Aaron Small
Aaron Small | |
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File:Ph 122332.jpg | |
New York Yankees – No. 31 | |
Pitcher | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
debut | |
June 11, 1994, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
Career statistics (through 2005) | |
Wins-Losses | 25 - 10 |
ERA | 4.91 |
Strikeouts | 158 |
Former teams | |
Aaron James Small (born November 23, 1971 in Oxnard, California) His middle name is listed on MLB.com as "Lamar", but in his MLB.com bio it says "James". He is a major league starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. He has previously played for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Florida Marlins, the Oakland Athletics, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Atlanta Braves. Regarded as a career minor leaguer, he has played for a total of more than 20 teams, including his major and minor league stops, during his professional career.
Jason Giambi, also on the Yankees, and Small were teammates during their high school years at South Hills High School on a team called The South Hills Huskies.
Late in the 2005 regular season, he appeared to settle down on the Yankees pitching staff due to injuries suffered by other pitchers, and he recorded 10 major league victories without a loss. Small recorded his first major league complete game shutout, which came against the Oakland Athletics on September 3, 2005. His pitch count during the game was just over 110 and he struck out the last batter he faced, Dan Johnson, and Small received the baseball from catcher Jorge Posada as a remembrance.
Small is the first Yankees pitcher to win his first 9 decisions since Tommy John in 1979, and became just the fourth pitcher in history to win at least 10 games without a loss, joining Tom Zachary, Dennis Lamp and Howie Krist. He finished the 2005 season at 10-0, with a 3.20 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 76 innings. He was re-signed to a one-year, 1.2 million dollar contract during the offseason.
During the 2006 Spring training, Small injurned his right hamstring. He missed the start of the season, but returned to the team on April 30, 2006.
On June 17, 2006, Small was designated for assignment by the Yankees and was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus.
References
- Player Statistics at The Baseball Cube