Jeff Suppan

Infobox MLB player
name=Jeff Suppan


position=Starting pitcher
team=Milwaukee Brewers
number=37
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1975|1|2
debutdate=July 17
debutyear=1995
debutteam=Boston Red Sox
statyear=August 11, 2008
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=125-120
stat2label=Earned Run Average
stat2value=4.61
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=1227
teams=
*Boston Red Sox (by|1995-by|1997, by|2003)
*Arizona Diamondbacks (by|1998)
*Kansas City Royals (by|1998-by|2002)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2003)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2004-by|2006)
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2007–present)

Jeffrey Scot Suppan (pronEng|ˈsuːpɑːn [ [http://www.misspronouncer.com/brewers/suppan_jeff.html Miss Pronouncer: Milwaukee Brewer Jeff Suppan ] ] ; born January 2, 1975, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Baseball career

Suppan was drafted out of high school (Crespi Carmelite High School) by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 1993 amateur draft, and rapidly ascended to the Majors. He played with the Red Sox through the 1997 season and then was picked up by the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks for 1998. Late in the 1998 season, he moved to the Kansas City Royals, where he stayed through 2002. In 2003, he opened the season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but was traded back to the Red Sox for their stretch run.

The Cardinals acquired Suppan as a free agent in 2004, and he embarked upon a career year, posting a 16–9 won-lost record and a 4.16 earned run average, with 110 strikeouts, 65 walks, and 192 hits allowed in 188 innings. Suppan helped lead the Cards to the 2004 World Series, where he started Game 3.

In 2005, improved on his previous year's performance, going 16–10 with a 3.57 ERA. He started Game 4 of the National League Championship series against the Houston Astros, allowing one run over five innings but came away with a no-decision after the Astros took the lead later in the game.

Suppan has hit two career Major League home runs, both off Steve Trachsel of the New York Mets. His first was on September 10, 2005. The Cardinals won the game 4–2. [ [http://www.scoreboard.msnbc.com/msnbc/main.asp?frames=0&sport=mlb&cat=BS&gamenum=20050910124&day=20050 Box Score of Suppan's first home run] ] He hit his second in Game 3 of the 2006 National League Championship Series. The Cardinals would win the game 5–0 to take a 2–1 lead in the series.

Suppan started Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS against the New York Mets. He did not factor in the decision, giving up only one run in seven innings, but the Cardinals won 3–1, earning him the National League Championship Series MVP. [cite web |url=http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=122987&y=2006 |title=Jeff Suppan: Biography and Career Highlights |accessdate=2008-10-07 |work=MLB.com] Suppan in the 2006 NLCS had a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings pitched.

As of August 13, 2008, Suppan has a won-lost record of 125-120 over 14 Major League seasons. He has a career ERA of 4.61 with 16 complete games, five shutouts and 1227 strikeouts in 373 games (357 starts). During the 2006 offseason Suppan signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. As of 2006, Suppan held a career ERA of 1.76 at Miller Park, where he was to pitch for the Brewers in 2007.

Suppan is one of only 7 ballplayers who pitched in the NL in 2007 who won at least 12 games in each year from 2004-07, the others being Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Roy Oswalt, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, and Jason Marquis.

Suppan, along with teammates J. J. Hardy, Bill Hall, and Chris Capuano appeared in an episode of "The Young and the Restless" which aired on CBS on June 20, 2007. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2879463 Four Brewers stars make acting debuts on soap opera] ESPN.com]

On June 7th, 2008 Suppan was placed on the 15 day disabled list, his first DL stint since 1996. [ [http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/transactions MLB Transactions - CBSSports.com Major League Baseball Transactions ] ]

Restaurant

Suppan (whose nickname is, appropriately, "Soup") is also a restaurateur. His restaurant, Soup's Grill, is jointly operated with his wife. It is located in Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, California on Ventura Blvd. The house specializes not in soups but in Philly cuisine, including cheesesteaks and dressed fries.

Political involvement

Suppan gained some notoriety outside of baseball for appearing in a political advertisement alongside other celebrities, Patricia Heaton, Jim Caviezel, and Kurt Warner during the 2006 World Series. The advertisement aired in opposition to the Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2006), which protects—in Missouri—stem cell research that is legal under federal law.

The advertisement aired shortly after the airing of an earlier advertisement featuring actor Michael J. Fox. [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061025/ap_en_tv/michael_j__fox_campaign_ads_23 Stem-cell research foes get own ad] ] The Fox advertisement had supported Amendment 2, as well as the campaign of United States Senate candidate Claire McCaskill. (The Suppan advertisement did not explicitly mention the Senate race.) The timing of both ads during a World Series that featured the St. Louis Cardinals was intended to draw the particular attention of Missouri voters.

Suppan is a very devout Catholic, appearing in the DVD "Champions of Faith". [ [http://www.championsoffaith.com/athletes/athletes.asp Champions Of Faith : Champions of Faith Athletes] ]

Career highlights

*2006 World Series Champion
*2006 National League Championship Series MVP

ee also

* Arizona Diamondbacks all-time roster

References

External links

* [http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=28831 Baseball Reference] minor league statistics
* [http://www.soupsgrill.com/ Jeff Suppan's restaurant]