David Kent Purcey (born April 22, 1982) 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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, T ...

Amateur career

Purcey attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

at Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas, and then attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where he played for the Sooners baseball team. In 2003, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

Draft

Purcey originally was drafted in the 2001 MLB draft by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

in the 20th round. He then was drafted again by 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 the 17th round of the 2003 MLB draft, and finally drafted once again by Toronto in the first round (16th overall) during the 2004 MLB draft.

Toronto Blue Jays

Purcey made his major league debut on April 18, 2008, starting against the

and allowing one

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over innings. He was returned to the minor leagues after two major league appearances, but was recalled to the Blue Jays in July, and ended the 2008 season in the team's starting rotation. On August 27, 2008, Purcey started against the

Tampa Bay 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) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

and pitched his first career major league complete game. He recorded 11 strikeouts and scattered five hits through eight innings of work. Following

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2009, Purcey earned the third spot in the rotation, but switched spots with Jesse Litsch to separate the left-handers. Purcey was second in the rotation until May 1, 2009, when he was assigned to the Toronto Blue Jays AAA affiliate Las Vegas 51s. Purcey went on to split the remainder of the season between the Blue Jays and Las Vegas. He posted a record of 1–3 and a 6.19

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in nine starts with Toronto in 2009. He often struggled with his command, which improved somewhat with Las Vegas. On May 24, 2010, Purcey was recalled by Toronto and moved to the bullpen as a relief pitcher after Dana Eveland was designated for assignment. On July 26, 2010, Purcey recorded his first major league save against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

in a 9–5 win. He was designated for assignment on April 12, 2011.

Oakland Athletics

On April 18, 2011, Purcey was traded to the

in exchange for minor league relief pitcher Danny Farquhar. Purcey was acquired after injuries to Rich Harden and Dallas Braden.

Detroit Tigers

On May 27, 2011, Purcey was traded to the

for Scott Sizemore. Purcey was designated for assignment on August 2, he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens on August 10 . He elected free agency following the season on November 2.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 9, 2011, Purcey signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. He also received an invitation to spring training. Purcey spent the year with Triple-A

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, going 1–4 with a 4.37 ERA in 47 games (one start) while striking out 63 in 57.2 innings pitched. He became a free agent following the season on November 2.

Chicago White Sox

On November 21, 2012, Purcey signed a minor league deal with the

. He started the 2013 season with the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. On July 3, 2013, his contract was purchased by the White Sox to replace Jesse Crain who was placed on the

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. While with the White Sox, Purcey suffered a strained ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow during the last week of the 2013 season. He was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Charlotte on October 18. Purcey subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency. The White Sox re–signed Purcey to a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training on November 8, 2013. In 12 games for Charlotte in 2014, he posted an 0–2 record and 4.58 ERA with 15 strikeouts and 2 saves across innings pitched. On May 12, 2014, Purcey was released by the White Sox organization.

Somerset Patriots

On July 18, 2014, Purcey signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American professional Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League (EL), known as the Double-A Nort ...

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 ...

. He became a free agent following the season. He appeared in 9 games (7 starts) 39.2 innings going 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA with 36 strikeouts.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

On March 2, 2015, Purcey signed with the

of the

. He was released on May 31.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcey, David 1982 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Major League Baseball pitchers University of Oklahoma alumni Toronto Blue Jays players Oakland Athletics players Detroit Tigers players Chicago White Sox players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Auburn Doubledays players Dunedin Blue Jays players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Syracuse Chiefs players Las Vegas 51s players Toledo Mud Hens players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Charlotte Knights players Somerset Patriots players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players