Patrick George Hentgen (born November 13, 1968) 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 dr ...

, and currently a special assistant with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization. He 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 (A ...

(MLB) for the Blue Jays,

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and

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 ...

from 1991 to 2004. In 1996, he won 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 ...

(AL)

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 ...

Early life

Hentgen was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan, in 1968. He attended Fraser High School in

Fraser, Michigan Fraser is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,480 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Metro Detroit region. History The Village of Fraser was incorporated by an act of the state legislature in ...

, and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Blue Jays in June 1986."Pat Hentgen Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2020.

Professional baseball career

Hentgen pitched in the minor leagues from 1986 to 1990. He then split the 1991 and 1992 seasons with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

and the Toronto Blue Jays. He made his major league debut with the Blue Jays in September 1991. Hentgen spent the 1993 season with Toronto. He was an All-Star and finished the year with a 19–9 win–loss record and a 3.87

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 ...

. He won his only start in the

1993 World Series The 1993 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) season. The 90th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the defending World Series champion and American League (AL) champio ...

and helped the Blue Jays win the championship. The following season, Hentgen was an All-Star again and went 13–8 with a 3.40 ERA. In 1995, he pitched poorly, going 10–14 with a 5.11 ERA and leading the AL with 236 hits allowed and 114 earned runs allowed.McGrath, Kaitlyn
"Chasing 20 wins and overcoming Yankees mystique: Pat Hentgen's improbable 1996 AL Cy Young award"
theathletic.com. November 12, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2020. In 1996, Hentgen went 8–6 before the All-Star break and then went 12–4 after the All-Star break. He won back-to-back AL pitcher of the month awards in July and August. Hentgen finished the season with a 20–10 win–loss record and a 3.22 ERA, ranking second in the AL in wins and ERA. He led the league with 265.2 innings pitched, 10 complete games, and 3 shutouts. For his efforts, he won the AL Cy Young Award, the first in Blue Jays franchise history. The following year, Hentgen was an All-Star for the third and final time. He went 15–10 with a 3.68 ERA and led the AL with 264 innings pitched, 9 complete games, and 3 shutouts. In 1998, he went 12–11 with a 5.17 ERA. In 1999, he went 11–12 with a 4.79 ERA. In November 1999, the Blue Jays traded Hentgen to the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent the 2000 season with the Cardinals, going 15–12 with a 4.72 ERA. In December 2000, Hentgen signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. In 2001, he went 2–3 with a 3.47 ERA and had

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 ...

in August. He went 0–4 with a 7.77 ERA in 2002 and 7–8 with a 4.09 ERA in 2003. Hentgen signed as a free agent with the Blue Jays in November 2003. In 2004, he went 2–9 with a 6.95 ERA and then announced his retirement in July. Hentgen finished his MLB career with a 131–112 record, a 4.32 ERA, and 1,290 strikeouts in 2,075.1 innings pitched.

Post-playing career

Hentgen rejoined the Toronto Blue Jays under new manager John Farrell as their new

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the 2011 season. It was Hentgen's first coaching assignment. He stepped down in November 2011 due to family reasons, and was given the title of Special Assistant to the Organization. On December 10, 2012, Hentgen was again appointed as the Blue Jays bullpen coach. On January 4, 2014, the Blue Jays announced that Bob Stanley would be replacing Hentgen as their bullpen coach. Hentgen continued to work with the Blue Jays, as a special assistant to the organization. Hentgen was named to the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada. H ...

in the Class of 2016.

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hentgen, Pat 1968 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Detroit Bowie Baysox players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Cy Young Award winners Delmarva Shorebirds players Dunedin Blue Jays players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Orioles players Knoxville Blue Jays players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Myrtle Beach Blue Jays players People from Fraser, Michigan St. Catharines Blue Jays players St. Louis Cardinals players Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Blue Jays coaches Toronto Blue Jays players