Justin Craig Duchscherer UKE-shur(born November 19, 1977) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 pitched 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 (A ...

for the Texas Rangers and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

Playing career

Early career

Duchscherer (nickname: "The Duke of Hurl") was selected by 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 eight ...

in the 8th round (241st overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft out of Coronado High School in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

. His high-80s

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

made him one of the hardest throwers in the area, but his velocity soon ranked as only average as he entered the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...

. In , he went 7-12 with a 4.79 ERA in 30 appearances (26 starts) for Single-A

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. As Duchscherer continued to struggle in the low levels of the minor leagues, he was beginning to look more like a roster filler than a big-league prospect. But in , he turned his career around. He went 6-3 with a 2.44 ERA in 12 starts for Double-A Trenton before being traded to the Texas Rangers for

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

Doug Mirabelli Douglas Anthony Mirabelli (born October 18, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), Boston Red Sox (2001–2005), and San Diego Padres (2006) before returning to ...

. He finished the year pitching well with the Texas organization, going 4-0 for Double-A

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

and sporting a 2.84 ERA after his call-up to Triple-A

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He received his first major league call-up in 2001, a very forgettable one. He went 1-1 with a 12.27 ERA for the Rangers.

Oakland Athletics

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

, Duchscherer was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Luis Vizcaíno. After suffering a lower back injury in 2002, Duchscherer bounced back in 2003, going 14-2 with a 3.25 ERA for Triple-A

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. In his last year of Triple-A, he started the All-Star game even though the chosen starting pitcher was Harden. A few hours before the game, Harden got called up to the major leagues, clearing the way for Duchscherer to start the game. On September 9, 2003, he made a start for the A's in place of ace

Mark Mulder Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All ...

against the

Anaheim 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 h ...

in the heat of a tight division race. He pitched 7 scoreless innings to earn his first win. That same day, his wife gave birth to their first son, Evan Duchscherer. In the spring of , the A's chose Duchscherer over Chad Harville, and traded Harville to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

for

Kirk Saarloos Kirk Craig Saarloos (born May 23, 1979) is an American baseball coach and former pitcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the TCU Horned Frogs. He played college baseball at Cal State Fullerton for coach George Horton from 1999 to 2001 ...

. Duchscherer appeared in 53 games out of the bullpen, sporting an ERA of 3.27. In 2005, he was selected to the

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 ...

All-Star team, the A's lone representative, but did not pitch in the game. He finished the year with 7 wins out of the bullpen and a 2.21 ERA as the top setup man for rookie closer

Huston Street Huston Lowell Street ( ; born August 2, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. After ...

. During the season, Duchscherer spent most of the season on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with an injured right hip that required season-ending surgery. For the season, Duchscherer returned to the starting rotation for the A's. Duchscherer spent about three weeks on the disabled list with an inflamed biceps in April. After returning to the rotation, Duchscherer was outstanding and, at one point, led the major leagues in ERA. He was selected to the

2008 MLB All Star Game The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stad ...

. Duchscherer missed the 2009 season due to shoulder and back injuries and a bout with

clinical depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...

. He became a free agent following the season, rejecting the A's arbitration offer. On December 30, 2009, Duchscherer signed a one-year contract with a base salary of $2 million, with another $3.5 million with incentives with the

Duchscherer made 5 starts for Oakland in the first month of the 2010 season, posting a 2–1 record with a 2.89 ERA, but went on the disabled list in May and missed the remainder of the season. He became a free agent on November 2.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 30, 2011, Duchscherer signed a one-year deal with 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 ...

. He was released on August 2.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duchscherer, Justin Coronado High School (Lubbock, Texas) alumni American League All-Stars Oakland Athletics players Texas Rangers players Major League Baseball pitchers 1977 births People from Aberdeen, South Dakota Baseball players from South Dakota Living people Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas Gulf Coast Red Sox players Augusta GreenJackets players Sarasota Red Sox players Trenton Thunder players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma RedHawks players Sacramento River Cats players Stockton Ports players