Biography
Coby Gerald Mayo (born December 10, 2001) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.
Amateur career
Mayo attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. As a sophomore in 2018, he batted .388 with seven home runs. He also survived the Stoneman Douglas shooting. As a junior in 2019, he hit .391 with four home runs. During the summer of 2019, he was named to the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field. As a senior in 2020, he batted .455 before the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professional career
Minor leagues
Mayo was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round, with the 103rd overall selection, of the 2020 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $1.75 million, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at the University of Florida. Mayo did not play in a professional game after signing due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He missed time at the beginning of the 2021 season due to a knee injury. He made his professional debut that July with the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Orioles and was promoted to the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Low-A East in August. Over 53 games between the two clubs, Mayo slashed .319/.426/.555 with nine home runs, 41 RBIs, 14 doubles, and 11 stolen bases. Following the season's end, he spent time at Ed Smith Stadium participating in Baltimore's fall instructional league. He was assigned to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the High-A South Atlantic League to begin the 2022 season. In late June, he was promoted to the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Eastern League. In early July, he was placed on the injured list with back spasms before rehabbing with the Florida Complex League Orioles and being activated in early August. Over 104 games between the three teams, Mayo slashed .247/.326/.456 with 19 home runs, 69 RBIs, and twenty doubles. To open the 2023 season, he returned to Bowie. In early July, he was promoted to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League. Over 140 games between the two teams, he slashed .290/.410/.563 with 29 home runs, 99 RBIs, and 45 doubles. He won the 2023 Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award.
Mayo was a non-roster invitee to Orioles spring training in 2024 and batted .326 with one home run and 11 RBIs. He was assigned to Norfolk to open the season. In 77 games for Norfolk, he batted .301/.375/.586 with 20 home runs and 61 RBI. Mayo won the 2024 International League Top MLB Prospect Award.
Major leagues
On August 2, 2024, Mayo was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. His first MLB hit was a fifth-inning leadoff single to left field off DJ Herz to end a 0–for–16 slump in a 4–1 home win over the Washington Nationals twelve days later on August 14. He was optioned to the Tides the following day on August 15. On September 1, Mayo was recalled from the Tides after Ramón Urías was placed on the injured list. He made 17 appearances for the Orioles during his rookie campaign and batted .098 (4-for-41).
Mayo was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to begin the 2025 season.
Personal life
Mayo was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when former student Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at the school on February 14, 2018. Mayo doesn't like to talk about the event and refused to describe what he witnessed in detail.