BIOGRAPHY
Cedric Mullins was born October 1, 1994, in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a center fielder in the MLB.
Mullins attended Brookwood High School in Snellville, Georgia and played college baseball at Louisburg College and Campbell University. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.
Mullins made his professional debut with the Aberdeen IronBirds in 2015, spending the whole season there, posting a .264 batting average with two home runs and 32 RBIs in 68 games. He played 2016 with the Delmarva Shorebirds, batting .273 with 14 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases in 124 games, and spent 2017 with the Bowie BaySox, where he batted .265 with 13 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .778 OPS in 76 games. He began 2018 with Bowie and was promoted to the Norfolk Tides during the season.
Mullins was promoted to the major leagues on August 10, 2018, and he made his major league debut that same night, collecting three hits, two RBI, drawing a walk and scoring three runs in a 19-12 loss to the Boston Red Sox. He became the first Oriole in franchise history to collect three hits in his Major League debut and became only the fifth player in MLB history to score three or more runs and collect two or more extra-base hits in his debut, joining Joey Gallo, J. P. Arencibia, Craig Wilson and Hall of Famer Willie McCovey.
In February 2021, the Orioles announced Mullins would give up switch-hitting and become a full-time lefty. Mullins first approached the Orioles with the idea in the spring of 2019 but the team opposed it. Before 2021, he had slashed .251/.305/.394 while batting left-handed and .147/.250/.189 from the right side. On April 26, 2021, Mullins had his first career multi home run game, with two homers against the New York Yankees. From June 4 through June 6, Mullins collected 9 hits in as many at bats including 3 home runs. On July 4, Mullins was named an All-Star for the first time in his career. On July 12, he was chosen to be the starting center fielder in the 2021 All-Star Game, as a replacement for Mike Trout. On September 24, Mullins became the first player in Orioles history to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in a season since the franchise moved from St. Louis. In 2021, Mullins batted .291/.360/.518 and led all major league outfielders with 389 putouts. Mullins finished the 2021 season ninth in the American League MVP balloting. On November 11, 2021, Mullins received his first Rawlings Silver Slugger award.
On April 12, 2022, Mullins hit his first career grand slam off of Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer. Mullins continued to perform well in his 2022 season, ending with a batting average of .258/.318/.721, 16 homeruns, 64 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases.
On January 13, 2023, Mullins agreed to a one-year, $4.1 million contract with the Orioles for the 2023 season, avoiding salary arbitration.