Joseph Cain Savery (born November 4, 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 ...

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. He played in

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(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

from 2011 through 2013 and

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in 2014. Before playing professionally, Savery attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

, and played

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for the

Rice Owls The Rice Owls are the sports teams representing Houston's Rice University in college sports. The name comes from the owls in Rice's crest. Rice participates in NCAA Division I athletics. A member of the American Athletic Conference, Rice sponsors ...

Amateur career

A 2004 graduate of Lamar High School, Savery was a four-year starter and letterman for the Lamar Redskins. During his tenure at Lamar, he earned first team all-state and first team all-greater Houston. He was a three-time first team all-district 18-5a honoree, and was voted the most valuable player in the district in 2004. Joe was named the 2004 Proline player of the year after hitting .556 with 7 home runs and 40 RBI as a senior. He also went 11–0 on the mound with 93 strikeouts, posting a 0.53 ERA. Joe lead the Redskins to be nationally ranked in 3 different polls during his senior year. Savery matriculated to

in August 2004, where he played for the Rice Owls baseball team. Savery concentrated on baseball, starting at first base and in the outfield when not pitching. As a

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

in 2005, Savery stepped into the starting lineup as opening-day pitcher and a regular in the batting lineup. Savery earned second- and third-team all-America honors while being named National Freshman of the Year and

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

Player of the Year. He was named first-team all-WAC at pitcher and first base after leading the conference with a .382 batting average and finishing second with a 2.49 ERA. In the postseason, Savery helped Rice to an upset

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

regional win over

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at formidable

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. In the NCAA super regional against top-ranked Tulane, Savery broke his right hand in the opening game while making a sliding catch against the Turchin Stadium fence. The injury prevented Savery from hitting, but he pitched into the seventh inning and allowed only one run in Rice's Game 2 loss. Tulane advanced to the 2005 College World Series with a win in Game 3. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

in 2006, Savery again earned third-team all-America status despite making only 11 pitching starts due to injury. At the plate, Savery hit .335 and was one of Rice's most dangerous postseason hitters, earning MVP honors in that year's conference tournament and making the all-regional team. He also hit a three-run home run in the decisive third game of the NCAA super regional against

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, helping the Owls to the 2006 College World Series. At the College World Series, Savery went 3-for-3 in Rice's opening-game win against

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but was just 1-for-9 after that. As a junior in 2007, Savery spent much of the season trying to recover his form on the mound after offseason surgery. He continued to dominate at the plate, leading the Owls in hitting, but struggled with control and efficiency on the mound while posting a sub-3.00 ERA. Savery was named a first-team all-America as a two-way player and earned his second conference Player of the Year award in three seasons. He saved his best for the postseason, leading Rice through the NCAA regional with a Most Outstanding Player performance that included a dominant mound performance in the Sunday clincher against TCU. Four days after the regional, during an emotional pre-super-regional press conference, Savery was selected in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Rice then swept

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in a tense super regional to advance to the 2007 College World Series. After hitting a homer in the first game against

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, Savery finally got to pitch in Omaha and earned the win in a 14–4 defeat of

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Professional career

Philadelphia Phillies

Savery was the Phillies' first-round

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pick out of Rice in 2007 as the 19th overall pick. After signing with the

, Savery was assigned to the Low–A Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League. In 7 starts, he compiled a 2–3 win-loss record with a 2.73 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and 13 walks. Savery played in the 2007 Arizona Fall League with the Peoria Saguaros. In 2008, Savery skipped over the Single–A Lakewood BlueClaws and was assigned to the High–A Clearwater Threshers. There, he went 9–10 with a 4.13 ERA over 27 games (24 starts). He compiled 122 strikeouts in innings while giving up 60 walks and 10 home runs. In 2009, Savery split time between the Double–A Reading Fightin Phils and Triple–A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...

. In Reading, he had one of his best seasons to date, going 12–4 with a 4.41 ERA and 77 strikeouts in innings pitched while walking 53, and giving up 13 home runs. Savery subsequently earned a mid-season promotion to Triple–A Lehigh Valley. There, he went 4–2 in 7 starts with an ERA of 4.38. In 39 innings he walked 24 while striking out only 19. In 2010, Savery was assigned to Lehigh Valley where his stats and his control got worse. He went 1–12 with his worst ERA of his professional career at 4.66, striking out 67 batters and giving up 51 walks in innings. During the off-season of 2010 it was announced that Savery would be converted into a batter, with the hope he can recapture his collegiate success. He participated in the FIL after the season to learn first base. During the off-season Joe worked on his strength and conditioning. He switched some of his training techniques from being a pitcher, and began training more like a hitter. After hitting .348 for the Triple–A

the Phillies were quite optimistic about Joe's chances of becoming a force in their Major League Lineup. After a successful spring training in 2011, Savery was assigned to the Clearwater Threshers, and as of April 15, 2011, was hitting .621, with four doubles and one home run. He finished the season batting .307 with two home runs for Clearwater. He was later promoted to Double–A Reading and Triple–A Lehigh Valley where he converted back into a pitcher, but this time as a

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 ...

. Savery compiled a 1.80 ERA, two saves, 25/6 k/BB ratio, in 25 innings pitched for the IronPigs. Savery was called up to the Philadelphia Phillies on September 16, , after spending most of the 2011 season with the Phillies' Triple–A affiliate, the

. He made his debut on September 20, against the

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. In his first four appearances, Savery faced nine batters, giving up one hit, recording two strikeouts and no walks. Savery opened the season with the Phillies, appearing on an

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster for the first time in his career. He was optioned to the IronPigs on April 15 to accommodate José Contreras's return to the active roster, but returned to the Phillies less than a week later after Cliff Lee landed on the 15–day disabled list. Savery started the 2013 campaign with Lehigh Valley. He was recalled on April 19 and made one appearance before being optioned. He was recalled again by the Phillies on May 6 when Roy Halladay went on the disabled list, but didn't make an appearance before being optioned. Savery was recalled on May 31 when the struggling Chad Durbin was released. On July 23, Savery was placed on the disabled list with elbow stiffness, and returned as a late–season call–up on September 3. In 18 games with the Phillies in 2013, Savery went 2–0 with one hold and a 3.15 ERA, striking out 14 in 20 innings. Savery was designated for assignment by the Phillies on February 16, 2014.

Oakland Athletics

Savery was claimed off waivers by the

on February 17, 2014. He was designated for assignment on September 1, 2014.

Chicago White Sox

Savery signed a minor league deal with the

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 ...

on January 22, 2015. He was released on March 30. On April 8, 2015, Savery announced his retirement from professional baseball.

References

External links

Joe Savery
at Baseball Almanac
Savery pre-draft scouting report
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savery, Joe 1985 births Living people Philadelphia Phillies players Oakland Athletics players Rice Owls baseball players Williamsport Crosscutters players Clearwater Threshers players Reading Phillies players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Sacramento River Cats players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Houston Lamar High School (Houston) alumni All-American college baseball players