Duane Arthur Below ( ; born November 15, 1985) 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 has 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

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

and

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 ...

. Below has also played in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

Kia Tigers The Kia Tigers () are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are members of the KBO League and are the most successful ...

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

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current n ...

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

Prior to playing professionally, Below attended

Britton-Macon Area School District The Britton-Macon Area School District, often shortened to Britton Schools, was in Lenawee County, Michigan and covered the area of Ridgeway and Macon Townships, though not exclusively. It had one building in Britton, Michigan which handl ...

, in

Britton, Michigan Britton is a village in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 537 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Ridgeway Township. History The village of Britton was originally called Balch and was established ...

and

Lake Michigan College Lake Michigan College is a public community college in Berrien County, Michigan. The main campus is in Benton Township, Michigan with regional campuses in Niles and South Haven. History Lake Michigan College was founded as Benton Harbor Juni ...

. He was drafted by the Tigers in the 19th round of the 2006 amateur draft and began his professional career that year. He is the first player from Britton to be on a major league roster. Below pitched for two teams in 2006, the

GCL Tigers The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home game ...

(15 games) and the

Oneonta Tigers The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games ...

(two games). Overall, he went 2–0 with a 2.09 ERA in 17 games (six starts). In 2007, he pitched for the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpar ...

, going 13–5 with a 2.97 ERA in 26 starts, striking out 160 batters in innings. With the

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

in 2008, he went 8–7 with a 4.46 ERA in 27 games (26 starts). He split 2009 between Lakeland (six games) and the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving as the Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Ti ...

(two games), going 2–4 with a 2.70 ERA in eight starts overall. With Erie again in 2010, he went 7–12 with a 4.93 ERA in 28 starts. Following the reassignment of

Charlie Furbush Charles Roderick Furbush (born April 11, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners. Early life and career Furbush was born in South Portland, M ...

from the Tigers to the Toledo Mud Hens, Below was called up to assume a starting vacancy. Below took the place on the active roster spot for

Adam Wilk Adam Robert Wilk (born December 9, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles of Anaheim, New York Mets, and Minnesota Twins as well as in the KBO Leag ...

, while

Casper Wells Casper Charles Wells V (born November 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies f ...

was reassigned to allow Furbush to return to the bullpen. Below made his major league debut against the

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 ...

on July 20, 2011, allowing one earned run in five innings. Below earned a no-decision in the game. Below went 0–2 in 14 games in 2011. In 2012, Below was on the opening roster for the Tigers for the first time in his career, made available after an injury to Luis Marte. In his first two appearances of the season, Below earned wins in relief against the

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 ...

. On April 7, he won in relief of

Doug Fister Douglas Wildes Fister (born February 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Texas ...

, who left the game early after a left-side strain. The next day, he earned a win after retiring one batter in the 11th inning. The Tigers designated Below for assignment on April 24, 2013.

Miami Marlins

Below was claimed off waivers on April 25, 2013, by the

, who assigned him to the Triple-A

New Orleans Zephyrs New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

. He made two appearances for Miami, allowing three runs in six hits with two strikeouts over innings.

Kia Tigers

On July 31, 2013, Below signed with the

of the

. In 11 games (8 starts) for Kia, he logged a 3–2 record and 4.02 ERA with 38 strikeouts across 47 innings pitched.

Detroit Tigers (second stint)

Below signed a minor league contract to return to the

organization on December 11, 2013.

New York Mets

On February 7, 2015, Below signed a Minor League deal with the

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 ...

. He made 11 appearances (5 starts) for the Triple–A Las Vegas 51s, compiling a 4-3 record, 2.19 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 28 strikeouts over innings pitched. Below was released by the Mets organization on June 26.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On July 2, 2015, Below signed with the

. He ultimately made only one appearance for the team, allowing 5 runs in innings of work.

New York Mets (second stint)

On December 14, 2015, Below signed a minor league contract to return to the

organization. In 24 games (23 starts) for the Triple–A Las Vegas 51s, he compiled a 5–12 record and 5.27 ERA with 103 strikeouts across 140 innings pitched. Below elected free agency following the season on November 7, 2016.

Somerset Patriots

Below 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 ...

for the 2017 season. He was named an All-Star in a season that saw him make 46 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 ...

, in which he compiled a 2.89 ERA with 58 strikeouts over innings pitched. Below became a free agent following the season. On February 7, 2018, Below re–signed with Somerset. He made 22 starts for the Patriots, registering a 9–6 record and 3.99 ERA with 94 strikeouts en route to his second consecutive All-Star selection. On March 13, 2019, Below re–signed with the Patriots for his third season with the team. In 22 relief outings, he struggled to a 6.08 ERA with 30 strikeouts in innings of work.

Pitching style

Below's primary pitch is a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

at 89–92 mph. He also throws a slider (85–88), a

12–6 curveball The 12–6 curveball is one of the types of Pitch (baseball), pitches thrown in baseball. It is categorized as a breaking ball because of its downward break. The 12–6 curveball, unlike the normal curveball (also referred to as the "11 to 5 curv ...

(78–82), a

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 ...

(84–86). His repertoire against left-handed hitters is mostly fastball-slider-curveball, while against right-handers he substitutes the changeup for the curveball. His pitches have below-average whiff rates, and his K/9 rate is 5.1.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Below, Duane Living people 1985 births Baseball players from Lenawee County, Michigan Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players Miami Marlins players Michigan State Spartans baseball players Oneonta Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players New Orleans Zephyrs players Kia Tigers players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players Las Vegas 51s players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Japan KBO League pitchers Somerset Patriots players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Gigantes del Cibao players