Scott Feldman (baseball)

Infobox MLB player
name=Scott Feldman


width=300
position=Starting pitcher
team=Texas Rangers
number=39
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1983|2|7
birthplace=city-state|Kailua|Hawaii
debutdate=August 31
debutyear=2005
debutteam=Texas Rangers
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=7-13
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=4.97
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=127
teams=
*Texas Rangers (by|2005-present)

Scott Wayne Feldman (born February 7, 1983 in Kailua, Hawaii) is a 6' 5" starting pitcher who plays for the Texas Rangers.

High school

Feldman attended Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California. A left-handed hitter, Feldman led the Peninsula Athletic League in batting average as a Burlingame junior, and nearly matched the feat as a senior.cite web | last = Schwab | first = Matt| title = Ex-CSM star aiming for majors | publisher = San Francisco Chronicle | date = 2005-06-10 | url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/10/PNGQKD4KS21.DTL | accessdate = 2007-04-15]

College

Feldman attended the College of San Mateo. There, in two seasons he went 25-2 (his only losses were in the state final four), had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8 to 1, and a 1.30 ERA.cite web | last = Lee | first = Emmanuel| title = Former CSM star hits the big time | publisher = San Mateo Daily Journal | date = 2006-04-06 | url = http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=56981&eddate=04/06/2006 | accessdate = 2007-04-15] He earned Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year honors both as a freshman in by|2002 and sophomore in by|2003, and was an All American both years. [cite web | title = Scott Feldman - Player File | publisher = mlb.com | url = http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=444857 | accessdate = 2007-04-15]

Feldman was a 41st round pick of the Houston Astros in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, and then a 30th round pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft.

Minor league career

Feldman underwent reconstructive elbow surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament in October 2003, which limited him to four appearances in by|2004 in the Arizona League.

Feldman began the by|2005 season with the Single-A Bakersfield Blaze, but was quickly promoted to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders. With the RoughRiders, he allowed a .202 average in 46 relief appearances, leading the team with 14 saves, and had a 2.36 ERA.

In by|2007, he pitched in the Arizona Fall League, to work on a new three-quarters delivery. [ [http://padres.scout.com/a.z?s=315&p=2&c=709292 Scout.com: Winterball Roundup - 12/5 ] ]

Major league career

Texas Rangers (2005-present)

2005

Feldman was a late-season call-up that year, making his debut against the Chicago White Sox on August 31, mlby|2005. Feldman made 8 appearances with the Rangers, compiling a record of 0-1 in 9.1 innings of work, with an ERA of 0.91.

2006

mlby|2006 saw Feldman bounce back and forth between the Rangers and their Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma RedHawks.

The national spotlight shone briefly on Feldman on August 16, mlby|2006, when he sparked a bench-clearing brawl in the ninth inning of a game between the Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Tensions between the two division rivals were already high, as two Rangers starting pitchers — Adam Eaton and Vicente Padilla — had been ejected in previous games that month for throwing at Angels batters. Prior to Feldman taking the mound, two Angels hurlers (Kevin Gregg and Brendan Donnelly) had been thrown out of the game for hitting batsmen, as well as manager Mike Scioscia and bench coach Ron Roenicke. Feldman hit Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy with a pitch with only one out remaining in the game, and his team up 9-3. Kennedy charged the mound, and a fight between the 6' 5" Feldman and the light-hitting 6' 1" Kennedy ensued. [cite web |title = Bench-clearing melee mars Rangers' victory vs. Angels |publisher = Associated Press |date = 2006-08-16 |url = http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=260816113 | accessdate = 2007-04-15] Feldman was suspended for six games for ignoring the warnings of umpire Sam Holbrook. [cite web | last = Sanchez | first = Jesse| title = Showalter, Padilla, Feldman suspended | publisher = mlb.com | date = 2006-08-17 | url = http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060817&content_id=1615329&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex | accessdate = 2007-04-15]

In 36 games, he had an ERA of 3.92. In games that were late and close, he did not give up any hits in 16 at-bats.

2007

Feldman was in the Rangers' by|2007 spring training camp, and in 6.2 innings had a 4.05 ERA, with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. He won the final spot in the Texas bullpen. [cite web | title = Rangers make trio of roster moves | publisher = scout.com | date = 2007-03-29 | url = http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=283&p=2&c=630885 | accessdate = 2007-04-15] While he broke camp with the Rangers, he was sent down on May 1. That began a trend as he was called up five more times during the season.http://www.star-telegram.com/284/story/498206.html] He was 1-2 with a 5.77 ERA in 29 games. He held the first batter he faced in each game to a .160 batting average.

2008

In spring training in mlby|2008, Feldman changed his release point and was using a three-quarter delivery that he started using in 2007. Manager Ron Washington said: "It makes his ball heavier and his movement a little more pronounced." [ [http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080225&content_id=2389249&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex Notes: Narron back in the fold | texasrangers.com: News ] ] In late March, he was considered one of three pitchers vying for one long relief spot with the team. [ [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/031808dnsporanglede.3ac67f0.html Jason Jennings picks up pace for Texas Rangers | Sports News | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas ] ] On March 22, 2008, despite Feldman's success with his new, higher arm angle, the Rangers optioned him to Triple-A Oklahoma, where he was a starter. [ [http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=MLB&id=4280&line=231618&spln=1 Fantasy Baseball Breaking News - Rotoworld.com ] ] In April he bounced back and forth between Texas and AA Frisco. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080414&content_id=2527850&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Texas boosts 'pen by recalling Littleton | MLB.com: News ] ]

On June 13, Feldman recorded his first major league base hit against Oliver Perez of the New York Mets.

On August 13, against the Boston Red Sox, Feldman became the first major league pitcher in 90 years to give up at least 12 runs in a game and not take the loss.

Pitching

Feldman is a sidearm pitcher with a low-90's fastball, a hard slider with extreme downward movement, and a changeup. He is more effective against right-handed hitters.

Personal life

Feldman is Jewish [cite web | last = Mayo | first = Jonathan | title = Minor League's top Jewish prospects | publisher = mlb.com | date = 2006-05-10 | url = http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/gen/articles/printer_friendly/milb/y2006/m05/d10/c69468.jsp | accessdate = 2007-04-15] and was given the nickname "Scooter" by former KTCK radio host Greg "The Hammer" Williams.

His father is an FBI agent who grew up in a Pennsylvania coal mining town, played college baseball at Duquense, coached Feldman in youth baseball in North California, and survived brain surgery.

References

External links

* [http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/baseball/rangers/stories/022608dnsporangreport.307bc1f.html Interview with Scott Feldman, Dallas Morning News, 2/26/08]
* [http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2008/03/05/news/news03.txt "Warming up for the Jewish Boys of Summer," 3/5/08]