Daniel Michael Wheeler (born December 10, 1977) 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

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 ...

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

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 ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

from 1999 through 2012.

Career

Early career

Wheeler attended Pilgrim High School in

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

. He was drafted in the 1996 MLB draft by the

out of

Central Arizona College Central Arizona College (CAC) is a public community college near Coolidge, Arizona. CAC serves the population of Pinal County. History and campus Central Arizona College was founded in 1969. With five campuses and three centers located thr ...

. After the Devil Rays, he played for the

, who traded him to the

for minor leaguer Adam Seuss in 2004.

Houston Astros

In 2005, Wheeler established himself as a top

setup man In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

for the Astros, going 2-3 with a 2.21

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 71 games. On October 19, 2005 during the

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Natio ...

he recorded the last out at

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium (Busch Stadium II) was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 St. Louis Cardinals season, 1966 through 2005 St. Louis Cardinals season, 2005. Built as Civic Center Bu ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, a fly ball which was caught by Astro Jason Lane in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

off the bat of

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former catcher who is the manager of the Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Professional Baseball League. He played his entir ...

. He played on Team USA in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities o ...

in the offseason. On April 9, 2007, Wheeler became the Astros' closer, replacing

Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976), nicknamed "Lights Out", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia ...

. However, Wheeler lost the closer's job when Lidge overcame injury and returned to the team.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 28, 2007, Wheeler was traded back to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for third baseman

Ty Wigginton Ty Allen Wigginton (born October 11, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Colorad ...

. He is one of four pitchers who have pitched in at least 70 games each of the four seasons from 2004 to 08, the others being Scott Schoeneweis (who did so for five seasons),

Bob Howry Bobby Dean Howry (born August 4, 1973) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Early life Howry attended, and played baseball at Deer Valley High School in Arizona, then he attended McNeese State University and was drafted b ...

, and Chad Qualls.

Boston Red Sox

On December 17, 2010, the

signed Wheeler to a one-year, $3 million contract with a club option for 2012.

Cleveland Indians

On January 26, 2012, Wheeler signed a minor league contract with the

. He was added to the team's

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster on April 4. He struggled early, however, with an 8.76 ERA and two strikeouts in 12 games. Wheeler was designated for assignment immediately following the game on May 13, against the

in which he gave up six earned runs in one inning. After clearing waivers, Wheeler was outrighted to the triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, merch ...

on May 16. He appeared in 36 games for Columbus, posting a 3-3 record and a 2.32 ERA. On October 4, Wheeler elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On December 11, 2012, the

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 ...

confirmed they had signed Wheeler to a minor league contract with an expected invite to Major League spring training, but he would never appear in another major league game. He was released on May 11, 2013. Wheeler retired from professional baseball on February 7, 2014.

Personal life

Wheeler is married to Stephanie, who is the daughter of long time Rays play-by-play broadcaster

Dewayne Staats Dewayne Staats (born August 8, 1952) is an American sports broadcaster who has been the television play-by-play commentator for the Tampa Bay Rays since their inception in 1998. He is currently teamed with color commentator Brian Anderson. ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Dan 1977 births Living people Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Boston Red Sox players Central Arizona Vaqueros baseball players Charleston RiverDogs players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Houston Astros players Hudson Valley Renegades players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Omaha Storm Chasers players Orlando Rays players Pawtucket Red Sox players Richmond Braves players Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tampa Bay Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2006 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball