Mpho\' Gift Ngoepe (mm-POH, n-GO-pay; born 18 January 1990) is a South African professional baseball shortstop and second baseman in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. In 2017, he became the first native of continental Africa to reach the Major Leagues.\n', '

A native of Randburg, Ngoepe became the first black South African, and the sixth South African to sign a professional baseball contract when he signed in October 2008. When Ngoepe was growing up, his mother was a clubhouse attendant for the Randburg Mets, and they lived in one of the clubhouse rooms. He was invited to Major League Baseball\'s academy in Tirrenia, Italy, where the Pirates signed him.\n', '

In 2009, Ngoepe played for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Pirates, and batted .238/.341/.281 with one home run, nine runs batted in (RBI), and 13 stolen bases in 47 games. He was a member of the South Africa national baseball team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. At the 2009 WBC, he hit consecutive triples off of Mexico\'s Elmer Dessens in a 14–3 loss to Mexico. On 10 August 2009, Sports Illustrated published an article on Ngoepe titled "A Gift From Africa" which covered how he started his baseball career, his upbringing, and time with the Pirates since moving from South Africa. In 2010, he played 64 games with the Short Season-A State College Spikes and two with the Advanced-A Bradenton Marauders, batting a combined .206/.316/.318 with one home run, 20 RBI, and 11 stolen bases.\n', '

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