Michael Anthony Clevinger (born December 21, 1990) is an American

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 ...

for 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 ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

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 ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. Clevinger made his MLB debut in 2016.

Early life and career

Clevinger was born on December 21, 1990, in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which th ...

. He graduated from Wolfson High School in

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

before transferring to Seminole Community College after his freshman season. After the 2011 season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels

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 ...

selected Clevinger in the fourth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the fir ...

. He spent 2011 with the rookie-level

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home ...

, then was promoted to the

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 ...

the following year, pitching in eight games. He had elbow reconstruction surgery, and as a result only pitched in three total games in 2013.

Cleveland Indians

After pitching for two separate minor league organizations for the Angels in 2014, on August 7 he was traded to the

for Vinnie Pestano. Clevinger spent 2015 with the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, going 9–8 with a 2.73 earned run average (ERA). The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the season. Clevinger was called up by the Indians on May 18, 2016, and made his major league debut that evening. He returned to the minor leagues after three starts, spending the next three months with the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as cli ...

. Clevinger finished his time with Columbus with 11 wins, a loss, and a 3.00 ERA. He was called back up again on August 4, 2016, to start 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 ...

. He finished the season appearing in 17 games, 10 of them starts, going 3–3 in 53 innings. After injuries to a few starters in 2017, Clevinger stepped into the rotation and proved to be an asset for the Indians going forward. He finished with a 12–6 record in 27 games, 21 starts. He struck out 137 batters in innings. In August 2020, Clevinger was placed on the

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by the Indians and sent home by the team after violating

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

safety protocols.

San Diego Padres

On August 31, 2020, the Indians traded Clevinger, along with Greg Allen and Matt Waldron to the

in exchange for Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor,

Cal Quantrill Cal Paul Quantrill (born February 10, 1995) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for Stanford University. He was selected in the first round of the 201 ...

, and minor league players Gabriel Arias,

Owen Miller Owen Robert Miller (born November 15, 1996) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians / Guardians. He made his MLB debut ...

, and Joey Cantillo. On November 15, 2020, Clevinger and the Padres agreed to a two-year contract extension, with annual salaries of $2 million in 2021 and $6.5 million in 2022, with a $3 million signing bonus. On the same day, it was announced that Clevinger would need to undergo

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

and miss the 2021 season. On February 18, 2021, Clevinger was placed on the 60-day injured list as he continued to recover from Tommy John surgery.

Chicago White Sox

On December 4, 2022, Clevinger signed a one-year, $8 million dollar contract with the

with a mutual option of $12 million for the 2024 season or a $4 million buyout.

Pitching style

Clevinger's pitching repertoire includes a fastball he can throw as hard as 99 miles per hour, a curveball, a slider, and a changeup.

Personal life

Clevinger has three daughters. The first daughter was born on May 2, 2016. Their second daughter was born on March 20, 2017. Clevinger had another daughter in March 2022. Clevinger's nickname is "Sunshine," one he received after teammates likened him to Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass from the film ''

Remember the Titans ''Remember the Titans'' is a 2000 American biographical sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denze ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clevinger, Mike 1990 births Living people Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players San Diego Padres players The Citadel Bulldogs baseball players Seminole State Raiders baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Orem Owlz players Cedar Rapids Kernels players Arizona League Angels players Burlington Bees players Carolina Mudcats players Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Akron RubberDucks players Columbus Clippers players