The MLB has had a lot of players come through the league with different abilities and tools they displayed. Whether you are a pitcher or a hitter, the successful ones always found a way to execute and be dominant in whatever position they played.

One player who made an impact with the swing of his bat was Jason Giambi. Giambi spent 20 seasons playing in the league, and he garnered numerous awards during his time playing. It’s not easy playing a professional sport, and the fact that he played it for so many years shows how much work he put in.

Giambi’s career in the MLB

Giambi played for four different teams during his MLB career. His best years came when he was playing with the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. From 2000-2004 Giambi was an all-star, and he also was the AL MVP in 2000. He was also a two-time Silver Slugger winner in 2001 and 2002.

Giambi finished his first season with the Athletics in 1995, only hitting six home runs in 54 games. In the next two seasons, he hit a total of 40 home runs (20 in each season). Giambi started to become known for his power early on in his career. When he won the AL MVP in 2000, he hit the most home runs in his career (43). After spending much of his early career with the Athletics, he was then traded to the New York Yankees.

Giambi continued to have success playing for the Yankees. In his first season with his new team in 2002, he hit 41 home runs, which is tied for second-most in his career. Giambi was a professional hitter who knew how to make adjustments at the plate and knew how to attack a mistake pitch. Pitchers also knew when not to pitch to Giambi. He had five straight seasons of 100 or more walks.

After seven seasons with the Yankees, Giambi went back to Oakland for a season and then finished playing with the Colorado Rockies and the Cleveland Indians. In 20 seasons, he finished with a career batting average of .277 and hit a total of 440 home runs with 1,441 RBIs.

BALCO scandal

In 2003, Giambi was being investigated by the FBI as being one of the baseball players believed to have received anabolic steroids from Greg Anderson. Giambi admitted that he used several different steroids during the off-seasons from 2001-2003. He also admitted to injecting himself with human growth hormones during the 2003 season.

During the 2005 season, Giambi did apologize but never really said what for and then two years later he specifically apologized for using steroids and pushing others to do the same.

A look back on Giambi’s career

Though Giambi admitted to using steroids during his career, he still had success. He retired in February of 2015 and played his last game at the age of 43. His numbers may not be enough for the Hall of Fame, plus his steroids use plays a factor in that too. But there was a point during Giambi’s career where he was considered as one of the best players in the game.