- Colby Lewis
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Colby Lewis Texas Rangers — No. 48 Starting pitcher Born: August 2, 1979 Bats: Right Throws: Right MLB debut April 1, 2002 for the Texas Rangers Career statistics
(through August 31, 2011)Win-Loss 38–38 Earned run average 4.99 Strikeouts 520 Teams - Texas Rangers (2002–2004)
- Detroit Tigers (2006)
- Oakland Athletics (2007)
- Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2008–2009) (NPB)
- Texas Rangers (2010–present)
Colby Preston Lewis (born August 2, 1979, in Bakersfield, California) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers.
Lewis was originally a first-round draft choice (sandwich pick) of the Texas Rangers in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft, and made his major league debut in 2002. He played for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Japan's Central League from 2008 to 2009, during which he won two awards for most strikeouts.
Contents
High School
Lewis is a graduate of North High School in Bakersfield, California.
Junior college career
Lewis attended Bakersfield College, where, as a sophomore, he won first team Western State Conference honors, going 4–5 striking out 108 and posting a 2.86 ERA.
Professional career
Texas Rangers
Lewis was the 38th overall player selected in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. He was a highly regarded prospect coming up in the Rangers' system and in three seasons with them had a career ERA of 6.83. Of particular note was his unusual 2003 season, where he managed to post a winning record of 10–9 in 26 starts despite a 7.30 ERA.
Detroit/Washington/Oakland/Kansas City
Lewis suffered an injury early in the 2004 season and missed most of the year after undergoing rotator cuff surgery. He was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers after the 2004 season. On March 20, 2007, the Washington Nationals released him, and he was picked up by the Oakland Athletics just 4 days later.
Lewis began 2007 on the A's Triple-A team, the Sacramento River Cats, where he posted a 8–3 record with a 1.88 ERA. The A's, in need of another starting pitcher to replace the injured Rich Harden, called up Lewis on May 22, 2007. He started the game that day against the Chicago White Sox. His A's debut was a disaster as he pitched 3.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on 12 hits in the A's 10–4 loss. He was immediately sent to the bullpen after that start. Lewis finished the 2007 season with an 0–2 record and a 6.45 ERA in 26 games. Following the 2007 season, on November 2, 2007, Lewis was claimed off waivers by Kansas City Royals; he was then released on December 5, 2007.
Japan Central League
For the 2008 season, Lewis signed with the Hiroshima Carp of Japan's Central League. He had a spectacular season with Hiroshima, finishing second in the Central League in wins with 15 (Seth Greisinger of the Yomiuri Giants led the CL with 17 wins), second in the league in ERA (2.68, Masanori Ishikawa of the Yakult Swallows was first at 2.68), and 1st in the league in strikeouts (189),[1] beating out Greisinger by almost 20 K's.
His 2009 season with the Carp was equally successful. Lewis finished with 186 strikeouts, again leading the league. Although his performance was outstanding, he resigned from the team in hopes of pitching once again in the Major Leagues.
He is also renowned for home runs, which is unusual for a pitcher. (The designated hitter rule is not used in the Central League except in interleague games.) He has 5 NPB career home runs (2 in 2008 and 3 in 2009).
Return to Texas Rangers (2010–present)
2010
On January 14, 2010, Lewis agreed to a two-year contract with the Texas Rangers. At the end of April, he led the American League in strikeouts and was tied for second in the majors with Dan Haren behind Tim Lincecum. He got his first-ever complete game in Major League Baseball against the Houston Astros on June 19.
On October 16, Lewis started Game 2 of the American League Championship Series at home against the New York Yankees. Lewis went 5.2 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 6 hits. However, he earned the decision, and became the first Ranger pitcher to win a post-season home game in franchise history. On October 22, Lewis started game 6 of the American League Championship Series, also at home, against the New York Yankees. He pitched 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, aiding the Rangers to a decisive 6–1 victory. The win allowed the Rangers to win the Series and earn their first-ever American League Pennant. On October 30, Lewis started game 3 of the 2010 World Series, at home against the San Francisco Giants. Lewis went 7 2/3 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits. The Rangers went on to win 4–2, with Lewis earning the win in the first Texas victory in a World Series game. After winning those two crucial home playoff games in the 2010 ALCS and Game 3 of the 2010 World Series, Lewis was, so far, the only Rangers pitcher accredited towards three of the Rangers home playoff wins. No other Rangers pitcher had even one.
2011
In April 2011 Lewis was the first MLB player to go on the league's newly created paternity leave list to attend the birth of his child. A player can be on the list for 24 to 72 hours. Lewis took one start off before returning to pitch against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.[2]
In 2011, Lewis was 14–10 with a 4.40 ERA.[3] He gave up a league-leading 35 home runs, the 7th-most in Rangers history.[3][4] In the 2011 Postseason he pitched game 3 in the ALDS and ALCS and game 2 and game 6 in the WS.
References
- ^ Kurkjian, Tim (2010). Lewis makes unfamiliar trip back. ESPN the Magazine. Retrieved on October 23, 2010.
- ^ "Rangers coach has no issues with Colby Lewis going on paternity leave". Dallasnews.com. April 20, 2011. http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-rangers/headlines/20110420-rangers-coach-has-no-issues-with-colby-lewis-going-on-paternity-leave.ece. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ a b "Colby Lewis Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lewisco01.shtml. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
- ^ "Texas Rangers Top 10 Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TEX/leaders_pitch.shtml. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
Texas Rangers first-round draft picks 1965: Joe Coleman | 1966: Tom Grieve | 1967: John Jones | 1968: Don Castle | 1969: Jeff Burroughs | 1970: Charles Maxwell | 1971: Roger Quiroga | 1972: Roy Howell | 1973: David Clyde | 1974: Tommy Boggs | 1975: Jim Gideon | 1976: Billy Simpson | 1977: David Hibner | 1978: No first round pick | 1979: Jerry Don Gleaton | 1980: Tim Maki | 1981: Ron Darling, Al Lachowicz | 1982: No first round pick | 1983: Jeff Kunkel | 1984: Oddibe McDowell | 1985: Bobby Witt | 1986: Kevin Brown | 1987: Brian Bohanon, Bill Haselman, Mark Petkovsek | 1988: Monty Fariss | 1989: Donald Harris | 1990: Dan Smith | 1991: Benji Gil | 1992: Rick Helling | 1993: Mike Bell | 1994: No first round pick | 1995: Jonathan Johnson | 1996: R. A. Dickey, Sam Marsonek, Corey Lee | 1997: Jason Romano | 1998: Carlos Peña | 1999: Colby Lewis, Mike Head | 2000: Scott Heard, Tyrell Godwin | 2001: Mark Teixeira | 2002: Drew Meyer | 2003: John Danks | 2004: Thomas Diamond, Eric Hurley | 2005: John Mayberry, Jr. | 2006: Kasey Kiker | 2007: Blake Beavan, Michael Main, Julio Borbon, Neil Ramirez, Tommy Hunter | 2008: Justin Smoak | 2009: Matt Purke, Tanner Scheppers | 2010: Jake Skole, Kellin Deglin, Luke Jackson, Mike Olt | 2011: Kevin Matthews, Zach ConeTexas Rangers current roster Active roster 1 Elvis Andrus | 2 Taylor Teagarden | 5 Ian Kinsler | 7 David Murphy | 8 Yorvit Torrealba | 10 Michael Young | 17 Nelson Cruz | 18 Mitch Moreland | 19 Koji Uehara | 20 Julio Borbon | 22 Yoshinori Tateyama | 23 Craig Gentry | 25 Mike Napoli | 27 Leonys Martín | 29 Adrián Beltré | 30 Neftalí Feliz | 32 Josh Hamilton | 37 Mike Adams | 39 Scott Feldman | 41 Alexi Ogando | 43 Engel Beltré | 44 Michael Kirkman | 45 Derek Holland | 48 Colby Lewis | 50 Cody Eppley | 54 Matt Harrison | 57 Mark Lowe | 58 Mark Hamburger | 60 Fabio Castillo | 61 Miguel De Los Santos | 62 Wilmer Font
Coaching Staff Manager 38 Ron Washington | Bench Coach 4 Jackie Moore | 1st Base Coach 24 Gary Pettis | 3rd Base Coach 16 Dave Anderson | Hitting Coach 11 Scott Coolbaugh | Pitching Coach 31 Mike Maddux | Bullpen Coach 40 Andy Hawkins | Bullpen Catcher 66 Josh Frasier | Coach 13 Johnny Narron
Categories:- 1979 births
- Living people
- People from Bakersfield, California
- Texas Rangers players
- Detroit Tigers players
- Oakland Athletics players
- Charlotte Rangers players
- Tulsa Drillers players
- Oklahoma RedHawks players
- Toledo Mud Hens players
- Sacramento River Cats players
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Baseball players from California
- American expatriate baseball players in Japan
- Hiroshima Toyo Carp players
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