Colby Preston Lewis (born August 2, 1979), popularly nicknamed "Cobra", 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 ...

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, ...

. 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

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 ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

, and Texas Rangers and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

. Lewis was originally a first-round draft choice ( sandwich pick) of the Texas Rangers in the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

and made his major league debut in . He played for the

of Japan's

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

from 2008 to 2009, during which he won two awards for most

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. Upon his return to the Rangers, he helped lead the team to two consecutive

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

pennants in 2010 and 2011.

Amateur career

Lewis is a graduate of North High School in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

. Lewis attended

Bakersfield College Bakersfield College (BC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in Bakersfield, California. BC serves about 31,000 students each semester or 46,500 annually, and offers associate degrees, certifica ...

, where, as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

, he won first team

Western State Conference The Western State Conference (WSC) is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. The conference was established in 1950, making it the oldest community college conference in Califo ...

honors, going 4–5,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

108, and posting a 2.86

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Lewis was the 38th overall player selected in the

. He was a highly regarded prospect coming up in the Rangers' system and in three seasons with them had a career ERA of 6.83. Of particular note was his unusual season, where he managed to post a winning record of 10–9 in 26 starts despite a 7.30 ERA.

Detroit Tigers

Lewis suffered an injury early in the season and missed most of the year after undergoing

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

. He was claimed off waivers by the

after the 2004 season. Lewis made only 2 appearances in 2006 with an ERA of exactly 3.00. Lewis would also be eligible to participate in the postseason despite his short tenured 2006 season. The Tigers ventured in the postseason but lost in the World Series to 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 ...

Washington Nationals

In 2007, Lewis signed a minor league deal for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

. On March 20, , the Nationals released him.

Oakland Athletics

About 4 days after his release from the Nationals, Lewis signed a minor league deal for the

. Lewis began 2007 on the A's Triple-A team, the

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

, where he posted an 8–3 record with a 1.88 ERA. The A's, in need of another starting pitcher to replace the injured

Rich Harden James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Early years Harden attended Claremont Secondary S ...

, called up Lewis on May 22, 2007. He started the game that day against 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 ...

. His A's debut was a disaster as he pitched 3.1 innings and gave up 10 runs on 12

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in the A's 10–4 loss. He was immediately sent to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

after that start. Lewis finished the 2007 season with an 0–2 record and a 6.45 ERA in 26 games. Following the 2007 season, on November 2, 2007, Lewis was claimed off waivers by

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

; he was then released on December 5, 2007.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Lewis with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp For the 2008 season, Lewis signed with the

Hiroshima Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

of Japan's Central League. He had a spectacular season with Hiroshima, finishing second in the Central League in wins with 15 ( Seth Greisinger of the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

led the CL with 17 wins), second in the league in ERA (2.68, Masanori Ishikawa of the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

was first at 2.68), and 1st in the league in strikeouts (189), beating out Greisinger by almost 20 K's. His 2009 season with the Carp was equally successful. Lewis finished with 186 strikeouts, again leading the league. Although his performance was outstanding, he resigned from the team in hopes of pitching once again in the Major Leagues. He is also renowned for home runs, which is unusual for a pitcher. (The

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

rule is not used in the Central League except in interleague games.) He has 5 NPB career home runs (2 in 2008 and 3 in 2009).

Second stint with the Texas Rangers

2010

On January 14, 2010, Lewis agreed to a two-year contract with the Texas Rangers. At the end of April, he led the American League in strikeouts and was tied for second in the majors with Dan Haren behind

Tim Lincecum Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "the Freak", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the San Francisco Giants. A two-time Cy Young Award ...

. He got his first-ever complete game in Major League Baseball against the Houston Astros on June 19. Lewis with the Rangers in 2010 On October 16, Lewis started Game 2 of the 2010 American League Championship Series at home against the New York Yankees. Lewis went 5.2 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 6 hits. However, he earned the decision, and became the first Ranger pitcher to win a post-season home game in franchise history. On October 22, Lewis started Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, also at home, against the New York Yankees. He pitched 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, aiding the Rangers to a decisive 6–1 victory. The win allowed the Rangers to win the Series and earn their first-ever American League Pennant. On October 30, Lewis started game 3 of the

2010 World Series The 2010 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2010 Major League Baseball season, 2010 season. The 106th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American L ...

, at home against the San Francisco Giants. Lewis went 7 innings, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits, and earned the win which was the first Rangers victory in a World Series game (and first World Series win for an MLB team in the state of Texas, as the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

were swept in the

2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...

). After winning those two crucial home playoff games in the 2010 ALCS and Game 3 of the 2010 World Series, Lewis was, so far, the only Rangers pitcher accredited towards three of the Rangers home playoff wins as no other Rangers pitcher had even one. The Rangers went on to lose the World Series in five games to the Giants.

2011

In April 2011 Lewis was the first MLB player to go on the league's newly created paternity leave list to attend the birth of his child. A player can be on the list for 24 to 72 hours. Lewis took one start off before returning to pitch against the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. In 2011, Lewis was 14–10 with a 4.40 ERA. He gave up a league-leading 35 home runs, the 7th-most in Rangers history. In the 2011 postseason, Lewis pitched Game 3 in both the ALDS and ALCS, and Games 2 and 6 of the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

2012

In the 2012 season, Lewis went 6–6 with an ERA of 3.43 until being placed on the disabled list due to a torn flexor tendon in his right elbow.

2013

Lewis began the 2013 season on the 60-day disabled list as he was still recovering from the elbow surgery he previously had. He was expected to return after the All-Star break, but was subsequently announced to be out for the rest of the season due to bone spurs in his right hip. His elbow has recovered post surgery and rehab with a AA Frisco Rough Riders rehab assignment. On August 22, Lewis underwent

hip resurfacing Hip resurfacing is a surgical alternative to total hip replacement (THR). The procedure consists of placing a cap (usually made of cobalt-chrome metal), which is hollow and shaped similarly to the cap of a mushroom, over the head of the femur whi ...

surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Lewis followed that with a rigorous rehab program, and he was re-signed by the Rangers to a minor-league deal in November.

2014

Lewis pitched for the Rangers in 2014 spring training, include a shutout start versus the Seattle Mariners. After spring training, Lewis was assigned to the AAA Round Rock Express. April 14, 2014, marked Lewis' return to MLB, starting a game against the Seattle Mariners.

2015

On September 11, Lewis had the best outing in his career when he flirted with a perfect game against the Oakland Athletics through seven innings. However, Danny Valencia broke up the perfect game and

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

with a lead off double in the 8th inning, but Lewis went on to pitch a two hit complete game shutout in a 4–0 Rangers victory, with the other hit being a

Max Muncy Maxwell Steven Muncy (born August 25, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears baseball, Baylor Bears. He was selected by the ...

single. Lewis finished the 2015 season with a win–loss record of 17-9 and a 4.66 ERA.

2016

On January 18, 2016, Lewis re-signed with the Rangers on a 1-year, $6 million contract. On May 20, 2016, in the bottom of the seventh inning, a line drive from

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros, who selected him f ...

hit Lewis in the back of the head, which proceeded to bounce high enough into the air to allow

Rougned Odor Rougned Roberto Odor () (born February 3, 1994), nicknamed "Rougie", is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Balt ...

to catch it from behind the second base to make the first out. Lewis was able to stay in the game afterwards. On June 16, 2016, Lewis again flirted with perfection against the Oakland, not allowing a baserunner until the 8th inning, when he walked Yonder Alonso.

later broke up the no-hitter in the 9th with a double that was nearly caught, and Lewis finished out the 5–1 complete game victory. The start improved Lewis's record to 6–0, and his

dropped to 2.81, good for 5th in the

, and best in the Rangers AL-leading rotation at the time. However, Lewis lost all of his next five starts between June and September (missing all of July and August due to a lat strain), finishing the year with a 6–5 record and a 3.71 ERA. He became a free agent following the season.

Post-playing career

Lewis was hired by the Rangers on November 6, 2017, to be a special assistant to general manager

Jon Daniels Jon Daniels (born August 24, 1977) is an American professional baseball executive senior advisor for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as president of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texa ...

. Lewis served as the bullpen coach for the National League team in the 2024

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

Pitching repertoire

Lewis threw two fastballs: a four-seamer at 90 miles per hour and a sinker at 89 miles per hour. His

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

and slider both averaged 84 mph, while his

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

sat in the high 70s.

Personal life

Lewis' wife, Jenny, gave birth to their second child, Elizabeth Grace Lewis, in April 2011. Lewis skipped a start with the Rangers to be present for his daughter's birth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Colby 1979 births Living people Baseball players from Bakersfield, California American expatriate baseball players in Japan Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Detroit Tigers players Oakland Athletics players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Bakersfield Renegades baseball players Pulaski Rangers players Charlotte Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma RedHawks players Toledo Mud Hens players Sacramento River Cats players Spokane Indians players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players