Nicholas William Markakis (/mɑːrˈkeɪkɪs/ mar-KAY-kis) (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons for the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves. Markakis was the Orioles' first-round draft pick (seventh overall) in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, and made his MLB debut in 2006. Markakis is a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, and he won a Silver Slugger Award and was named an MLB All-Star in 2018. Markakis previously held the MLB record for consecutive games by an outfielder without making an error (398). Markakis retired prior to the start of the 2021 season.

Markakis was born in Glen Cove, New York, but moved to Woodstock, Georgia, when his family—which includes his parents, Dennis and Mary Lou, and his brothers Dennis, Greg, and Michael—relocated. He is of Greek and German descent.

Markakis was originally drafted in the 35th round (1,056th overall) of the 2001 MLB draft by the Cincinnati Reds, from Woodstock High School in Woodstock, Georgia, but did not sign. Markakis instead attended Young Harris College, where he played college baseball for the Young Harris Mountain Lions baseball team. The Reds drafted him again in the 23rd round (675th overall) of the 2002 MLB draft, but he returned to Young Harris. Markakis played as both an outfielder and a pitcher, hitting .439 with 21 home runs and 92 runs batted in (RBIs), while also garnering a 12–0 win–loss record as a pitcher with one save and a 1.68 earned run average in 15 games. He was twice named Georgia Junior College Player of the Year, was awarded Baseball America's 2002 National JUCO Player of the Year and was named the American Baseball Coaches Association's 2003 NJCAA Division I Player of the Year.

In August 2003, Markakis played for the Greek national baseball team in the European National Championships, winning a silver medal with Team Greece. He also played for the Greek national baseball team in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Markakis was drafted by the Orioles in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. Owning a fastball that was clocked as high as 96 miles per hour, Markakis was widely viewed as a pitching prospect, but the Orioles preferred his potential as a hitter.

Markakis spent his first professional season with the Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds in 2003, batting .283 with a home run and 28 RBI in 59 games. He played in 96 games with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds in 2004, where he hit .299 with 11 homers and led the team with 64 RBIs despite missing the last month of the season playing for Greece in the Olympics.

In 2005, Markakis started the year with the Single-A Frederick Keys and was named the top Orioles prospect by Baseball America. He won the Carolina/California League All-Star Game Home Run Derby, and followed that up by being named MVP of the All-Star game after hitting two homers. Markakis was promoted a short time later to the Double-A Bowie Baysox and was ultimately named to the Second Team in the 2005 Minor League All-Star Roster.^[1] He also received the Brooks Robinson Award as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year.

Markakis began his first spring training with the Orioles in 2006 by reaching base in nine of his first ten plate appearances. He earned an Opening Day roster spot. Markakis made his major league debut on April 3, 2006, when he was used as a late-inning defensive replacement against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He received his first start and plate appearances two days later. Hitting second and playing left field, he drew three walks in his first three plate appearances and hit a 400-foot home run for his first major league hit in the 16–6 win.