati in 1998, then to Colorado prior to the 2000 season, in which he was selected to the National League All-Star team, batting .335 with 106 RBI. He signed a lucrative contract with Milwaukee in 2001, then eventually retired in 2005 with the Nationals.

Jeffrey and his wife Keisha have 3 children, daughter Tierra and sons Brycen, who plays baseball at Alabama A&M, and son Myles who plays at Hill College, a juco in Texas.

“Obviously I want to thank my family, starting with my parents and my older brothers, who all had a hand in my personal and athletic development,” Hammonds says. “My wife, my Rock, who has endured many moves and relocations as well as me being gone over half the year while I was playing, finishing my college degree and working for the Major league Baseball Player Association.   And a special thank you to the Madison community, especially the countless families and coaches who welcomed us into their homes, schools and fields. Together, we did something historical when Bob Jones Baseball won the elusive 7A State Championship in 2024. Now that’s special.”

-- Robin Gaines