Daniel Lee Kolb (born March 29, 1975) 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 played for the Texas Rangers,

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

Career

Kolb graduated from Walnut High School in

Walnut, Illinois Walnut is a village in Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The residents of Walnut are known as "Walnutions" a unique demonym. The population was 1,311 at the 2020 census, down from 1,416 at the 2010 census and 1,461 at the 2000 census. It ...

. Kolb was drafted by the Texas Rangers in and made his major league debut with Texas in 1999. He spent that season and the next three being shuttled between the Rangers and their

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

system. Released before the season, he signed as a

free agent 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 ...

with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he became the closer, converting 60 of 67 save opportunities in 2003 and 2004 and making the 2004 NL All-Star team. Before the 2005 season, the Atlanta Braves returned closer

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time Ma ...

to his original starter role to compensate for several losses in their pitching rotation. The Braves traded pitchers

José Capellán José Francisco Capellán (January 13, 1981 – April 7, 2015) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 2004 to 2008 for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies. He ...

and Alec Zumwalt to the Brewers for Kolb to replace Smoltz in the bullpen. However, Kolb endured a poor season with the Braves, going 3-8 with a 5.93 ERA while recording only 11 saves before being replaced in the closer role by

Chris Reitsma Christopher Michael Reitsma (born December 31, 1977) is a Canadian American former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from until , with the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, and Se ...

. He admitted following the '05 season that the pressure of replacing a legend like Smoltz played a big part in his ineffectiveness. At the 2005 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, Kolb was traded back to Milwaukee in exchange for reliever

Wes Obermueller Wesley Mitchell Obermueller (born December 22, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Florida Marlins, in Nippon Professional Baseball ...

. He signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Brewers on January 4, 2006 to serve as a setup man to

Derrick Turnbow Thomas Derrick Turnbow (born January 25, 1978) is an American former professional baseball right-handed relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Anaheim Angels and Milwaukee Brewers. Early career Turnbow was born in Uni ...

. He finished the year with a 2-2 record and a 4.84

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 ...

in 53 games. He declared free agency on November 1, 2006 and signed a minor league contract with the

on February 3, . On March 29, he was told he would not be added to the major league roster to start the season. On June 12, the Pirates recalled Kolb from Triple-A Indianapolis. Kolb was designated for assignment and was released from the Pirates after he declined the option to go to the minor leagues. Kolb signed a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring Training with the Boston Red Sox on January 22, 2008. He was released on April 26, 2008.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolb, Dan 1975 births Living people Baseball players from Whiteside County, Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Milwaukee Brewers players Atlanta Braves players Pittsburgh Pirates players National League All-Stars Gulf Coast Rangers players Charleston RiverDogs players Charlotte Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Oklahoma RedHawks players Indianapolis Indians players Pawtucket Red Sox players Illinois State Redbirds baseball players People from Sterling, Illinois