Eric David Ludwick (born December 14, 1971) 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 ...

(MLB)

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, ...

who played for 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 ...

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

Florida 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 (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

, and

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 ...

between 1996 and 1999. He also played two seasons in Japan for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

in and . In the middle of the 1997 season, Ludwick was part of a trade with between the cash-strapped

and the

that sent

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

to the Cardinals in exchange for Ludwick,

T.J. Matthews Timothy Jay Mathews (born January 9, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Houston Astros. Mathews wa ...

, and Blake Stein.

Biography

Ludwick attended the

University of Nevada-Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It ...

, and in 1992 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

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

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 ...

. He was selected by 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 ...

in the second round of the 1993 MLB Draft. Ludwick is the brother of retired major league outfielder

Ryan Ludwick Ryan Andrew Ludwick (born July 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, an ...

References

External links

1971 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlantic City Surf players Baseball players from Missouri Edmonton Trappers players Florida Marlins players Harwich Mariners players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players St. Louis Cardinals players Toronto Blue Jays players UNLV Rebels baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Australia Binghamton Mets players Calgary Cannons players Charlotte Knights players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Redbirds players Norfolk Tides players Pittsfield Mets players St. Lucie Mets players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub