Anthony Thomas Slama (born January 6, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He is 6'3", and weighs 207 lbs., and bats and throws right-handed. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Career

College

After playing at Mater Dei High School, Slama played two seasons of

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Santa Ana College Santa Ana College is a public community college in Santa Ana, California. History In 1915, Santa Ana Junior College opened its doors to 25 students as a department of Santa Ana High School. It was the second community college founded in Orange ...

from 2004-2005, before transferring to the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

, where he played for the Toreros in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. Slama was selected in the 39th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft by the

. However, he did not sign and returned to San Diego for the 2007 season. Prior to the 2007 draft, he signed a professional contract with Minnesota.

Minnesota Twins

Slama began his professional career in 2007 with the rookie-level

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...

, and after only six appearances where he struck out 10 in innings, earned a promotion to the Single-A

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

. Slama spent the 2008 season with the Twins' High-A affiliate, the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex at ...

. He compiled a 2-0 record with a 0.50

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 number ...

and 12 saves in the first half of the 2008 season—helping

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

capture the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

first-half West Division title. Along with teammates

Rob Delaney Rob Delaney (born January 19, 1977) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and activist. He is best known for co-creating and starring as Rob Norris in the sitcom '' Catastrophe'' (2015–2019), and Peter Wisdom in the superhero films ''Deadp ...

, Brian Dinkelman,

Jeff Manship Jeffrey Michael Manship (born January 16, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cleveland Indians, and in the KBO ...

Wilson Ramos Wilson Abraham Ramos Campos (born August 10, 1987), nicknamed "the Buffalo", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelph ...

, and

Danny Valencia Daniel Paul Valencia (; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israel national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red So ...

, Slama represented the Miracle in the 2008 Florida State League All-Star game. For the season, he went 4-1 with a 1.01 ERA, 25 saves and 110

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in 71

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s to earn All-FSL Team honors, the Jim Rantz Award Twins' Minor League

Pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

of the Year and MILB.com's "Best Class A Reliever." He recorded the save in both division play off games against the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

, and in the Miracle's one win against the

Daytona Cubs Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Day ...

in the FSL championship series. His 13.94 strikeouts-per-nine innings ranked third among all Minor League relievers, and his .173 opponents' batting average ranked eighth. On July 20, 2010, Slama was called up to the major leagues for the first time, and

Alex Burnett Alex James Burnett (born July 26, 1987) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He is tall and weighs . He was drafted in the 12th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins. Minor le ...

was sent down to make room for him. He made his major league debut for the Twins the following day, against 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 , the team ...

. Slama worked one inning, striking out two in finishing a victory. Slama spent most of 2011 with Triple-A Rochester, but did play 2 games with the Twins in late May/early June. He spent all of 2012 in Rochester, and began 2013 there as well. On June 13, 2013, Slama was released by the Twins after an 0-4 start with a 13.50 ERA. Over parts of 5 seasons with Rochester, Slama went 6-10 with a 3.17 ERA in 137 appearances with 38 saves, striking out 200 in innings.

York Revolution

On July 5, 2013, Slama signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On February 17, 2014, Slama signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Base ...

, also of the Atlantic League.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On August 15, 2014, Slama signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and was assigned to the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. He only appeared in five games for the Lookouts and was 0–2 with a 6.00 ERA before finishing the season on the inactive list.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slama, Anthony 1984 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Beloit Snappers players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players New Britain Rock Cats players Rochester Red Wings players Gulf Coast Twins players York Revolution players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players San Diego Toreros baseball players Santa Ana Dons baseball players Baseball players from Orange, California Chattanooga Lookouts players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Venados de Mazatlán players Águilas de Mexicali players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) alumni