Joseph Jason Putz (; born February 22, 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 ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. 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

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 ...

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 ...

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

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Early life and college

Born in Trenton, Michigan, Putz led Trenton High School to the 1995 Class B state championship. He graduated in 1995 and won the Mr. Baseball award for the state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Putz attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and 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 ...

in 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 ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 1997 and the

Hyannis Mets The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

in 1998.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Putz was drafted by the Mariners in the 6th round in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. He made his Major League debut with the Mariners on August 11, . In , he became the

closer Closer or Closers may refer to: Film and television * ''Closer'' (2000 film), a documentary by Tina Gharavi * ''Closer'' (2004 film), a 2004 adaptation of Patrick Marber's play (see below), directed by Mike Nichols * ''The Closer'', a 1990 mo ...

for the Mariners. All through the minors, Putz had been able to throw an excellent

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

that topped out at 97 miles per hour, but had been only marginally successful because his only other pitch was a below average slider. His first few years in the majors were not terrible, but they were also nothing special. In

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

before the season,

Eddie Guardado Edward Adrian Guardado (born October 2, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher and current bullpen coach. Guardado played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (–, ), Seattle Mariners (–), Cincinnati ...

, who had been the Mariners' closer since , taught him to throw a splitter. After mastering the new secondary pitch, Putz abandoned his slider and became a much improved pitcher. A few weeks into the 2006 season, Putz took over the closing job from the aging Guardado. He converted 36 of 43 save opportunities while posting a 2.30

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 ...

and striking out 104 in 78.1 innings of work. In 2007, Putz continued to improve his game. He made his first

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

appearance, where he was given a save opportunity. He converted 40 saves in 42 save opportunities with a 1.38 ERA, 0.698

WHIP A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

, 82

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and 13 walks in innings. On July 6, 2007, he was named the June 2007 winner of the "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award", recognizing the top relief pitcher for the month and on September 25, 2007, Putz was named as one of 10 finalists for the "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award." On July 14, 2007, Putz broke Eddie Guardado's Mariners' consecutive saves record. The streak ended at 30 consecutive saves. In 2007, he also became the first Mariner ever to win the

Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award The Rolaids Relief Man Award was an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given from 1976 to 2012 to the top relief pitchers of the regular season, one in the American League (AL) and one in the National League (NL). Relief pitchers enter th ...

New York Mets

On December 10, 2008, Putz was part of a three-team, twelve-player trade that sent him to the

in exchange for pitcher

Aaron Heilman Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Early life Heilman was born in Logansport ...

, utility outfielder

Endy Chávez Endy de Jesus Chávez Meza (; born February 7, 1978), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, Ne ...

, and prospects. He made his

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They are one of two major l ...

debut on April 6, against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, pitching a hitless inning. After a disappointing 2009 season, on November 6, the

declined to exercise Putz's 2010 team option, thus making him a free agent.

Chicago White Sox

On December 11, 2009, Putz signed a one-year contract with the

worth $3

million 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the ...

. On July 20, 2010, Putz set a Chicago White Sox franchise record by pitching 25 consecutive scoreless outings.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 7, 2010, the

agreed to sign Putz to a 2-year, $10 million deal with a $6.5 million club option for 2013. He earned $4 million in 2011, $4.5 million in 2012, and his option had a $1.5 million buyout. On October 20, 2012, the Diamondbacks exercised his $6.5 million option. On June 20, 2014, Putz was designated for assignment. He was released on June 27. Putz rejoined the Diamondbacks as a special assistant to club president

Derrick Hall Derrick Martin Hall (born February 17, 1969) is an American sports executive currently serving as the president (corporate title), president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hall joined the Diamondbacks in May 20 ...

in November.

Pitching style

Putz threw a mix of five pitches. He led with four-seam and

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

s (the latter to lefties, mainly) that were once in the upper 90s, but had settled in the 90–94 mph range. His main off-speed pitch was a splitter in the mid 80s. He also threw a handful of

cutters Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool) * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Pizza cutter * Side cutter People * Cutter (surname) * ...

and sliders, primarily to right-handed hitters.

Personal life

Putz was first nicknamed "The Big Guy", by Seattle Mariners broadcaster

Dave Niehaus David Arnold Niehaus (February 19, 1935 – November 10, 2010) was an American sportscaster. He was the lead play-by-play announcer for the American League's Seattle Mariners from their inaugural season in until his death after the 2010 season. ...

. Putz shared a dorm with

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...

while at the

. He married Kelsey Kollen-Putz in 2002, with whom he has four children; twin daughters Lauren and Kaelyn, son Ethan, and daughter Addison.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Putz, J. J. 1977 births Living people American League All-Stars Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Arizona League Mariners players Chicago White Sox players Everett AquaSox players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Michigan Wolverines baseball players New York Mets players Sportspeople from Trenton, Michigan Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan Reno Aces players San Antonio Missions players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players World Baseball Classic players of the United States Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players 2009 World Baseball Classic players