Kyle Kendrick

Infobox MLB player
name=Kyle Kendrick

---

position=Starting Pitcher
team=Philadelphia Phillies
number=38
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1984|8|26
debutdate=June 13
debutyear=2007
debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies
statyear=August 10, 2008
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=20–9
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=108
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=4.13
teams=
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|2007-present)

Kyle Rodney Kendrick (born August 26, 1984, in Houston, Texas) is a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in Major League Baseball.

High school and college

Kendrick was a three-sport standout in football, basketball, and baseball at Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, Washington. Kendrick was drafted by the Phillies in the 7th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. Kendrick turned down the opportunity to play quarterback at Washington State University.

MLB Career

2007

Kyle was first called up to the Phillies after pitcher Freddy Garcia was placed on the DL. Kendrick singled to right field in his first major league at-bat during his first major league appearance—an afternoon game at Citizens Bank Park against the Chicago White Sox on June 13, 2007. He pitched six innings and gave up three runs. Kendrick's father Morrie, who was in attendance, got a hand on (but did not catch) a foul ball during the game.

Kyle's first loss came on July 18, 2007, against the Dodgers, 5–4. His performance in the 2007 regular season was widely considered to be a key to the Philadelphia Phillies' late-season surge, as Kendrick finished the year 10–4, with the Phillies winning in 13 out of Kendrick's 18 appearances. Kendrick was the Phillies' number two starter in the off-season series against the Colorado Rockies.

Kendrick (7 points) came in fifth, and lost out to Ryan Braun (128 points) in the vote for the 2007 NL Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award by 488 major league players and 30 managers. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071015&content_id=2267061&vkey=ps2007news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Sporting News honors A-Rod ] ] [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3106745 ESPN - Braun edges Tulowitzki by two votes; Pedroia wins in landslide - MLB ] ]

2008

pring training

Before the 2008 season, the Phillies (led by pitcher Brett Myers) pulled a prank on Kendrick by telling him that he was traded to Japan for a player named Kobayashi Iwamura. When Kendrick realized it was only a prank, he was relieved and Myers repeatedly shouted that he got "punked," referring to the popular TV show on MTV, Punk'd. [ [http://www.bugsandcranks.com/philadelphia-phillies/brett-myers-is-the-new-ashton-kootcher/ Bugs & Cranks » Brett Myers is the new Ashton Kootcher ] ] "Kobayashi" was referring to Takeru Kobayashi, the world-famous Japanese hot dog eater, and "Iwamura" was referring to the last name of Tampa Bay Rays infielder Akinori Iwamura.

Regular season

Though Kendrick began the season as the Phillies' number four starter, he was arguably the most consistent member of the rotation. He posted a 2–2 record in April, went undefeated in May (2–0), and matched ace Cole Hamels in June with a 3–1 record. Though his ERA (4.59) was high through the first three months, he allowed only eleven home runs in that time, mostly using his effective sinker. [cite web|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8053/splits;_ylt=AiqDtvO98ewYstoRdrED7YSFCLcF|title=Kyle Kendrick|publisher=Yahoo! Sports|accessdate=2008-07-01] He struggled a bit in July, allowing five home runs and posting an ERA of 5.02, almost a point higher than June. His record after 20 games was 8–4, comparable to his 10–5 record in his 20 starts of 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=kendrky01&t=p&year=2008|title=Kyle Kendrick 2008 Pitching Gamelogs|publisher=Baseball Reference|accessdate=2008-07-30]

Notes and references

External links

*baseball-reference|id=k/kendrky01