Ross Ohlendorf

Infobox MLB player


width = 150
name=Ross Ohlendorf
position=Relief pitcher
team=Pittsburgh Pirates
number=49
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|8|8
birthplace=city-state|Austin|Texas
debutdate=September 11
debutyear=2007
debutteam=New York Yankees
statyear=September 4, 2008
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=1-1
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=5.85
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=47
teams=
*New York Yankees (by|2007-by|2008)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2008-present)

Curtis Ross Ohlendorf (born August 8, 1982 in Austin, Texas) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is known for his hard-biting sinker. He can hit 97 mph with a two-seam sinking fastball, and he's working to improve his developing changeup, slider, and breaking ball. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/sports/baseball/12yankees.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin Young Yankees Pitcher Has Love for Ranching] ]

High School and College Career

Ohlendorf was born in Austin, Texas. His family owns a Texas Longhorn ranch that Ohlendorf helps maintain. He graduated from St. Stephen's Episcopal High School in Austin in 2001 where he was a two-sport athlete, playing basketball and baseball. [ [http://www.towntopics.com/jul2606/sports1.html Sports Story #1 ] ] [ [http://www.sstx.org/experiment.php?page=alumniAthletes St. Stephen's Episcopal School: Athletics ] ]

Ohlendorf attended Princeton University when in 2002, as a freshman pitcher, he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Ohlendorf, a second-team All-Ivy selection, was 3rd in the League with a 3.02 ERA. He finished with a 6-2 record. [ [http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/article.asp?intID=1669 All-Ivy Baseball Announced] ]

Professional Career

Ohlendorf was selected in the fourth round of 2004 Major League Baseball Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He continued his studies at Princeton while in the Diamondbacks farm system and graduated in 2006 with a degree in engineering. He received the George Mueller Award from the university for combining "high scholarly achievement in the study of engineering with quality performance in intercollegiate athletics". Ohlendorf wrote a highly praised thesis on the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft and the actual value of signing bonuses. [ [http://engineering.princeton.edu/news/classday06 Engineering school honors top graduates and distinguished faculty] ]

In 2004, Ohlendorf was chosen by "Baseball America" as one of the Northwest League’s Top 20 prospects.

In 2005, he was named to the Midwest League All-Star team. He finished the season tied for the team lead with 11 victories, and second in the legue with 144 strikeouts.

2006

In 2006, playing for the Diamondbacks AA affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, Ohlendorf went 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA and led the Southern League with four complete games, earning a promotion to AAA Tucson for one playoff start. [ [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:Rp-gEeO2veAJ:www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/03/01/1ohlendorf.html+ross+ohlendorf+princeton+austin&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us From St. Stephen's to New York Yankees camp] ]

He was traded to the New York Yankees as the key prospect in the Randy Johnson deal. [ [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/gen/articles/printer_friendly/milb/y2007/m01/d10/c151201.jsp Ohlendorf excited to finally be a Yankee] ] [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/sports/baseball/28yanks.html?ex=1330318800&en=72ef411dddb90301&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Yankees Weigh the Other Half of a Blockbuster Trade] ]

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman said of Ohlendorf: "He's big, physical, eats innings and he's competitive. He's a workhorse." [ [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMTMmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwNjQ5NjMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 Yanks prospect throws the ball low and hard] ]

2007

Ohlendorf pitched mostly for the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2007. Ohlendorf struggled with injuries and inconsistency as a starter with Scranton and was moved to the bullpen. Ohlendorf embraced his new role and pitched extremely effectively, able to maintain a higher velocity and precision on his pitches due to shorter outings. On September 9, when Scranton was eliminated from the playoffs, Ohlendorf was promoted to the Major Leagues.

On September 11, he pitched in his first Major League game against the Toronto Blue Jays for the Yankees. He pitched one inning without allowing a baserunner while striking out one. On September 15, he pitched 1 1/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox, allowing a walk and a home run, but recording all four outs on strikeouts. Ohlendorf impressed the Yankees enough in September to earn a spot on the ALDS roster, but struggled in his lone appearance in the series, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk in one inning.

2008

On July 26, he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal with Jose Tabata, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte.cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/25/pirates.yanks.trade/index.html|title=Yanks acquire Nady, Marte from Bucs for 4 minor league prospects|date=2008-07-26|publisher=SI.com|accessdate=2008-07-26]

Ohlendorf spent the first month pitching for the AAA Indianapolis Indians and was called up to Pittsburgh on September 2 when the rosters expanded. He was added to the starting rotation and made his first appearance on September 3 against the Cincinnati Reds where he pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 earned runs in a 6-5 Pirates victory.

Personal

His brother Chad is also attending Princeton and pitching for the school. [ [http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46839&SPID=4228&PALBID=15071&DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=1398598&Q_SEASON=2007 Chad Ohlendorf Bio] ]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/pl/456/456027.html Minor League splits]
* [http://www.smokiesbaseball.com/team/Default.asp?playerId=3 Tennessee Smokies bio]
* [http://www.towntopics.com/jul2606/sports1.html "Bringing the Heat," 7/26/06]
* [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/touchingbase/2007/09/nine-innings-ross-ohlendorf.html NY Daily News - Nine Innings: Ross Ohlendorf 9/25/07]