Jeffery Adam Everett (born February 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played college baseball for both the NC State Wolfpack and South Carolina Gamecocks. He was drafted in the first round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft and established himself for his defensive prowess as the starting shortstop for the Houston Astros in 2003. Everett continued his involvement in baseball as a roving infield instructor for the Astros minor league system, and was named bench coach for the Astros on September 1, 2014.
During the 1998 and 1999 seasons, Everett played for the Single-A Lowell Spinners and Double-A Trenton Thunder before he was traded to the Houston Astros for outfielder Carl Everett on December 14, 1999.
In 2000, he played 126 games for the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, where he batted .245 with five home runs and 37 RBI. Taking a break from minor league baseball, he traveled to Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he helped the US team capture the gold Olympic medal.
In 2002, Everett appeared in 40 games for the Astros, batting .193 with 4 RBI. With New Orleans, he hit .275 with two home runs and 25 RBI in 88 games. He was called up again in 2003 and played 128 games for the Astros, batting .256 with eight home runs and 51 RBI. On August 6, Everett hit the first ever inside-the-park home run at Minute Maid Park against the New York Mets. On July 9, he hit his first career grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds.
Everett finished second in the 2004 National League (NL) All-Star balloting for shortstops behind the St. Louis Cardinals' Édgar Rentería.
In 2005, Everett hit .248 with a career-high 11 home runs and 54 RBI in 152 games. He helped the Astros reached the World Series, where he went 1-for-15 as the Astros were swept in four games by the Chicago White Sox.
Everett was honored with a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding MLB shortstop in 2006. According to Baseball-Reference.com, he posted a defensive wins above replacement of 4.1, which was the highest recorded mark in the majors that year. Everett also led the majors in total zone runs with 40, the highest for any position in baseball since 1952. However, Omar Vizquel won the Gold Glove at shortstop for 2006, based on voting from coaches and managers.
On April 9, 2007, Everett became the all-time shortstop home run leader for the Houston Astros, hitting his 34th career home run.
On June 14, 2007, Everett was involved in a collision with left fielder Carlos Lee while chasing down a fly ball, and was diagnosed with a fractured fibula. He missed three months with the injury, and returned to action in September for three games. In 66 games, Everett batted .232 with two home runs and 15 RBI.
On June 6, 2010, the Tigers designated Everett for assignment, replacing him with rookie shortstop Danny Worth. Everett was released by the Tigers on June 15.
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