LaMonte Wade Jr.

BIOGRAPHY

LaMonte Aaron Wade Jr. was born on January 1, 1994 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is an outfielder in the MLB. 

Wade attended St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Maryland, and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he played college baseball for the Maryland Terrapins. He played as a first baseman in his freshman year, but then became a center fielder. For the Terrapins, Wade had a .394 on-base percentage in three seasons, walking more times than he struck out. The Minnesota Twins selected Wade in the ninth round, with the 260th overall selection, of the 2015 MLB draft.

Wade began first professional season with Rookie-Elizabethton in 2015. He was named Appalachian League Player of the Week on August 10. He was transferred to Single-A Cedar Rapids on September 2 and finished the season playing four games with the Kernels. He was named to Appy League Postseason All-Star team. Wade finished the season with the third most games and third highest on-base percentage in the Appy League, as well as fourth most RBI (44), hits (72) and the ninth highest batting average (.312).  Wade split the 2016 season between Single-A Cedar Rapids and Single-A Ft. Myers, combining to hit .293 with eight home runs and 51 RBI in 88 games between two levels. He was named Midwest League Midseason All-Star after leading the league with a .439 on-base percentage. He participated in the Midwest League All-Star Game Home Run Derby. Wade was transferred to Ft. Myers on June 22. He was named Twins Organizational All-Star by MiLB.com,  and was named 26th-best prospect in Twins organization following the 2016 season by MLB.com. He was rated as the best athlete in Twins organization by Baseball America following the season.

In 2017, Wade spent the entire season with Double-A Chattanooga. He was named Twins minor league Player of the Week on May 13, hitting .440 with two doubles, one home run, five RBI and nine walks in eight games for the Lookouts, and was named Southern League Midseason All-Star. He hit .313 against left-handed pitching and .286 against right-handed pitching. Wade played for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .238 with three doubles, one triple, two home runs, eight RBI and a .351 on-base percentage in 19 games. He was ranked as having the best strike-zone discipline in Twins system by Baseball America, entering 2018. Starting the 2018 season, Wade was invited to Twins spring training, the first of his career; reassigned to minor league camp on March 18. He began season with Double-A Chattanooga. He was promoted to Triple-A Rochester June 9, and was named Twins minor league Player of the Week on July 7, hitting .304 with two triples, two home runs, four RBI, two walks and one stolen base in six games for the Red Wings. At both stops combined, he played 83 games in leftfield and 24 games in rightfield. He recorded 11 assists and committed three errors, combining to hit .257 with 11 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs, 48 RBI, 54 runs scored, 10 stolen bases and a .360 on-base percentage in 120 games between Chattanooga and Rochester. Wade was added to Twins 40-man roster November 20. He opened the 2019 season back with Rochester.

On February 4, 2021, the Twins traded Wade to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Shaun Anderson. Players and fans dubbed Wade "Late Night LaMonte" and "Late Inning LaMonte" due to his late-game heroics during the regular season.

In the 2021 regular season, Wade batted .253/.326/.482 with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs in 336 at bats, and six steals in seven attempts. Batting in games that were late and close, he hit .362/.444/.511, with 2 out and runners in scoring position he hit .407/.484/.889, and in the 9th inning he hit .565/.583/.826. He played 52 games in right field, 42 games in left field, 31 games at first base, and 2 games in center field. He won the 2021 Willie Mac Award as the team's most inspirational player.