Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox selected Rizzo out of
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, in the sixth round of the
2007 Major League Baseball draft. He was heading for
Florida Atlantic University before he was drafted and signed, with a $325,000 signing bonus. Rizzo played in the Red Sox organization with the
Gulf Coast League Red Sox,
Greenville Drive,
Salem Red Sox and the
Portland Sea Dogs. In 2008 at the age of 18, Rizzo played in class A with the Greenville Drive in the South Atlantic League. In 83 at bats, he hit .373/.402/.446 with 0 home runs and 11 RBIs. In 2010, he hit a combined .260 with an
on-base percentage (OBP) of .334 and a
slugging percentage (SLG) of .480 along with 42 doubles, 25 home runs and 100 RBIs between stops at High-A Salem and Double-A Portland. Rizzo credited the easing of his swing and making better use of his legs for his power surge. Rizzo was considered the third best prospect (Kelly was #1) and the best power-hitting prospect in the Red Sox organization.
Kevin Boles, Rizzo's manager at Salem, also previously managed González in the minors. Boles said, "Rizzo reminds me a lot of Adrián González...Rizzo is a bigger kid and has a little more power. Adrian is a little more of a contact hitter, but they had very similar styles of play...We thought very highly of Anthony Rizzo. He's going to be a heck of a player." Padres general manager
Jed Hoyer expected either Rizzo or
Kyle Blanks to eventually be the Padres major league starting first baseman. The Padres invited Rizzo as a non-roster player to their major league camp for 2011 Spring training. He started the 2011 season in Triple-A with the
Tucson Padres. In his first 15 games, Rizzo hit .452 with six home runs and 24 RBIs. In May 2011,
The San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that Rizzo's debut in the Major Leagues might be delayed by the Padres despite the club's hitting deficiencies due to cost considerations created by the
"Super Two" exception for salary arbitration eligibility. The team cited Rizzo's lack of experience above Double-A and his limited exposure to left-handed pitching as benefits of his continuing to play in Tucson. Rizzo was called up to the majors after hitting .365 with an
OPS of 1.159 along with 16 home runs and 63 RBI in 200 at-bats over 52 games in Tucson. The
San Diego Union-Tribune called Rizzo "the most celebrated Padres call-up" since
Roberto Alomar debuted with the team in 1988. Rizzo's promotion was prompted by the Padres' inadequate offensive production and fielding play of veterans at first base. He hit his first home run on June 11 against
John Lannan. After three games he was 3-for-7 with a double, triple and a home run, while he demonstrated patience in drawing four
walks for a .667
on-base percentage (OBP). He finished his first season in San Diego hitting only .141 with 46 strikeouts in 128 at-bats. Hoyer believed Rizzo would be the starting first baseman for the Padres in 2012 with
Jesús Guzmán as the second option. However,
Yonder Alonso moved ahead of Rizzo on the team's
depth chart after he was acquired by the Padres in December 2011 in a trade for
Mat Latos.
Chicago Cubs On January 6, 2012, the Padres traded Rizzo and right-handed starting pitcher Zach Cates to the
Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-handed starting pitcher
Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na. The deal was negotiated by Jed Hoyer, the Cubs' general manager. Hoyer had also drafted Rizzo while working as an assistant general manager for the Red Sox, and later acquired Rizzo while he was the Padres' general manager. He blamed himself for calling up Rizzo to the majors too early in San Diego.
2012 Rizzo started the 2012 season with the Triple-A
Iowa Cubs. He again excelled in the minor leagues, batting .342 with 23 home runs and 62 RBIs before being recalled by the Cubs on June 26. Similar to his call-up in San Diego, he was expected to help a struggling offense.
2013 On May 12, 2013, Rizzo agreed to a seven-year, $41 million contract. The deal included two club options that could extend the contract to nine years and $73 million. He was named as the Cubs' finalist for the National Heart and Hustle Award, and he was also named the Cubs' finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award. Rizzo placed 2nd for the Gold Glove award for first basemen. Despite having an off year in 2013, Rizzo showed good power, belting 23 homers and 40 doubles in 606 at bats with a .233 batting average.
2014 Rizzo had his fifth multi-homer game on May 30, and his second career
walk-off home run on June 6. Rizzo was voted into the
All-Star game via the final vote by fans along with
White Sox pitcher
Chris Sale. Rizzo joined teammate
Starlin Castro in
Minneapolis for the All-Star game. In late July, Rizzo won his first
Player of the Week award. In mid-September, Rizzo became the youngest player to receive the
Branch Rickey Award as "a strong role model for young people". Rizzo finished the season with a combined on-base and slugging percentage of .913 (3rd in the NL), 32 home runs (2nd in the NL) and an at-bats per HR percentage of 16.4 (2nd in the NL), led the majors in hit by pitch (15), and placed 10th in the National League MVP voting.
2015 Rizzo was elected on the players' ballot for the 2015 All-Star Team. 2015 was the second consecutive year that he played in the game. He also competed in the
Home Run Derby for the first time in his career but lost in the first round to
Josh Donaldson. Rizzo hit his 100th career home run and 300th
RBI on September 8, against
Cardinals pitcher
Michael Wacha. Rizzo was
hit by a pitch 30 times in 2015, leading the major leagues, and joined
Don Baylor as the only other member of the 30HR–30HBP club. Rizzo finished the regular season with a .278 batting average, 31 home runs, 38 doubles, and 101 RBI in 701 plate appearances, and led the major leagues in
hit by pitch, with 30. He placed 4th in National League MVP voting. Rizzo took home the
MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award, awarded to a player that has a strong desire for the game and has a belief, spirit, and traditions that symbolize the game of baseball. Rizzo also received the same award from the
Cubs organization, his second such award. By the end of the year, Rizzo had become one of three players, and the first left-handed player, in Cubs history to hit over 40 doubles and 30 home runs in the same year. Rizzo played in 155 games with 583 at bats and scored 94 runs. He was hit by a pitch 16 times, had 170 hits with 43 doubles, 4 triples, 32 home runs, and 109 RBIs. He finished the year with a batting average of .292 and was fourth in the voting for National League Most Valuable Player. Rizzo's fielding excellence was rewarded with a
Gold Glove Award. Rizzo was one of six finalists for the
Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award and was the Cubs nominee for the
Roberto Clemente Award. After an extremely slow start in the postseason, Rizzo broke out of his slump in the
NLCS. He was an integral part of the last three victories over the
Los Angeles Dodgers and led the Cubs to their first World Series appearance since 1945. In the
2016 World Series, Rizzo scored 7 runs and had 5 RBIs, and helped the Cubs win their first World Series title since 1908. He also won the
Esurance MLB Award for "Best Social Media Personality" and for "Best Play: Defense". Rizzo's defense saved 11 runs for the Cubs, which led all MLB first basemen, and he was recipient of his first
Fielding Bible Award and the
Wilson Defensive Player of the Year Award. He also won the fan vote for the
Platinum Glove Award. Rizzo took home two more awards for the year. One was the
Silver Slugger; He had 12 hits in 28 at-bats with 10 RBIs and hit .430 during the streak. Rizzo finished second behind the Nationals
Ryan Zimmerman in a tight race for starting NL first baseman in the
All-Star Game. On September 2, Rizzo became the fourth Cubs players to hit at least 30 home runs, 30 doubles, and 100 RBIs in three or more seasons; the others were
Hack Wilson,
Billy Williams, and
Sammy Sosa. For the season, he batted .273/.392/.507 with 32 home runs and 109 RBIs. He led the majors in
hit by pitch, with 24. Rizzo had a disappointing postseason. In 37 at-bats, he had one home run in 5 hits, 6 RBIs and an anemic batting average of .135. On October 27, Rizzo received the
Roberto Clemente Award for his charity's work to find a cure for childhood cancer. Of winning the award, Rizzo said, "This is amazing. The greatest award you can win. It will go front and center in front of anything I've ever done."
2018 On April 10, 2018, Rizzo was placed on the
disabled list for the first time in his MLB career, due to a back issue. Prior to a May 23 game against the
Cleveland Indians, Rizzo ranked fourth in Cubs franchise history with 17 home runs during
interleague play. On July 23, Rizzo convinced Cubs manager
Joe Maddon to let him make his first career pitching appearance. It took him two pitches to retire
A. J. Pollock of the
Arizona Diamondbacks on a fly out to center field. Rizzo finished 2018 batting .283 with 25 home runs and 101 RBIs in 153 games, and was third in the major leagues in
hit by pitch, with 20. Tied for
Gold Glove Award votes with
Atlanta Braves first baseman
Freddie Freeman, Rizzo received the award for the second time in his career.
2019 In 2019, Rizzo hit .293/.405/.520 with 27 home runs and 94 RBIs. He led the major leagues in times hit by a pitch with 27. He also received his third Gold Glove Award.
2020 In the
shortened 2020 season, Rizzo played in 58 games and finished with a .222/.342/.414 hit line, 11 home runs, 24 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases. He also received his fourth Gold Glove Award; his third in a row. After the season, the Cubs picked up Rizzo's last year of his seven-year, $41 million contract which paid Rizzo $16.5 million for the 2021 season.
2021 In 92 games for the Cubs, Rizzo batted .248/.346/.446 with 14 home runs, 40 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. In an April 28 game against the Atlanta Braves, Rizzo moved from first base to pitcher in a 10–0 Atlanta rout. He recorded two outs against three batters faced, including a strikeout of
Freddie Freeman on a 61-mph, 2–2 curveball.
New York Yankees 2021 On July 29, 2021, Rizzo was traded to the
New York Yankees along with cash considerations for
Kevin Alcántara and Alexander Vizcaíno. Rizzo's first game with the Yankees was on July 30 against the
Miami Marlins. Rizzo made an immediate impact, going 4 for 5 with 2 solo home runs in each of his first two games, and 3 walks and 5 runs overall, becoming the first player in the franchise history to achieve this feat. He also became the first Yankees player of all-time to get on base eight times (including a hit-by-pitch) and the seventh Yankee to homer in his first two games. On August 4, Rizzo hit a solo home run during a game against the
Baltimore Orioles, making him the first Yankee player to drive in a run in his first 6 games with the team. He also became the fourth MLB player with RBIs in his first 6 games with a new team, joining
Jim Spencer (1973),
Jim Wynn (1974), and
Bobby Murcer (1977). On September 30, Rizzo hit his 250th home run during a game against the
Toronto Blue Jays. It was a solo shot in the sixth inning off of starting pitcher
Robbie Ray. He became the first Yankees player since
Derek Jeter to reach this milestone while playing for the team.
2022 On March 17, 2022, the Yankees signed Rizzo to a two-year $32 million contract. Rizzo hit a home run in each of the first two games of the season making him only the second player in the modern era to homer in his first two games with a new team, and again in that team's first two games the following season. On April 26, Rizzo hit three home runs in a game against the
Baltimore Orioles. In the
postseason, Rizzo finished with a .276 batting average with 8 hits, 2 home runs and 8 RBI's in 29 at bats. On November 7, he exercised an opt-out clause in his contract and became a free agent.
2023 Rizzo signed a two-year, $40 million contract with an option for the 2025 season on November 15, 2022. In a May 28, 2023, game against the
San Diego Padres, Rizzo tagged
Fernando Tatís Jr. out as the result of a pickoff attempt. In the play, Tatís knocked Rizzo to the ground, causing him to leave the game with what was described as a neck injury. Prior to that game, Rizzo had batted .304/.376/.508 with 11 home runs. However, in the 46 games that followed, he hit just .172/.271/.225 with only one home run. On August 3, the Yankees placed Rizzo on the injured list with
post-concussion syndrome, with the belief that the injury stemmed from the Tatís incident. On September 5, manager
Aaron Boone announced that Rizzo would be shut down and would not play again in 2023. Rizzo was transferred to the 60-day injured list on September 12, officially ending his season.
2024 Rizzo began the 2024 season as New York's primary first baseman, hitting .223 with eight home runs and 28 RBI across 70 games. On June 18, he was placed on the injured list after suffering a broken arm in a collision with
Boston Red Sox pitcher
Brennan Bernardino. Rizzo was transferred to the 60-day injured list the following day. He was activated on September 1. On September 28, Rizzo fractured multiple fingers on his right hand after being hit by a pitch against the
Pittsburgh Pirates. He was later ruled out for the Yankees'
ALDS matchup against the
Kansas City Royals. He was later added to the Yankees' roster ahead of their
ALCS matchup against the
Cleveland Guardians. After the Yankees lost the
World Series, the Yankees declined his $17 million option for the 2025 season, paying him a $6 million buyout and making him a free agent.
International career As his family originated in the
Sicilian town of
Ciminna, Rizzo chose to play for
Italy in the
2013 World Baseball Classic. He batted 4-for-17 with five walks in five games.
Retirement On September 10, 2025, Rizzo announced his retirement from professional baseball and that he would join the Cubs organization as a team ambassador. ==Personal life==