Ben Zobrist is an award-winning American professional baseball player who is currently the number one in second baseball and utility outfielder for the Chicago Cubs. He is popularly known by the nicknames Zo, Zobi Wan Kenobi, Zoby, Benny-Zo, and Zorilla.
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Biography – The Early Days of Zobi’s Life
Benjamin Thomas Zobrist was born on May 26, 1981, in the small town of Eureka, Illinois, where he also grew up. The son of Cynthia and Tom Zobrist, the senior pastor of the Liberty Bible Church in Eureka, Ben was raised in the Christain faith.
While in high school, he played baseball on the school team and longed to continue playing in college, but there was no baseball offer from college recruiters. After graduating top of his class, Zobrist first planned to attend Calvary Bible College in Kansas City, Missouri, (his father’s alma mater), believing his baseball career was over.
But Zobrist finally made one of the best decisions of his life after he was persuaded by his high school coach to attend a tryout in nearby Peoria with $50 of his birthday money. Zobrist succumbed, and there he impressed the Olivet Nazarene University coach, who offered him a baseball scholarship, which he accepted. He later transferred to Dallas Baptist University for his senior year after pitching and playing shortstop with Olivet. In Dallas, he also played shortstop and developed enough all-around skills to be drafted into MLB as a versatile super-utility man.
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Ben Zobrist’s Salary and Net Worth
Because Zobrist is a personality who possesses most of baseball’s highly regarded solid skills – contact and plate discipline and modest strength – he has had an interesting baseball career.
Ben made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after being drafted and traded by the Houston Astros in the 6th round. A native of Eureka, Ben played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 2006 to 2013. Here he earned the team’s MVP honor and two All-Star places in 2009. In 2013, Zobrist was promoted to the Oakland A’s and then again to Kansas City in the middle of the season. After the post-season with Kansas City, he signed a $56 million four-year contract that included a $2 million bonus with the Chicago Cubs to continue his remarkable baseball career.
In 2016, Zobrist was voted into the All-Star Game and was then named the most valuable player in the World Series MVP (the only World Series MVP in Cubs history). In the league rankings, he is ranked 58th by market value and 2nd in the Second Basemen.
Zobrist’s revenues for 2018 and 2019 are $16.5 million and $12.5 million, respectively. His net worth, which consists of his salary and sponsorship contracts, is estimated at $31 million. Given how progressive Zobrist’s net assets have been in recent years, this figure is expected to continue to increase over the years.
Personal Life – His Family, Wife, and Kids
Zobrist speaks quite loudly about his Christain faith. He is known to talk often about his faith and attributes his success to God, who he says helped him to realize that he should actually play baseball. He is a former counselor for the Camp of Champions USA, a Christian summer day camp in central Illinois. He speaks at church events and is used in Bible studies with his teammates.
Ben Zobrist is married to a Christian pop singer, speaker, and author, Julianna Zobrist, who is also the daughter of a pastor. They met via instant messaging in 2001 and began a “divine” relationship. Four years later they made the covenant and now have three children together: a son, Zion Benjamin, born on February 1, 2009, and two daughters, Kruse Allegra, born on September 19, 2011, and Blaise Royal, born on November 6, 2015.
The couple, who live in Franklin, Tennessee, have very successful careers that require them to travel 8 months a year. But to balance both their professional careers and parenthood, Ben and Julianna say they want to travel together as well as talk to each other at events to live their dreams. The couple also has a six-day rule: the promise never to be apart for more than six days.
In 2014 the couple co-authored an autobiographical book entitled Double Play: Faith and Family First. Julianna has released a full-length studio album “Shatterproof”, which has sold at least 3,000 copies, and a single “Safe”. Her songs are not overly religious, but a mixture. While some are about God, others are love ballads about her husband and her commitment to him.
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Height – How Tall Is Ben?
At 6.3 ft (1.91 m) tall, Ben Zobrist is quite tall and has been described as one of the most consistent, versatile, durable, and best all-around players in baseball. The man is also one of the most endearing figures in Major League Baseball (MLB).
