Background and career
David Jonathan "J. D." Drew (born November 20, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He began his major league career in 1998 with the St. Louis Cardinals, and also played for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Boston Red Sox. He is the brother of two other major league players, Stephen and Tim.
Drew graduated from Lowndes County High School in Valdosta, Georgia in 1994. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 20th round of the 1994 draft but did not sign. He then attended Florida State University, where he played under head coach Mike Martin. At Florida State, he was the winner of the 1997 Dick Howser Trophy and the 1997 Golden Spikes Award, was named the 1997 Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, the 1997 Sporting News Player of the Year, and was a consensus All-American (1997). He also was named the 1997 ACC Player of the Year. He was a 1996 member of Team USA. Drew was First Team in 1996, was Freshman All-American in 1995 and was named to the College World Series All Tournament Team in 1995. He was the first player in college baseball history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season. He set a Florida State record by batting .455 in 1997 while becoming one of only three players in college baseball history to have 100 hits, 100 runs and 100 RBIs. During his college career, Drew broke 17 school and conference records.
The Philadelphia Phillies made Drew the second overall pick, after pitcher Matt Anderson, in the 1997 MLB draft. Drew and his agent Scott Boras chose not to sign with the Phillies, insisting Drew would not sign for less than $10 million. The Phillies had no plan to pay an unproven player this amount of money, and despite Boras' warnings, drafted Drew nonetheless. They offered him $2.6 million. Consequently, Drew ended up playing for the St. Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. Boras had Drew sign with an independent baseball league because of a loophole in the rules of the MLB draft.
After playing for St. Paul in the 1997 season, Drew was selected in the first round of the 1998 MLB draft, fifth overall, by the St. Louis Cardinals. In June he signed a $7 million contract, then hit .316 through 26 games with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He was recalled by the Cardinals and made his debut on September 8, 1998—the game in which teammate Mark McGwire broke the single-season home run record previously held by Roger Maris. Drew's first at bat, in the sixth inning, resulted in a strikeout, and he finished the night 0-for-2. He ended up going 15-for-36 (.417) during 1998, with five home runs. On August 9, on what would have been Drew's first game in Philadelphia, he sat out, citing a bruised right hand. In an attempt to confuse the Philadelphia fans, he did not wear his own jersey that night, which instead was worn by bullpen catcher, Jeff Murphy. The attempt failed, however, and he was booed and heckled throughout batting practice. The only time he received cheers was when he booted three consecutive grounders in the outfield while his teammates were taking batting practice. On August 10, 1999, in Drew's first game at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, he was booed loudly, and even had batteries thrown at him by two fans. The Phillie Phanatic got into the act, dropping two large trash bags marked with dollar signs in the outfield between innings. Drew struggled to stay healthy, landing on the disabled list every season he played in St. Louis. In his book Three Nights in August, Buzz Bissinger mentions former manager Tony La Russa's frustration with Drew's lack of passion. La Russa tells Bissinger that it seemed Drew had decided to "settle for 75%" of his talent, in large part because of his enormous contract.
On December 13, 2003, Drew was traded to the Atlanta Braves along with catcher Eli Marrero for starting pitcher Jason Marquis, relief pitcher Ray King, and rookie prospect Adam Wainwright. There, he had the best season of his career while finally managing to stay healthy. In 2004, he displayed excellent power, patience, and defense, hitting .305 with 31 home runs, 118 walks, and 93 RBI, finishing sixth in the MVP voting.
In December 2004, Drew signed a five-year, $55 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, which included an escape clause after the second year. Roughly halfway through the 2005 season, Drew's season was again cut short after being hit on the wrist by a pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks' pitcher Brad Halsey. On September 18, 2006, Drew was part of only the (then) fourth-ever set of back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs with fellow Dodgers Jeff Kent, Russell Martin, and Marlon Anderson. In 2006, Drew exercised his contract opt-out clause, forgoing $33 million over the next three years to become a free agent. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti said in a teleconference that he was "surprised how it came down. Everything we had heard, everything that had been written led us to believe the player loved being here." This was especially a surprise because a few days before, Drew had told an LA Times columnist on how happy he was in LA and that he was looking forward to the upcoming 2007 season. Drew had a very good season, batting .284 with 20 home runs and 100 RBI.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
