Josh Kinney

Infobox MLB player
name = Josh Kinney

---

width = 150
caption =
team = St. Louis Cardinals
number = 52
position = Relief pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1979|3|31
birthplace = city-state|Coudersport|Pennsylvania
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = July 3
debutyear = 2006
debutteam = St. Louis Cardinals
statyear = September 25, 2008
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 0-0
stat2label = Earned run average
stat2value = 2.70
stat3label = Strikeouts
stat3value = 28
awards =
teams =
*St. Louis Cardinals (mlby|2006-present)

Joshua Thomas Kinney (born March 31, 1979 in Coudersport, Pennsylvania) is a relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. His first major league pitch was hit for a home run by the Atlanta Braves' Ryan Langerhans. He attended Quincy University, a Division II school in the state of Illinois, and signed as a free agent with the River City Rascals of the independent Frontier League on June 1, by|2001. Two weeks later, the Cardinals purchased Kinney's contract from River City. He was first called up to the major leagues on July 2, mlby|2006.

Kinney throws a slider, 4-seam fastball, curveball, and a 2-seam fastball.

After compiling a 3.24 ERA in 25 innings for the Cardinals, Kinney would be included in the playoff roster, and pitched in the NLDS, the NLCS, and the 2006 World Series, winning a championship ring after the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers four games to one. Kinney pitched in Games 2 and 4, pitching a total of one inning with a 0.00 World Series ERA. In Game 2 of the World Series, he pitched 1 1/3 innings with a walk and a strikeout. In Game 4, he faced three batters, retiring two of them, one by way of strikeout.

Kinney also became the first Springfield Cardinals (Double-A Affiliate) player to be called up to the St. Louis Cardinals.

After a few poor outings to begin mlby|2007 spring training, Kinney decided to have season ending Tommy John surgery to repair a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. [ [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/8C13047E2247C5CF86257298006F65BF?OpenDocument Surgery] ] A fractured elbow while rehabbing in 2007 further delayed his return, and Kinney didn't make it back to the Cardinals until September 2008. [ [http://www.bnd.com/sports/cardinals/story/468751.html Kinney comes back] ]

References and external links

* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/stats/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=448337 MLB statistics]
* [http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=448337 Minor League Splits and Situational Stats]
* [http://stlcardinals.scout.com/a.z?s=321&p=8&c=1&nid=3488920 Kinney player profile page at stlcardinals.scout.com]