Gil Meche

Gilbert Allen Meche (; born September 8, 1978) is an American former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Meche pitched for the Seattle Mariners for six seasons. With the Kansas City Royals, Meche made three straight Opening Day starts and was an All Star in 2007. Shoulder and back problems caused the former first-round pick to retire in at just 32 years old.

Early years

Meche, who is Cajun, was a star pitcher at Acadiana High School in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, and was a member of the U.S. Junior Olympic team that won the gold medal in the World Junior Baseball Championship. After his junior year of high school, Meche earned most valuable pitcher honors at the 1995 National Amateur All-Star Tournament at just sixteen years old. However, shortly afterwards, he suffered a viral infection that caused him to miss a considerable amount of playing time his senior year. Nonetheless, Meche was named to the All-America Second Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings. He intended to attend Louisiana State University, but reconsidered when the Seattle Mariners surprised him by selecting him in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft.

Seattle Mariners

Meche debuted with the Mariners on July 6, , two months shy of his twenty-first birthday, making him the second-youngest debut for the Mariners at that time (only Ken Griffey Jr. was younger). Pitching with a 2–1 lead over the Anaheim Angels and two outs in the sixth, Meche walked two consecutive batters to force in a run and surrender the lead. He ended up with a no-decision. On July 19, Meche allowed three earned runs in seven innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, earning his first major league win in Seattle's 7–5 victory. For the season, Meche went 8–4 with a 4.73 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games (15 starts).

Meche lost his first four decisions of the season. On June 13, 2000, in a game shortened by rain, he tossed a five-inning, one-hit shutout against the Kansas City Royals. After coming back to go 4–0 with a 2.64 ERA through his July 4 start against Anaheim, Meche was lifted in the sixth inning having thrown 113 pitches. His season was cut short due to what was thought at the time to be a dead arm. He went 1–2 with a 3.15 ERA in five rehab starts, but did not pitch at the major league level again for the rest of the season. At the major league level, Meche was 4–4 with a 3.78 ERA in 15 starts with Seattle.

In February , Meche underwent arthroscopic surgery to partially repair a frayed rotator cuff, and at the time he was expected to only be on the disabled list for six months. As it turns out, he ended up missing the entire season, and undergoing surgery again on October 3, 2001, on his right AC joint. Meche returned to pitching in for the Double-A San Antonio Missions of the Texas League, and went 4–6 with a 6.51 ERA in 25 games (13 starts).

Meche officially returned to the Mariners on April 5, . Despite giving up four first inning runs, and taking the loss against the Texas Rangers, Meche came back to pitch four solid innings in which he allowed just two earned runs on solo shots by Iván Rodríguez and Juan González. From there, Meche went 15–13 with a 4.59 ERA in 32 starts and innings pitched. He went on to earn the ''Sporting News American League Comeback Player of the Year Award at the end of the season.

Meche's season got off to a slow start as his record stood at 1–5 with a 7.06 ERA following a June 1 start against the Toronto Blue Jays. He was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League after the game. He returned to the M's on July 30, and proceeded to go 6–2 with a 3.95 ERA in 13 second-half starts. On September 12, Meche tossed his first career nine-inning shutout against the Boston Red Sox. Overall, Meche finished 7–7 with a 5.01 ERA in 22 starts.

On January 13, , Meche signed a one-year, $2.54 million contract with the Mariners to avoid arbitration. In 2005, Meche posted a winning record of 10–8, but had an ERA of 5.09 in 29 games (26 starts). He pitched innings, and averaged less than six innings in over half of his starts.

On January 26, , Meche avoided arbitration again, signing a one-year, $3.7 million contract. He finished the 2006 season with an 11–8 record and a 4.48 ERA in 32 starts. He also struck out 156 batters in innings.

Kansas City Royals

Meche signed a five-year, $55 million contract with the Kansas City Royals on December 7, 2006, matching Mike Sweeney's contract as the largest in club history until Alex Gordon agreed to a four-year $72 million deal in 2016. His record stood at 5–6 with a 3.28 ERA when he was named the Royals' sole representative at the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Francisco. Meche finished the season with a 9–13 record, while posting career bests in ERA (3.67), innings pitched (216) and a league-leading 34 starts.

Meche led the American League with 34 starts again in , while improving to 14–11 with a 3.98 ERA, and pitching over 200 innings for the second consecutive year for a Royals club that finished 75–87 and in fourth place in the American League Central.

On June 16, , Meche pitched a four- hit shutout against the Diamondbacks to improve his season record to 4–5 with a 3.31 ERA. The 132 pitches he threw, however, took a toll on Meche and he began experiencing back and shoulder problems soon afterwards. For the rest of the 2009 season, Meche went just 2–5 with an 8.46 ERA in his final nine starts. He made 23 total starts, going 6–10 with a 5.09 ERA.

For the first time in his Royals career, 31-year-old Meche did not receive the Opening Day nod for Kansas City in . Instead he was slated as the number-two starter behind reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke. Meche struggled throughout the season, and was 0–4 with a 6.66 ERA after making his final career start on May 25. On May 30, he was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder bursitis, which marked his second stint on the DL for the season. After five rehab appearances with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Triple-A Omaha Royals, Meche returned to the Royals as a reliever that September. He made 11 appearances, giving up three earned runs in thirteen innings for a 2.08 ERA.

Retirement

Despite a guaranteed contract that called for a $12 million salary in 2011, Meche chose to walk away from the game on January 18 as he considered it unfair for the Royals to pay him millions if he would be out all year in the last year of his contract.

In popular culture

The rock group Band of Horses, which was founded in Seattle in 2004, wrote and dedicated their song "Wicked Gil" to Meche.

References

External links

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Retrosheet

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meche, Gil
1978 births
Living people
American League All-Stars
Arizona League Mariners players
Baseball players from Lafayette, Louisiana
Cajun sportspeople
Cardenales de Lara players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Everett AquaSox players
Kansas City Royals players
Major League Baseball pitchers
New Haven Ravens players
Northwest Arkansas Naturals players
Omaha Royals players
Sportspeople from Mansfield, Texas
Baseball players from Ellis County, Texas
San Antonio Missions players
Seattle Mariners players
Tacoma Rainiers players
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players