Nicholas Gordon Kingham (born November 8, 1991) 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

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

and the

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 ...

, in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a membe ...

and

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the

CTBC Brothers The CTBC Brothers () or simply Brothers are a professional baseball team in Taiwan. The team was originally established as an amateur team in 1984 by the Brother Hotel located in Taipei City, and later joined the Chinese Professional Baseball Lea ...

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Kingham attended Sierra Vista High School in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

. In 2010, his senior season, he was 8–3 with a 2.01 ERA in 13 games. After his senior year, he was drafted by the

in the fourth round of the

2010 Major League Baseball draft The 2010 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team picking first. ;Key ...

out of Sierra Vista High School in

. He signed with the Pirates for a signing bonus worth $480,000, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. He made his professional debut in August 2010 with the

Gulf Coast League Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its hom ...

. He spent the 2011 season with the

State College Spikes The State College Spikes are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in State College, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Medlar Field on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. The team was fo ...

and the 2012 season with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a MLB Partner League, partner league ...

. Kingham started the 2013 season with the High-A

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

and was promoted to Double-A

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of ...

during the season. He was voted to the 2013

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star Game. He spent the 2014 season with Altoona and the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

. Kingham was added to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2014. Prior to the 2015 season, Kingham was ranked as the 67th best prospect in baseball by

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

. Kingham underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

in May 2015. He would miss the rest of the 2015 season before returning to make rehab starts in July 2016. Kingham finished the 2016 season with 10 starts across the rookie, Class A and Class AA levels. In 2017, Kingham suffered an ankle injury during spring training which delayed his season debut until May. Kingham began the 2018 season with Indianapolis. He was named

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

Pitcher of the Week on April 16, 2018. Kingham made his major league debut on April 29, 2018, against 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. During his debut, Kingham took a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New Yo ...

through 6 2/3 innings before allowing a single to

Paul DeJong Paul Sterling DeJong (; born August 2, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue ...

. Kingham went on to record his first career win as the Pirates won 5–0. On April 30, 2018, Pirates manager

Clint Hurdle Clinton Merrick Hurdle (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who currently serves as both the interim bench and hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hurdle played ...

announced that Kingham would remain in the Pirates rotation, with

Steven Brault Steven Joseph Brault (born April 29, 1992) is an American MLB broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates and a former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. Amateur care ...

moving to the bullpen to make room. In 18 games (15 starts), he finished 5–7 with an ERA of 5.21 in 76 innings. Kingham began 2019 in Pittsburgh's bullpen before moving to the starting rotation. He was moved back to the bullpen in May. He was designated for assignment on June 8 after going 1–1 with a 9.87 ERA in 34.2 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays

Kingham was traded to the

on June 13 for cash considerations, activated on June 15, was designated for assignment on July 18 and outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo on July 21. He rejoined the Blue Jays on August 2. On August 25, Kingham was designated for assignment and released on August 26.

SK Wyverns

On November 28, 2019, Kingham signed a one-year contract with the

of the

. On July 2, 2020, Kingham was released by the Wyverns.

Hanwha Eagles

On November 28, 2020, Kingham signed a one-year contract with the

of the

, worth $250,000 and a $100,000 signing bonus. He made 25 starts for Hanwha in 2021, pitching to a 10–8 record and 3.19 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 144.0 innings pitched. On December 28, 2021, Kingham re-signed with the Eagles for the 2022 season for $900,000. He made 3 starts for the team, logging a 1–2 record and 2.76 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 16.1 innings of work. The Eagles released Kingham on June 2, 2022, due to an arm injury.

Diablos Rojos del México

On February 27, 2023, Kingham signed with the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their ho ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He made one start, giving up 2 earned runs in 5.0 innings pitched. On May 2, Kingham was released in order to pursue an opportunity in Asia.

CTBC Brothers

On May 3, 2023, Kingham signed with the

of the

(CPBL). In 5 starts for the Brothers, he went 3–0 with a 7.71 ERA and 13 strikeouts in innings pitched. On July 13, Kingham was released by the club. It was subsequently reported that the release was a result of Kingham deciding to retire from professional baseball.

Personal life

Nick's brother, Nolan, played

for the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, was taken in the 12th round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

by the

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 ...

, and currently plays for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingham, Nick 1991 births Living people Altoona Curve players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in South Korea Baseball players from Houston Bradenton Marauders players 21st-century American sportsmen Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players CTBC Brothers players Diablos Rojos del México players Gulf Coast Pirates players Hanwha Eagles players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players SSG Landers players State College Spikes players Toronto Blue Jays players West Virginia Power players