Justin James Speier (born November 6, 1973) 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

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(MLB) from 1998 to 2009 for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, Florida Marlins,

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

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 ...

, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He attended Brophy College Preparatory in

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. Upon graduation from Brophy Prep, Speier attended the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

where he played

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for the Dons. He also attended

Nicholls State University Nicholls State University is a public university in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Founded in 1948, Nicholls is part of the University of Louisiana System. Originally named Francis T. Nicholls Junior College, the university is named for Francis T. Nichol ...

. Speier served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He is the son of former major league player and coach Chris Speier and the cousin of Gabe Speier, a pitcher currently with 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 ...

. Speier threw a four-seam fastball from an unusual angle which could reach anywhere between 89 and 94 miles per hour. His success tended to be directly proportional to his fastball velocity, because the fastball set up his best strikeout pitch – a baffling, darting forkball, which caused great difficulty for hitters because of his unorthodox arm slot. Speier also threw a two-seamer and a slider.

MLB career

1995–1999

After being chosen in the 55th round by the

in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft, Speier made it to the big leagues in . He appeared in one game for the Cubs before he was dealt with two other teammates to the Florida Marlins. He pitched 18 games in Florida and by the time next season arrived was coming out of the bullpen for the

. For the season, he appeared in 19 games. On November 23, , Speier was claimed off waivers by the

2000–2003

While with the Indians in , Speier went 5-2 during the regular season which was the first time he had ever won a game in the major leagues. He started the season back with Cleveland, winning his first two decisions of the season before he was traded to 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 ...

and just 10 days later without appearing in a game for the Mets, claimed off waivers by the

. With the Rockies, Speier recorded a 4–3 record in 42 games for the team. Between Cleveland & Colorado, Speier finished with an overall record of 6–3 in 76.2 innings pitched. In 2002, Speier was 5–1 with a 4.33 ERA. In 2003, he appeared in a career high 72 games. His overall win–loss record with Colorado was 12–5 while picking up his first 10 big league saves. He was then traded to the

on December 14, , in a trade involving three teams.

2004–2010

During his first season with the Blue Jays, he finished the season with an above average 3.91 ERA, while posting a 3–8 record and adding 7 more saves to his career total. In , his ERA went down from 3.91 in his first year with Toronto to 2.57. He also went 3-2 and appeared in 66 games, which was three more appearances than he had in 2004. During the season, Speier compiled a 2–0 record, with a 2.96 ERA and 25 holds. Speier become a free agent after the 2006 season, and on November 19, 2006, Speier signed a four-year contract worth $18 million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In his first year with the Angels, Speier had an ERA of 2.88 in 51 games. In 2008, Speier had a career worst, sporting a record of 2–8 with a 5.03 ERA in 62 games. In 2009, his ERA went higher, finishing at 5.18 in 41 games. Speier was then released on August 11, 2009. On January 28, 2010, Speier signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training. He was released on April 3 after not making the team. Upon his release, he retired from baseball at the age of 36.

References

External links