Cole A. Kimball (born August 1, ) 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

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 ...

Career

Born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Kimball moved to the Great Meadows section of

Independence Township, New Jersey Independence Township is a township in Warren County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 5,469, a decrease of 193 (−3.4%) from the 2010 census count of 5,662, which in turn re ...

as a child. A graduate of Hackettstown High School, Kimball first attended St. John's University in New York, before transferring to

Centenary College of New Jersey Centenary University is a private university in Hackettstown, New Jersey, United States. Founded as a preparatory school by the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1867, Centenary evolved into a Junior College for women and l ...

and was selected by the Nationals in the 12th round of the 2006

Major League Baseball draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

Washington Nationals

After being drafted by Washington, Kimball began his minor league career pitching for the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont, United States, who were founded in 1994 as the Vermont Expos. They were members of Minor League Baseball, in the New York–Penn League (NYPL), ...

in the rookie-level

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. In five starts and eleven relief appearances, he pitched 34 innings, compiling a win–loss record of 1–4 and an

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 ...

of 5.82. Kimball remained with the Lake Monsters in 2007. He accrued a record of 3 wins and 6 losses and a 4.20 ERA over 61 innings, consisting of 13 starts and one appearance in relief. After an unimpressive 2008 season with the Low-A

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A (baseball), Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They pl ...

, where he compiled a 6-8 record and a 5.05 ERA he was promoted to the

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were situated in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to ...

(High-A) and converted to a reliever. His woes worsened, and although he saved 9 games, his ERA was 6.36. In 2010, however, Kimball seemed to turn the corner. Starting the season at Potomac, he was 3-0 with six saves and an ERA of 1.82 before he was promoted. With the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

, he continued to pitch well, earning 12 more saves to go with a 5-1 record and ERA of 2.33. Kimball started the 2011 season with the Triple-A

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...

. After 12 appearances, in which he threw innings, without allowing a run, he was called up to the majors. He made his debut on May 14, pitching one scoreless inning. He made 12 appearances for the Nationals before suffering a torn

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 ...

in July 2011. He had surgery, and missed the remainder of the 2011 season. Kimball was claimed off waivers by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

on November 16, 2011. However, the Nationals claimed him back on November 18. He missed the 2012 season as he recovered from his injury. On July 3, 2013, Kimball was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. He elected free agency following the season on November 4.

New York Yankees

On February 7, 2014, Kimball signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. In 18 appearances for the Double-A

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

, he posted an 0-2 record and 4.73 ERA with 28 strikeouts across innings pitched. Kimball was released by the Yankees organization on June 6.

Camden Riversharks

Kimball spent the remainder of 2014 with the

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an United States, American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, then unaffiliated with ...

of the

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 ...

. In 29 appearances out of 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 ...

, he logged a 2-2 record and 1.91 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 2 saves over 33 innings of work. Kimball became a free agent following the season.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On April 28, 2015, Kimball signed with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. In 5 games for Saltillo, he struggled to a 14.73 ERA with 4 strikeouts across innings pitched. Kimball was released by the Saraperos on May 7.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimball, Cole 1985 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Warren County, New Jersey Camden Riversharks players Centenary Cyclones baseball players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hackettstown High School alumni Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers People from Hackettstown, New Jersey People from Independence Township, New Jersey Potomac Nationals players Salt River Rafters players Saraperos de Saltillo players Scottsdale Scorpions players Baseball players from Brooklyn St. John's Red Storm baseball players Syracuse Chiefs players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Vermont Lake Monsters players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen