- Mike Ballard
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Mike Ballard Baltimore Orioles — No. 56 Pitcher Born: February 6, 1984
Norfolk, VirginiaBats: Right Throws: Left Career statistics Win-loss record Earned run average Strikeouts Teams - Baltimore Orioles (2011–present)
Michael Aaron "Mike" Ballard (born February 6, 1984 in Norfolk, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles.
Contents
Baseball career
Amateur career
Ballard went to Ocean Lakes High School, where he lead the team to a second place finish in the 2001 Virginia AAA State Tournament, where he set a school record in ERA with a 0.69 ERA. He was drafted in the 50th round, 1474th overall, in the 2002 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins, but he decided to go to the University of Virginia.[1] His 2003 season was cut short due to injury, where, in his seven starts, he had a 1.93 ERA in 7 starts. He missed all of 2004 due to injury. He was solid in 2005, where he went 8-3 with a 3.54 ERA over 15 starts. He was drafted again by the Minnesota Twins, in the 47th round, 1415th overall, of the 2005 Draft, but decided to stay for his senior year. His senior year was less impressive, with a 4.09 ERA, despite having a 9-3 record and two complete games. He was drafted in the 14th round, 418th overall, by the Texas Rangers in the 2006 MLB Draft, and decided to sign.[2]
Professional career
He started 2006 with Short-Season Spokane, where he went 2-7 with a 5.68 ERA. He started 2007 with Single-A Clinton, where he went 9-4 before earning a promotion to High-A Bakersfield. He started 2008 with Double-A Frisco, where he went 8-3 before earning a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma. He split 2009 with Frisco and newly re-named Oklahoma City. He spent all of 2010 with Oklahoma City after earning a spring training visit. In the offseason, he signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a minor league free agent. He started the season with Triple-A Norfolk, but was demoted to Double-A Bowie after a 4.91 ERA.[3]
On July 31, 2011, Ballard was called up to replace the struggling Jason Berken.[4]
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Associated Press (2011-07-31). "Orioles demote RHP Berken, call up lefties Ballard and Viola". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/orioles-demote-rhp-berken-call-up-lefties-ballard-and-viola/2011/07/31/gIQAY2aYlI_story.html. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Virginia Cavaliers Player Bio
Categories:- Baltimore Orioles players
- Major League Baseball players
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Baseball players from Virginia
- People from Norfolk, Virginia
- Spokane Indians players
- Clinton LumberKings players
- Bakersfield Blaze players
- Frisco RoughRiders players
- Oklahoma RedHawks players
- Oklahoma City RedHawks players
- Norfolk Tides players
- Bowie Baysox players
- 1984 births
- Living people
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