Peter Anderson Fairbanks (born December 16, 1993) is an American 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, ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

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). Fairbanks was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round of the

2015 MLB draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He debuted in MLB for the Rangers in 2019 but was traded to the Rays later that season. He currently serves as the Rays' closer.

Amateur career

Fairbanks attended Webster Groves High School in

Webster Groves, Missouri Webster Groves is an inner-ring Greater St. Louis, suburb of St. Louis in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 24,010 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is home to the main campus of Webster Universit ...

. He 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, ...

during his junior year of high school. Fairbanks attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

and played

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, ...

for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

from 2013 through 2015. At Missouri, he pitched for the

Hyannis Harbor Hawks The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

in the summers of 2013 and 2014.

Professional career

Texas Rangers

Fairbanks was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round, with the 258th overall selection, of the

. He spent his debut season of 2015 with the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

, going 1–2 with a 3.14 ERA over 57 innings. He spent the 2016 season with the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans St ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, going 4–5 with a 4.88 ERA in 101 innings. He opened the 2017 season with the

Down East Wood Ducks The Down East Wood Ducks were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a colorful local waterfowl. Establi ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, going 2–1 with a 5.79 ERA in 18.2 innings. Fairbanks suffered a second torn UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery a second time during the 2017 season. The injury caused him to miss the rest of the 2017 and the entire 2018 season. Fairbanks returned to action in 2019 as a relief pitcher, being assigned to Down East to open the season. He went 1–0 with a 2.92 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings for them. On May 9, he was promoted to the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. He went 1–0 with a 0.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 7 innings for them. On May 29, he was promoted to the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

of the Triple-A

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

. On June 8, Fairbanks's contract was selected and he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his major league debut on June 9, recording three strikeouts over two scoreless innings of relief.

Tampa Bay Rays

On June 29, 2019, Fairbanks pitched against the

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

and caught the attention of the Rays' front office. On July 13, the Rangers traded Fairbanks to the Rays for

Nick Solak Nicholas Blake Solak (born January 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), T ...

. After the trade, he was assigned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. Fairbanks finished the 2019 season going 2–3 with a 6.86 ERA over 21 MLB innings. In 2020, Fairbanks threw in 27 games of the 60-game season. He posted an ERA of 2.70, recording 39 strikeouts in innings. In Game 7 of the Championship Series against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, Fairbanks recorded a four-out save as the Rays won the American League pennant. On July 7, 2021, Fairbanks combined with Collin McHugh, Josh Fleming, Diego Castillo, and

Matt Wisler Matthew Robert Wisler (born September 12, 1992) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres out of high school in the seventh round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. He played in Major League ...

to no–hit 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 ...

. However, since the feat was achieved in a truncated seven–inning doubleheader game, it was not recorded as an official

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

. Fairbanks made 47 appearances in 2021, pitching to a 3.59 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched. On March 30, 2022, it was announced that Fairbanks would miss three months of action after suffering a 50% tear of his lat muscle. Fairbanks was activated off the injured list on July 17. In his season debut against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, he allowed a run on two hits with two strikeouts in an inning of work. He appeared in 24 games for the Rays in 2022, logging a 1.13 ERA with 38 strikeouts in 24 innings pitched. He also saved eight games in eight opportunities. On January 27, 2023, Fairbanks signed a three-year, $12 million contract extension with the Rays. He appeared in 49 games for the Rays in 2023, logging a 2.58 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched. He also saved 25 games in 29 opportunities. In 2024, Fairbanks appeared in 46 games for the Rays, logging a 3.57 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched. He also saved 23 games in 27 opportunities.

Personal life

Fairbanks's father, Shane Fairbanks, played

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

in the 1980s and in minor league baseball for the

organization in 1983. Fairbanks and his wife, Lydia, have one son and one daughter together. Their third child died from

Turner syndrome Turner syndrome (TS), commonly known as 45,X, or 45,X0,Also written as 45,XO. is a chromosomal disorder in which cells of females have only one X chromosome instead of two, or are partially missing an X chromosome (sex chromosome monosomy) lea ...

References

External links

*
Missouri Tigers bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbanks, Pete 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Milwaukee Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Tampa Bay Rays players Missouri Tigers baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Spokane Indians players Hickory Crawdads players Down East Wood Ducks players Frisco RoughRiders players Nashville Sounds players Florida Complex League Rays players Durham Bulls players