Gerald Alphonse "Jay" Witasick Jr. (; born August 28, 1972) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

. He pitched all or parts of 12 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) from 1996 to 2007, primarily as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

High school and college

Witasick attended

C. Milton Wright High School C. Milton Wright High School is a public secondary school located in Bel Air, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1980 with Robert Garbacik as its first principal. The school is named after Charles Milton Wright, a former superintenden ...

(

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. History Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, ...

) and

Brevard Community College Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public college in Brevard County, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as a Virtu ...

(

Melbourne, Florida Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is located southeast of Orlando. As of th2020 Decennial Census there was a population of 84,678. The municipality is the second-largest in the county by both size and population ...

) and the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral ...

. He also played in the Maryland Semi-Professional Baseball League All-Star Game in 1991.

Professional career

Witasick was drafted by the

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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

in the 2nd round of the

1993 Major League Baseball Draft The 1993 Major League Baseball draft began with first round selections on June 3, 1993. Alex Rodriguez was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners. Other notable draftees included Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, Jason Varitek, Scott Role ...

. He made his MLB debut on July 7, 1996 as a member of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

against the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. In 1997 and 1998, he spent time with the Athletics in spring training. In his first three seasons with Oakland, he made a combined 27 appearances. In 1999, Witasick was traded to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

for a player to be named, Scott Chiasson, and was mainly used as a starter. In 32 appearances, 28 starts, Witasick was 9–12 with a 5.57 ERA in innings. He struck out 102 and walked 83 batters. He began the following season with the Royals before being traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

for

Brian Meadows Matthew Brian Meadows (born November 21, 1975) is a retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Meadows pitched with the Florida Marlins for two years. He won 11 games in back to back seasons (1998, 1999) despite having an ERA over 5.00 in t ...

. Overall between the two teams, Witasick was 6–10 with a 5.82 ERA in 150 innings. In 2001, he was converted into a reliever full time, and was traded midseason by the Padres to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

for D'Angelo Jiménez. In a career high 63 appearances between both teams, he was 8–2 with 106 strikeouts in 79 innings. During the

2001 World Series The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three-t ...

, he appeared in one game, Game 6, in which he tied

Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

for the most runs allowed in a game in the Fall Classic—8 runs, in just innings. In December 2001, he was traded to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

for

John Vander Wal John Henry Vander Wal (born April 29, 1966) is an Americans, American former Major League Baseball left-handed hitter who played outfield and first base for eight different teams over 14 seasons. He is now a coach for the West Michigan Whitecaps. ...

. In 44 appearances for the Giants, he was 0–1 with a 2.37 ERA. In innings, he struck out 54. In December 2002, he signed a two-year deal to return to the San Diego Padres. He missed most of the 2003 season with a strained tendon in his elbow, appearing in only 46 games. He was 3–7 with a 4.53 ERA. In his second season, he rebounded with a 3.21 ERA in 44 games. He was a free agent after the season and signed a one-year deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. In 32 games with the Rockies, he was 0–4 with a 2.52 ERA before being traded to the Oakland A's in a deal that sent

Eric Byrnes Eric James Byrnes (born February 16, 1976), is a baseball analyst and former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Se ...

to the Rockies. After the deal, he was 1–1 in innings. After the 2005 season ended, Witasick signed a two-year contract to remain with the Athletics. He spent the majority of the 2006 season on the disabled list with a left ankle injury. On June 2, 2007, Witasick was designated for assignment by the A's and released on June 7. On June 12, he was signed to a one-year deal by the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

. On October 25, 2007, the Devil Rays released him, ending his professional playing career.

Post-playing career

Witasick joined the

Harford Community College Harford Community College is a public community college in Bel Air, Maryland. It was established as Harford Junior College in September 1957 with 116 students in the buildings and on the campus of the Bel Air High School in the county seat. The ...

baseball team as an assistant coach for the 2008 season. He remained with Hartford as pitching coach through at least the 2011 season. While coaching, Witasick also worked for TWC Sports Management, and later became a sports agent and represented

Terrance Gore Terrance Jamar Gore (born June 8, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He played college baseball at Gulf Coast Community College. He made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Kansas City Royals and has also played ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witasick, Jay 1972 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arkansas Travelers players Baseball coaches from Maryland Baseball players from Baltimore Brevard Tornados baseball players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Edmonton Trappers players Fresno Grizzlies players Harford Fighting Owls baseball coaches Huntsville Stars players Johnson City Cardinals players Kansas City Royals players Madison Hatters players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto A's players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players People from Bel Air, Maryland Portland Beavers players Sacramento River Cats players San Diego Padres players San Francisco Giants players Savannah Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Stockton Ports players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players UMBC Retrievers baseball players Vero Beach Devil Rays players American sports agents