Olise Cla Meredith III (; born June 4, 1983), nicknamed "The Claw," is a former

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 (AL) ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

. He played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

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 penna ...

, 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 ...

Collegiate career

Meredith attended

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

and played on their baseball team. Meredith was used almost exclusively as a reliever. He put up his best numbers in , going 6-0 with a school record 1.19 ERA, which was 2nd best in the

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

. Meredith posted 8 saves that year, with 70 strikeouts, and only 16 walks. He is also VCU's all time ERA leader at 2.52.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Meredith was drafted in the 6th round (185th overall) 2004 Major League Baseball draft by the

after his junior year at VCU. He started his pro career with their Single-A affiliate the Augusta GreenJackets. In 13 games, he gave up no runs and saved six games, while striking out 18 and walking three. He was promoted to

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

of 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 follow ...

after his performance in Augusta and put up a 0-2 record with a 2.20 ERA in 16 games with 12 saves, 16 strikeouts and only three walks. In , he pitched 15

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 over 12 games for the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

without giving up an

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

, striking out 12 while walking three. He made his major league debut on May 8, against

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. Meredith walked two batters before allowing a grand slam to Richie Sexson.

San Diego Padres

On May 1, , Meredith was traded to the Padres, along with then-Red Sox backup

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

Josh Bard, for catcher Doug Mirabelli. Meredith earned a win in his first appearance for San Diego on May 13, 2006, starting off a record-setting rookie campaign. His 1.07 ERA and .170

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

against led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(minimum 50 innings pitched). He did not surrender a run in 28 consecutive appearances, a span of 33 innings from July 18 through September 12. That streak set a franchise record, eclipsing Randy Jones' 30-inning scoreless streak. The 33 scoreless innings also tied

Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...

's mark in for the second-longest streak by a rookie since . It now stands as the second-longest scoreless stretch by a rookie relief pitcher in the live-ball era ().

Baltimore Orioles

In July 2009, Meredith was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for infielder Oscar Salazar. On December 12, 2009, Meredith avoided arbitration and agreed to a one-year contract with the

. After getting sent down on June 22, 2010, he was designated for assignment to make room for recently acquired Jake Fox.

Washington Nationals

The

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

signed Meredith to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training on February 2, 2011. On March 27, 2011, the Nationals released him.Nationals To Sign Cla Meredith
/ref>

Post-baseball

Meredith currently resides in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

with his wife and 3 children. He is a professional firefighter for

Henrico County Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is inc ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Cla 1983 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Boston Red Sox players San Diego Padres players Baltimore Orioles players Augusta GreenJackets players Sarasota Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Beavers players American people of Welsh descent VCU Rams baseball players