Topic: Xavier Nady

Xavier Clifford Nady VI ( /ɛkˈseɪvi.ər ˈneɪdi/; born November 14, 1978) is a Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The St. Louis Cardinals originally drafted Nady in the 4th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft (134th overall) after he was named Northern California Player of the Year in his senior year of high school, but he did not sign professionally at that time. Nady attended University of California, Berkeley, where he set the all-time Pac-10 Conference record for career slugging percentage (.729) for the California Golden Bears baseball team.

Nady was drafted in the second round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Diego Padres (49th overall). Nady signed a major league contract and became the 18th player to go directly to the major leagues without making his professional debut in the minor leagues since 1965.