Marc Jason Kroon (born April 2, 1973) is an American former right-handed

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 served as the closer for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

He was drafted 72nd overall by 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 ...

in 1991. The Mets traded him 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in 1993 as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in an earlier trade for Frank Seminara.

San Diego Padres (1995, 1997–1998)

On July 7, 1995, Kroon made his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres.

Cincinnati Reds (1998)

The Padres traded Kroon to 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 ...

for

Buddy Carlyle Earl Lester "Buddy" Carlyle (born December 21, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yanke ...

in April 1998. Kroon retired following elbow surgeries and did not play baseball at any level in 2001 or 2002. He came out of retirement and joined the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

organization in 2003 after coach

Mike Butcher Mike Butcher may refer to: * Mike Butcher (baseball), American baseball pitcher and coach * Mike Butcher (footballer), Australian rules footballer * Mike Butcher (journalist), journalist and editor {{hndis, Butcher, Mike ...

's brother-in-law saw him giving a pitching lesson in a park.

Yokohama BayStars (2005–2007)

Kroon joined the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

in 2005. After the 2007 season, Kroon and the BayStars failed to come to terms on a new contract, and ended up being a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. Kroon was later signed by the

along with two other major non-Japanese free agents: former

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

standouts Seth Greisinger, and

Alex Ramirez Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people *Alexand ...

Yomiuri Giants (2008–2010)

In 2008, Kroon led the

in saves with 41. He also broke his own record of pitching to 162 km/h (101 mph).

San Francisco Giants

Kroon signed a minor league contract with an invitation for spring training with the

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

in 2011. Kroon was reassigned to triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

at the end of spring training. Kroon was featured in the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

television production '' The Franchise''. On March 8, 2012, Kroon retired.

Personal life

His son, Matt, is an infielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

References

External links

* *Archived version of Marc Kroon'
website
while in Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroon, Marc 1973 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players San Diego Padres players Cincinnati Reds players African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Yokohama BayStars players Yomiuri Giants players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Memphis Chicks players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Indianapolis Indians players Arizona League Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen Arkansas Travelers players Salt Lake Stingers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Baseball players from the Bronx Capital City Bombers players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Mets players Kingsport Mets players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen