Robert Michael Seay (pronounced "See") (born June 20, 1978) is an American former

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 ...

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 has previously played for the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

from 2001 to 2004, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

in 2005, and the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

from 2006 to 2009.

High school

Seay is a graduate of Sarasota High School in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, where he compiled a 30–4 record in three years (1994–1996) with a 0.79

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 ...

(ERA) and 362

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

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. He led Sarasota High School to the Florida State Championship and #16 national ranking in his senior year, going 10–2 with an 0.70 ERA and 122 strikeouts and 29

base on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

in 70 innings. Seay was named First-team High School

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and a finalist for

Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

's High School Player of the Year Award. Seay was drafted 12th overall by 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in 1996 but was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

based on Major League Baseball's amateur draft rule 4-3.

Olympics

Seay was a member of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

baseball team that won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Major Leagues

Tampa Bay Rays

Seay was signed by the

and made his Major League debut in 2001. His first appearance was in

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

, allowing 1 hit and no runs. For the 2001 season, Seay pitched in 12 games. After the season, Seay was designated for assignment. He signed a minor league deal to stay in Tampa. He missed most of the 2002 season with a shoulder injury. In 2003, Seay appeared in 12 games while in 2004, he appeared in 21 games. He was traded in the offseason to the

for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

Reggie Taylor after being

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

Colorado Rockies

Then, only after three games with the Rockies he was placed on the 15-day

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 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

with a strained left pectoral muscle. After the injury, Seay managed to appear in 14 more games. His ERA finished at 8.49 with Colorado.

Detroit Tigers

Seay recorded his first Major League save for the Tigers on May 20, 2007, against the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. In 2009, Seay tore his rotator cuff in his left shoulder, ending a solid season in which he compiled a 6–3 record and 4.25 ERA out of the Tigers bullpen. After spending all of 2010 trying to recover without surgery, Seay gave in and scheduled surgery.Detroit Press News reporting the surgery.
/ref> He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seay, Bobby 1978 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Detroit Tigers players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Sarasota High School alumni Baseball players from Sarasota, Florida Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Charleston RiverDogs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Orlando Rays players St. Petersburg Devil Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Tulsa Drillers players