Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) 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 ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...
. 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
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
, and
Texas Rangers.
As of 2014, he was one of only three active non-Hispanic
Native American players in MLB, with the others being
Joba Chamberlain of the
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 ...
and
Jacoby Ellsbury of the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
.
On June 26, 2015, Lohse became the 14th pitcher to
defeat all 30 MLB teams. In 2014 he pitched a complete 9 inning shutout for the Brewers, a feat not duplicated by a Brewer pitcher until
Adrian Houser on September 4, 2021.
Early life
Kyle was raised in
Ord Bend, California, and attended nearby
Hamilton Union High School in
Hamilton City, California. Lohse followed in the footsteps of his parents, Larry and Leslie, who were both star athletes when they attended the same high school in the 1970s. He played
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
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 ...
, and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
. While playing baseball, he was an All-Conference pick in all four years of high school. He was also on the Honor Roll and took several advanced classes. He graduated in 1996.
Lohse's mother has Native American and
Filipino ancestry and his father has
German ancestry. Growing up, Lohse did not think of himself as anything other than "
American" because the Nomlaki tribe did not reestablish itself until 1996.
After high school, Lohse attended
Butte College.
Major leagues
Minnesota Twins
The Chicago Cubs selected Lohse in the 29th round of the
1996 Major League Baseball draft. In 1999, the Cubs traded Lohse with
Jason Ryan to the Minnesota Twins for
Rick Aguilera and
Scott Downs. Lohse made his MLB debut with the Twins on June 22, 2001.
In , Lohse's first full year as a starter, he posted a 13–8 record with an
ERA of 4.23. He followed that with success in , starting 33 games and going 14–11 with a 4.61 ERA. In , he did not fare as well, going 9–13 with a 5.34 ERA. Lohse has been to one
ALCS, with the Twins in
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
.
On May 17, , he was sent down to AAA
Rochester, and the Twins called up replacement pitcher
Boof Bonser. On June 9,
Matt Guerrier broke his thumb and Lohse was recalled.
Cincinnati Reds
On July 31, 2006, Lohse was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for minor-league pitcher Zach Ward. Lohse made his first start for the Reds on August 17, 2006.
Philadelphia Phillies
On July 30, , Lohse was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor-league pitcher
Matt Maloney. After his departure from the Reds, Lohse's performance dropped off slightly, and in 11 starts with the Phillies, Lohse went 3–0, receiving a large number of no-decisions due to late offensive rallies by the Phillies lineup. His ERA for the Phillies swelled to 4.72, and he averaged fewer than six innings pitched per start.
St. Louis Cardinals
On March 14, , Lohse signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals worth $4.25 million.
Lohse was one of the biggest surprises for the Cardinals in the first half of the 2008 season, going 11–2 with a 3.39 ERA. He was later suspended for five games for throwing at Reds' pitcher
Edinson Vólquez
Edinson Vólquez (; born July 3, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City R ...
. Lohse appealed the ruling and pitched as he awaited a decision on his appeal, but Lohse eventually dropped his appeal and served his suspension in full.
Lohse and the Cardinals agreed to a four-year, $41-million contract extension on September 29, 2008.
On April 17, 2010, in a 20-inning game against 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 ...
, Lohse entered the game playing
left field in the 18th inning while
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...
Felipe López pitched.
On August 28, 2011, Lohse won his 100th game as a pitcher when the Cardinals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 7–4. That year – during which the Cardinals won the World Series – he led the Cardinals with 14 wins and a 3.39 ERA.
[ In the Cardinals’ come from behind win in Game Six of the 2011 World Series against the Texas Rangers, Lohse pinch hit in the 10th inning and delivered a key sacrifice bunt, moving the eventual tying run into scoring position. The Cardinals won the game in the 11th inning, forcing a Game Seven, on infielder David Freese’s lead-off home run.
Lohse was named the Cardinals' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2012.][Langosch, Jenifer.]
"Lohse honored to give it his all in opener: Under the radar, veteran Cardinals right-hander had stellar '11,"
MLB.com (April 3, 2012). In that game, Lohse did not give up a hit until the seventh inning, when José Reyes hit a single to right field. In total, Lohse threw innings, giving up two hits while allowing one run and striking out three. Thus, Lohse became the first pitcher to earn a win at the new Marlins Park
LoanDepot Park (officially stylized as loanDepot park, and named Marlins Park until 2021) is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida, United States. It is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on ...
.
His 16-3 won-lost record for 2012 led the National League in winning percentage, at .842, among eligible pitchers. He became a free agent following the 2012 season.
Milwaukee Brewers
On March 25, 2013, it was confirmed that Kyle Lohse signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
.
Despite moving to one of the most hitter-friendly parks in Miller Park
American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewe ...
to pitch with Milwaukee, Lohse continued to pitch well. In his first season with the Brewers, Lohse went 11-10 with a 3.35 ERA over the course of 198 innings pitched.
In 2014 Lohse pitched to a 3.54 ERA over the course of 31 starts and 198 and third innings pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
and struck out 141 batters, only two short of his career high. He became a free agent following the 2015 season.
Texas Rangers
On May 13, 2016, Lohse signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers worth $2 million, with another $1.5 million in performance bonuses. After two rough starts in which he allowed more than 10 runs, he was designated for assignment. Lohse refused his outright assignment and became a free agent on July 31.
Kansas City Royals
After sitting out the 2017 season, Lohse signed a minor league contract with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...
on March 31, 2018. On May 10, 2018, Lohse announced his retirement from baseball via his Instagram.
Pitching style
Lohse's arsenal features a two-seam fastball at 90-91 mph, a biting slider in the mid 80s, a downward-fading changeup in the low 80s, and a 12-6 curveball in the low-to-mid 70s. His slider is thrown harder than normal for a pitcher with his velocity and has a very tight break at the end, making it something of a hybrid between a cutter and a slider. At the beginning of his career, and until he began pitching with the Cardinals, his primary fastball was a normal four-seam fastball
A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...
in the low 90s. After signing with St. Louis and under the tutelage of Dave Duncan, Lohse started using a two-seamer, a major reason for his development. Developing his two-seamer and refining his off-speed pitches, Lohse has become known as a very good command pitcher capable of inducing many ground-ball outs without walking many batters. He is not a major strikeout pitcher, but in 2012 set a new career high in strikeouts with 143 in 211 innings, giving him 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings, with only 1.6 walks.
During his career in Minnesota, Lohse dedicated himself to working with Cars for Courage, an organization that serves disabled children through sports programs and activities.["The Outstanding Alumni Award,"]
Butte College Foundation website. Accessed October 16, 2012.
Personal life
Lohse and his ex-wife, Gabrielle, have a son and a daughter together.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lohse, Kyle
1978 births
Living people
American baseball players of Filipino descent
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American people of German descent
Arizona League Cubs players
Baseball players from Chico, California
Butte Roadrunners baseball players
Cincinnati Reds players
Daytona Cubs players
Edmonton Trappers players
Fort Myers Miracle players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Memphis Redbirds players
Milwaukee Brewers players
Minnesota Twins players
Native American baseball players
New Britain Rock Cats players
People from Glenn County, California
Philadelphia Phillies players
Rochester Red Wings players
Rockford Cubbies players
Round Rock Express players
Springfield Cardinals players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Texas Rangers players