Taylor Buchholz (born October 13, 1981) 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 ...

Biography

Buchholz stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, and weighs 220 lbs. He bats and throws right-handed. He grew up and lives in

Springfield, Pennsylvania Springfield Township, Pennsylvania may refer to: *Springfield Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania *Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania *Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania *Springfield Township, Erie County, Pennsyl ...

. He is a distant relative of pitcher

Clay Buchholz Clay Daniel Buchholz (born August 14, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. Buchholz made h ...

Baseball career

Houston Astros

Buchholz started out as a minor leaguer for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. In 2003, he was dealt with Ezequiel Astacio and Brandon Duckworth to the Astros for all-star closer

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Ph ...

. Originally forgotten by many fans due to Astacio and Duckworth both quickly being brought up to the majors, Buchholz proceeded to impress scouts in the minors, showing promise for the future. After going 6-0 with a 4.81 ERA in 20 games for the Astros Triple A Affiliate

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

in 2005, Buchholz was called up to the Astros main roster in the 2006 season. His first success came in his second major league appearance in what was almost a complete-game one-hit shutout against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. The first hit came when second baseman Eric Bruntlett double-clutched the ball before throwing, allowing runner Chris Duffy to reach first base safely. After Jack Wilson singled, Astros manager

Phil Garner Philip Mason Garner (born April 30, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder with the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and ...

pulled Buchholz and brought in closer

Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...

, who struck out

Jason Bay Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball left fielder. Bay played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Seattle ...

to end the game. Buchholz ended up going 8 innings and giving up only two hits. On July 29, 2006, Buchholz was demoted to the Triple A

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...

. According to ''

SI.com ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'', Buchholz was included as part of a proposed December 7, 2006 trade with the Chicago White Sox to bring

Jon Garland Jon Steven Garland (born September 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. After being drafted by the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1997, Garland played for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Angel ...

to the Astros. The trade, however, fell through when Buchholz failed his physical. Buchholz denied this, telling the Houston Chronicle that he has not had a physical since prior to the 2006 season. These rumors were denied by White Sox general manager Ken Williams.

Colorado Rockies

On December 12, the Astros traded

Willy Taveras Willy Taveras (born December 25, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. A center fielder, Taveras has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals. Pr ...

, Buchholz, and Jason Hirsh to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

for Rockies pitchers

Jason Jennings Jason Ryan Jennings (born July 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball with the Colorado Rockies (2001-2006), Houston Astros (2007) and Texas Rangers (2008-2009). High school/college ye ...

and

Miguel Asencio Miguel DePaula Asencio (born September 29, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He began his pro-career in in the Dominican Republic. In 11 games, he went 0–2 with a 6.55 ERA. Asencio was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an ...

. In the 2007 season, Buchholz was utilized by the Rockies as a starter but was later moved into the bullpen. In 2008, Buchholz took up the role as a set-up man for Rockies closer,

Brian Fuentes Brian Christopher Fuentes (; born August 9, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Minnesota Twins, Oakland ...

. After missing all of 2009 due to

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 ...

, Buchholz made his 2010 debut on July 24, giving up a two-run homer to

Raúl Ibañez Raúl Javier Ibañez (; born June 2, 1972) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) now serving as Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations for MLB. He played 11 of his 19 big league seaso ...

. On August 17, he was again placed on the DL with lower back stiffness.

Toronto Blue Jays

On September 9, 2010, Buchholz was claimed off of waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and placed on the team's 40-man roster. He pitched two scoreless innings for Blue Jays in September before being waived. He was claimed off of waivers by the Boston Red Sox on November 15, then non-tendered on December 2.

New York Mets

Buchholz signed a one-year 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 lea ...

on January 3, 2011. His season was plagued by his battle with depression. On November 14, 2011 he was outrighted off the Mets roster. Minor Moves: Wood, Burton, Gonzalez, Buchholz - MLB Trade Rumors
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchholz, Taylor 1981 births Living people People from Springfield Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania American expatriate baseball players in Canada Major League Baseball pitchers Houston Astros players Colorado Rockies players Toronto Blue Jays players New York Mets players Florida Complex League Phillies players Lakewood BlueClaws players Reading Phillies players Clearwater Phillies players New Orleans Zephyrs players Round Rock Express players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Modesto Nuts players Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania