Mitchell R. Talbot (born October 17, 1983) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 draw ...

. He has played in

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 (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and in

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the Samsung Lions and

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

and in the CPBL for the Lamigo Monkeys.

College

The youngest of six siblings, Talbot graduated from

Canyon View High School Canyon View High School may refer to: * Canyon View High School (Arizona) in Waddell, Arizona * Canyon View High School (Ontario, California) * Canyon View High School (Cedar City, Utah) * Canyon View Preparatory Academy Canyon View Preparatory ...

Cedar City Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summer Gam ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and was a member of the

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History A ...

's All-State second team during his senior season.

Baseball career

Houston Astros

Talbot was drafted by the Houston Astros in the second round (70th overall) in the

2002 Major League Baseball draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book ''Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * * ...

out of high school. He did not sign immediately and as a result did not begin his professional career until . In , Talbot was rated to have the best

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

in the Astros' organization by Baseball America. He pitched for Single-A Salem and went 8-11 with a 4.34

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. Talbot was the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

Pitcher of the Week for the week of July 25 to July 31.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

On July 12, , during the All-Star break, Talbot, along with

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Ben Zobrist Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981), is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chi ...

were traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Aubrey Huff Aubrey Lewis Huff III (born December 20, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Huff played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tiger ...

. Pitching for two Double-A teams ( Corpus Christi and Montgomery), he went a combined 10-7 with a 2.76 ERA. Talbot earned the Devil Rays Minor League

of August after he went 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA and led all of Double-A baseball with 47 strikeouts. He was a member of the Montgomery Biscuits during their 2006 league championship season and was named minorleaguebasell.com's best Double-A playoff performer. In , Talbot began the year for the Devil Rays' Triple-A team, the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. Talbot was called up to the majors on July 1, . Talbot made his Major League debut on September 15, in relief of

Scott Kazmir Scott Edward Kazmir (; born January 24, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics ...

, and pitched 3.0 innings, giving up 4 earned runs and striking out two batters while walking three against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. Talbot made his first Major League start against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

on September 23, 2008 during the second game of a double header and did not figure in the decision. He allowed three earned runs on six hits while walking three and striking out two over 4 innings.

Cleveland Indians

On December 21, 2009, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians as a player to be named later in the

Kelly Shoppach Kelly Brian Shoppach (pronounced SHOP-ick; born April 29, 1980) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Seattle Mariner ...

trade. Talbot was designated for assignment on July 31, 2011, to make room on the 40-man roster for

Ubaldo Jiménez Ubaldo Jiménez García (born January 22, 1984) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles. Jiménez was an MLB All-Sta ...

. He accepted his assignment and was sent to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers on August 5, 2011. Talbot was placed on the Indians' roster again on September 24, 2011. He was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus again on October 18. He elected free agency on October 20.

Samsung Lions

On December 1, 2011, Talbot signed with the Samsung Lions in South Korea.

Miami Marlins

After spending part of the 2013 season with the Marlins he was released during a rehab assignment.

New York Mets

On August 20, 2013, Talbot signed a minor league contract with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

organization and was assigned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s.

Lamigo Monkeys

After spending part of the season with the Long Island Ducks, on August 25, 2014, he signed with the Lamigo Monkeys in Taiwan.

Hanwa Eagles

On December 5, 2014, Talbot signed with the Hanwa Eagles in South Korea of the Korea Baseball Organization for the 2015 season.

Rieleros de Aguascalientes

On April 8, 2016, Talbot signed with the

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

Lamigo Monkeys

On June 10, 2016, Talbot announced that he would return to Lamigo Monkeys.

Sugar Land Skeeters

On May 20, 2017, Talbot signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He re-signed with the team in early 2018.

Second stint with Cleveland Indians

On May 23, 2018, Talbot's contract was purchased by the

. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Second stint with Sugar Land Skeeters

On March 6, 2019, Talbot signed with the

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

Third stint with Cleveland Indians

On June 5, 2019, Talbot's contract was purchased from the Skeeters by the

. He was assigned to the Columbus Clippers, the Indians' Triple-A affiliate. Talbot elected free agency on November 4, 2019.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from Korea Baseball Organization {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Mitch 1983 births American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Baseball players from Utah Charlotte Stone Crabs players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Corpus Christi Hooks players Durham Bulls players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Gigantes del Cibao players Gulf Coast Marlins players Gulf Coast Rays players Hanwha Eagles players KBO League pitchers Lamigo Monkeys players Las Vegas 51s players Lexington Legends players Living people Long Island Ducks players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Major League Baseball pitchers Martinsville Astros players Montgomery Biscuits players New Orleans Zephyrs players People from Cedar City, Utah Phoenix Desert Dogs players Salem Avalanche players Samsung Lions players Sugar Land Skeeters players Tampa Bay Rays players