Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974) is an American former professional baseball
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...
. He played for the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
,
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...
, and
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
over the course of a 12–year
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
(MLB) career.
Career
High school / college
Jarrod Washburn graduated from Webster High School, in Webster, WI in 1992. Washburn attended the
University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, he
redshirted
Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...
his freshman year.
In his freshman season, he
won the championship game of the 1994
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Division III World Series, against
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
(Connecticut).
Washburn pitched eight strikeouts in a 6-2 complete game victory.
That season he had a 6-1 record, a 2.03
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
(ERA) before being named to the NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region second team.
In his 1995 sophomore season, he compiled a 9-1 record, 1.93 ERA. In 1996 (after leaving UW-O in 1995). In 2010, he was inducted in the college's sports Titan Hall of Fame.
Washburn was named to the NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region first team.
Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Washburn was drafted by the
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
in the second round of the
1995 Major League Baseball Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
''*'' Did not sign
Background
Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...
as the 31st overall pick.
Washburn began his professional career pitching for the Low Single-A
Boise Hawks
The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...
and
Cedar Rapids Kernels
The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...
in 1995. In 1996, he began pitching for High Single-A
Lake Elsinore, was promoted mid-season to Double-A
Midland, and promoted late-season to Triple-A
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
. Washburn began 1997 back in Double-A and was playing for Triple-A Vancouver in 1998 when he was called up and made his major league debut on June 2. He finished 6–3 in 11 starts.
After dividing his time between the Angels and Triple-A
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
in 1999, going 4–5 with a 5.25 ERA in 16 games, in 2000, Washburn once again split time between Triple A and the Angels, going 7–2 in 14 starts.
Washburn was called up for good in 2001; he started 30 games and went 11–10 with an
ERA of 3.77 establishing himself as a major league starter.
Washburn's career year was , when he won 18 games and
lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
* Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
*Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
6 with an excellent ERA of 3.15, finishing 4th in
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...
voting, and helped the Angels to a
World Series championship. In the
American League Division Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...
against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
, he went 1-0 in 2 starts and had an ERA of 3.75. In the
American League Championship Series
The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the America ...
against the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
, Washburn started one game, pitching 7 innings and allowing only 1
earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...
; however, he struggled in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...
against the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
, giving up 10 earned runs in his 2 starts in Games 1 and 5. The Angels would go on to win the 2002 World Series in 7 games, in the first World Series ever in which both teams were
wild card teams.
In , Washburn went 10–15 and his ERA climbed to 4.43. was similar with a 4.64 ERA, but with more
run support
Run support is a baseball statistic used to assess a starting pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw ...
, his record improved to 11-8. In , despite having a record of only 8–8, he had an ERA of 3.20 and became a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...
after the season.
Seattle Mariners
On December 22, 2005, Washburn signed a four-year contract worth $37.5 million with the Seattle Mariners. In 2006, he finished a disappointing 8-14 with a 4.67 ERA; in 2007, he bettered his ERA to 4.32. In 2008, Washburn struggled early in the season, but from June 9 to August 6, he had an ERA of 3.24. Through August 6, Washburn had the lowest run support in the American League, and was also the victim of seven blown saves in 2008, tying for first in the majors.
On July 6, 2009, Washburn threw the first one-hitter in
Safeco Field
T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the wes ...
history. The game was also the tenth one-hitter in Mariners team history, and was very nearly their first
perfect game, as Washburn did not walk a batter and faced just one over the minimum in the complete game shutout. Washburn started 7-6 in 2009, and had a 2.87 ERA with only 28 walks through July 18, 2009.
As of the end of July 2009, opposing batters were hitting .224 against him, which was the third-lowest batting average in the league; he was just behind
Edwin Jackson (.216) and
Matt Garza (.222), and was followed by
Scott Feldman
Scott Wynne Feldman (born February 7, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati ...
(.228; .217 as a starter).
Detroit Tigers
On July 31, 2009, Washburn was traded to the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
for pitchers
Luke French
People
*Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name)
*Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name)
* Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known ...
and
Mauricio Robles. Washburn, a playoff-tested veteran in the midst of a great season, was expected to shore up a Tigers rotation that had seen seven different pitchers make a start in the fifth starters' spot.
Tigers general manager
Dave Dombrowski stated that Washburn was "pitching as well as anyone in the league" at the time of the trade. While he had led the American League in
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...
at the time of the trade,
Washburn's tenure with the Tigers was forgettable, as he proceeded to go 1-3 with a 7.33 ERA in 8 starts. Washburn himself noted that while he had "a couple good starts, overall he had not been good." The Tigers, who had been in first place in the American League Central Division since May 8, slowly relinquished their division lead and missed out on the playoffs altogether following a 163rd game tiebreaker with the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
.
In addition to French and Robles, the trade also cost the Tigers $3.5 million for Washburn's prorated salary. While the trade was initially highly praised,
in hindsight it has been panned by critics and fans.
In 2009, with the Mariners and Tigers, Washburn finished with a combined 9-9 record with a 3.78 ERA in 28 starts.
Retirement
At the end of the 2009 season, Washburn filed for free agency. According to an interview in the May 6, 2010 issue of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh newspaper, The Advance-Titan, Washburn said that he is retiring to spend more time with his family. Washburn currently resides at his home in rural
Webster, Wisconsin.
In 2013, Washburn became the head baseball coach at his
alma mater, Webster High School.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washburn, Jarrod
1974 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Anaheim Angels players
Baseball players from Wisconsin
Boise Hawks players
Cedar Rapids Kernels players
Detroit Tigers players
Edmonton Trappers players
Lake Elsinore Storm players
Los Angeles Angels players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Midland Angels players
People from Burnett County, Wisconsin
People from New Lisbon, Wisconsin
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players
Salt Lake Stingers players
Seattle Mariners players
Sportspeople from La Crosse, Wisconsin
Vancouver Canadians players
Wisconsin–Oshkosh Titans baseball players