Josh Towers

Infobox MLB player
name = Josh Towers

---

width = 200
caption =
team = Free Agent
number = --
position = Pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1977|2|26
birthplace = city-state|Port Hueneme|California
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = May 2
debutyear = 2001
debutteam = Baltimore Orioles
statyear = 2007
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 46-55
stat2label = Earned run average
stat2value = 4.96
stat3label = Strikeouts
stat3value = 387
teams =
*Baltimore Orioles (by|2001-by|2002)
*Toronto Blue Jays (by|2003-by|2007)

Joshua Eric Towers (born February 26, 1977 in Port Hueneme, California) is a right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher who is currently a free agent. Towers stands at 6'1" tall, and weighs 188 lbs.

Towers, who has worn uniform #7, is one of few Major League pitchers to have worn a single-digit number.

Towers is a control pitcher with good command of the strike zone, with a fastball that tops out at 90 mph.Fact|date=April 2007 While he has no overpowering pitches or deceptive late movement to his pitches, his consistent ability to locate any pitch to any part of the plate means that he rarely walks batters. Towers' approach means opposing hitters often put the ball in play, and so he relies heavily on his defence.

Professional career

Towers was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 15th round of the by|1996 Major League Baseball Draft.

2001

In mlby|2001, Towers made his major league debut, compiling eight wins and ten losses while posting an ERA of 4.49 in 140.1 innings.

2002

Towers started mlby|2002 with three straight losses along with two no-decisions in his first five games, giving up eleven home runs during that span. He would finish the year in the Orioles minor-league system.

2003

Towers signed with the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent for the by|2003 season. Joining the team midway through the season, he would go on to have a very successful run, appearing in 14 games (eight starts). He would finish the year 8-1 with a 4.48 ERA.

2004

In mlby|2004, Towers became the Blue Jays' fifth starter, going a mediocre 9-9 with a 5.11 ERA in 21 games started.

2005

In mlby|2005, after ace Roy Halladay's leg was broken by a line drive, Towers was arguably Toronto's most dependable pitcher. Stepping up when the Blue Jays starting rotation seemed impossibly thin, he would finish the season with 13 wins, tied for the club lead (along with rookie Gustavo Chacín), Towers set career bests with a 3.71 ERA, 33 games started, and 208.2 innings pitched.

2006

Having been signed to a two-year, $5.2 million contract during the off-season as a reward for his impressive 2005 year, Towers started the new season in horrifying fashion, going 0-7, with an ERA of 10.09 in his first seven starts.cite web|url=http://www.tsn.ca/tools/print_story.asp?id=143128|title="Jays give Towers two-year, $5.2M deal"|publisher="TSN.ca"|date=2005-11-15|accessdate=2007-12-18]

On May 14, Towers pitched a good game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, throwing eight innings and allowing just two earned runs, leading the Jays to an 8-3 victory. It was his first victory of mlby|2006, but it would not translate into renewed confidence. Towers would go on to lose his eighth game of the season against the Colorado Rockies. The next game was another one against the Devil Rays, but he would leave the game after just frac|1|2|3 innings completed, giving up four earned runs. On May 24, the Blue Jays demoted Towers to the Syracuse Chiefs.cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2457421 |title="Blue Jays send RHP Towers, SS Adams to minor leagues" |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2006-05-06 |accessdate=2007-12-18]

Towers would be recalled from Triple-A on June 20, but his struggles continued, and he was once again demoted to Syracuse on June 27.cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2502363|title="Blue Jays designate RHP Towers for assignment"|publisher="ESPN.com"|date=2006-06-27|accessdate=2007-12-18]

2007

Following his poor 2006 season, Towers decided to train with teammate and fellow Las Vegas off-season resident Reed Johnson. Towers, along with John Thomson, Tomo Ohka, and Víctor Zambrano was one of the leading contenders to land one of two open spots in the Blue Jays rotation.

During spring training, Towers was dominant, with only one bad outing during the spring. On March 31, it was announced that Towers had won the final spot in the Blue Jays' mlby|2007 rotation to begin the season, although Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi admitted that Towers would be "on a short leash".cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/198135|title="Jays announce opening-day roster"|publisher="Toronto Star"|date=2007-03-31|accessdate=2007-06-07]

On April 28, after his third loss of the season, to the Texas Rangers, where he surrendered 5 runs in 1 inning, he was demoted to the bullpen. Victor Zambrano was promoted in his place.cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/article.jsp?content=20070428_111238_7024|title="Jays shake up rotation"|publisher="sportsnet.ca"|date=2007-04-28|accessdate=2007-08-08(video)]

On July 8, Josh Towers pitched eight shutout innings, including frac|5|2|3 innings of perfect ball and then watched the Blue Jays head into the all-star break on a high note with a 1-0 walkoff victory over the Cleveland Indians. Towers pitched no walks, three hits for the Jays.cite web|url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/article.jsp?content=20070708_154054_1700|title="Towers terrific for Jays"|publisher="sportsnet.ca"|date=2007-07-08|accessdate=2007-08-08(video)]

During a game against the New York Yankees on August 7, 2007, Towers intentionally hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch. Rodriguez approached the mound and the benches cleared. After Rodriguez took first, Towers heard Yankees first base coach Tony Pena "chirping" at him, which led to the benches clearing again. After the game, Towers called Pena a "quitter," referring to his resignation as the Kansas City Royals' manager in 2005, and said he is not in a position to run his mouth. Towers promptly surrendered two runs after the incident, lost the game and was moved, for the second time in the season, to the bullpen.cite web|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070808.JAYSFINAL08/TPStory/Sports|title="Benches empty after Towers plunks Rodriguez"|publisher="The Globe and Mail"|date=2007-08-08|accessdate=2007-08-08]

2008

On February 6, mlby|2008, Towers signed a one-year contract with the Colorado Rockies. He spent the entire season with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. On July 26, he made himself a footnote in the record books when, during the second inning, he surrendered seven RBI and two home runs to Ryan Roberts of the Oklahoma RedHawks. [http://www.gazette.com/sports/second_38656___article.html/roberts_runs.html]

References

External links