Robert Joe Wickman (born February 6, 1969) is a former

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 ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. Wickman played for 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 ...

(–),

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(1996–),

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) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

(2000–),

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

(2006–), and

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

(2007). He batted and threw right-handed.

Amateur career

Wickman is from

Abrams, Wisconsin Abrams is a town in Oconto County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,960 at the 2020 Census. The census-designated place of Abrams is located in the town. History Abrams was named after W. J. Abrams, Wisconsin legislator and form ...

. At Oconto Falls High School, Wickman played

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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 ...

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table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

and

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, being named an All-State pick in

. After

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, he attended

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. Student enrollment in the 2014–2015 academic year was more than 12,000. The universit ...

, and was selected by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in the

1990 Major League Baseball draft The 1990 Major League Baseball ( MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

(2nd round) and signed by area scout Mike Rizzo. In 1992, he was sent by Chicago to the

in the same trade that brought

Steve Sax Stephen Louis Sax (born January 29, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1994, most notably as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers with whom he w ...

to the White Sox.

Major league career

New York Yankees

Wickman's career with the Yankees began with a superb record of 20–5 in his first two seasons (1992–1993), including a 14–4 mark in 1993. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, Wickman appeared in an American League-high 53 games, all in relief, and posted a 3.09 ERA for the league-leading Yankees. Though he slumped to a 4.05 ERA in 1995, he rebounded to pitch three shutout innings in the

Division Series The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League. 1981 season The first use of the term "Division Series" date ...

against the

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 ...

. The Yankees lost that series in five games to Seattle.

Milwaukee Brewers

In 1996, the Yankees traded Wickman to the Brewers before they won 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 ...

. After the Yankees won the World Series, they gave Wickman a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

for being part of the active roster during the 1996 season. 05 050 Bob Wickman

Wickman made his first

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

appearance in 2000 as a member of the

. The day after Wickman was traded to the Cleveland Indians, the Brewers chose to hold a Bob Wickman Poster Night.

Cleveland Indians

He was involved in a seven-player trade between the Brewers and

, which included sending

Richie Sexson Richmond Lockwood Sexson (born December 29, 1974), nicknamed "Big Sexy", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for five teams from 1997 to 2008. He is also the field manager for the Windy City ThunderBolts in the ...

to Milwaukee. On May 7, 2006, Wickman became the Indians' all-time franchise leader in saved games with 130, surpassing the record previously held by Doug Jones. His 139 saves with the Indians was a club record until

Cody Allen Cody Edward Allen (born November 20, 1988) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians from 2012 to 2018 and the Los Angeles Angels in 2019. Amateur career Allen ...

passed it July 3, 2018, and his 45 saves on the season in

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is tied for second-best in team history.

Atlanta Braves

On July 20, 2006, Wickman was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Single-A

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Max Ramírez. Wickman then served as Atlanta's closer, recording his first save on July 24. On September 20, 2006, Wickman signed a one-year $6.5 million contract extension to stay with the Atlanta Braves for the 2007 season. On August 24, 2007, after giving up a walk-off two-run home run to the Reds'

Adam Dunn Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979), nicknamed "Big Donkey", is an American former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Na ...

in extra innings, Wickman complained to manager

Bobby Cox Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...

about pitching in non-save situations. Consequently, he was released.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On September 7, 2007, Wickman signed a contract with the

, a move that signaled that he had backed off his disdain for non-save situations, given that the team had an established closer in

José Valverde José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed ...

. Wickman pitched in 8 games for the Diamondbacks, going 0–1 with a 1.35 ERA. He became a free agent after the season, subsequently retiring. Wickman ended his career with 511 games finished, ranking 34th all time among major league pitchers.

Pitching style

Wickman was known to rely on his sinker to save games. During a childhood farming accident, Wickman lost part of his index finger on his right hand, to which he credited much of the sinking motion on his sinker.

References

External links

Wickmans's Warriors
– Official Bob Wickman Baseball Club {{DEFAULTSORT:Wickman, Bob 1969 births Living people National League All-Stars American League All-Stars American League saves champions Sportspeople with limb difference Arizona Diamondbacks players Atlanta Braves players Cleveland Indians players Milwaukee Brewers players New York Yankees players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Wisconsin Gulf Coast White Sox players South Bend White Sox players Sarasota White Sox players Birmingham Barons players Columbus Clippers players Lake County Captains players Akron Aeros players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Sportspeople from Green Bay, Wisconsin Wisconsin–Whitewater Warhawks baseball players People from Abrams, Wisconsin