- Al Levine
Infobox MLB retired
name=Al Levine
position=Relief pitcher
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birthdate and age|1968|5|22
debutdate=June 22
debutyear=by|1996
debutteam=Chicago White Sox
finaldate=June 10
finalyear=by|2005|
finalteam=San Francisco Giants
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=.267
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3
stat3label=Strikeout s
stat3value=56
teams=
*Chicago White Sox (by|1996-by|1997)
*Texas Rangers (by|1998)
*Anaheim Angels (by|1999–by|2002)
*Tampa Bay Devil Rays (by|2003)
*Kansas City Royals (by|2003)
*Detroit Tigers (by|2004)
*San Francisco Giants (by|2005)
highlights=Alan Brian Levine (born
May 22 ,1968 inPark Ridge, Illinois ) is a formerMajor League Baseball relief pitcher who currently pitches for theNewark Bears of the independent Atlantic League.Early and personal life
Levine graduated from
Hoffman Estates High School and Southern Illinois University. In by|1989, Levine walked onto the SIU team as apitcher . Levine is close friends withToronto Blue Jays catcher Sal Fasano , and Palatine High School coach Paul Belo [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:SiVth-zD-DQJ:www.siude.com/news/2006/09/21/Baseball/Siu-Baseball.Picks.Two.WalkOn.Players-2283431.shtml+%22al+levine%22+pitcher+baseball&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=64&gl=us]Baseball career
The
Chicago White Sox drafted him in the 11th round of the by|1991 draft.Levine played for seven major league teams. For his career, he held batters to a .220
batting average when there were runners inscoring position with 2 out. [http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=levinal01]Minor leagues
Levine pitched 234 games in the minor leagues, over 11 seasons.
Major leagues
Levine made his major league debut in by|1996 with the White Sox. In by|1997, he held batters to a .125 batting average when there were 2 out, with runners in scoring position. In December 1997, he was traded by the White Sox with
Larry Thomas to the Texas Rangers forBenji Gil .In April by|1999, he was selected off waivers by the Anaheim Angels from the Texas Rangers. In by|2000, he held batters to a .186 batting average when there were 2 out, with runners in scoring position. In by|2001, he had perhaps his best season. He had a 2.38 ERA for the Angels in 64 games. In by|2002, he held batters to a .206 batting average when there were 2 out, with runners in scoring position.
In January by|2003, Levine signed as a
free agent with theSt. Louis Cardinals , but was released in March. In April, he signed as a free agent with theTampa Bay Devil Rays , who then sold him to theKansas City Royals onJuly 31 . In 2003, he had another excellent season, splitting it between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Kansas City Royals. He had a 2.79 ERA in 54 games. He held batters to a .189 batting average when there were 2 out, with runners in scoring position. In December 2003, he signed as a free agent with theDetroit Tigers . In by|2004, he held batters to a .154 batting average when there were 2 out, with runners in scoring position.For seven seasons in a row, from 1999-2004, he pitched in at least 50 games each year.
In February by|2005, he signed as a free agent with the
San Francisco Giants , who released him in June. OnJuly 7 ,2005 , he was signed as a free agent by theFlorida Marlins , but was released a week later without pitching a game for them.Atlantic league
On
April 15 , by|2008, it was announced that Levine had signed a contract with the Newark Bears of the Atlantic League.Pitching
Levine used a lot of motion in his windup to fool hitters. He got good results with a sinking fastball, but his slider was his best pitch. His pitches appeared deceptively fast due to his three-quarters delivery. [http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=baseball&ID=32]
External links
*baseball-reference|id=l/levinal01
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/L/Al-Levine.shtml Baseball Cube stats]
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=20&position=P Fangraphs stats]
* [http://www.jewsinsports.org/profile.asp?sport=baseball&ID=32 Jews in Sports bio]
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