Erick Harding "Rick" Peterson (born October 30, 1954) is a former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

and

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

. He was most recently the director of pitching development for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles 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 American League's eight charter ...

. He was a pitcher in 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 (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

organization, but is most notable as the pitching coach for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

, and the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

. Peterson is known for his unique use of biomechanical research and

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betw ...

principles to help pitchers improve their pitching motions. His nicknames include "The Jacket" (because he always wears a jacket during games) and "The Professor." He is also known for placing his hand on the shoulder of the pitcher during mound visits.

Early life

Peterson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He graduated from

Mt. Lebanon High School Mt. Lebanon High School is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,801 students in grades 9–12 for the 2020–2021 school year. Its mascot is the Blue Devil. History The sc ...

in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

suburb of

Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Mt. Lebanon is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 34,075 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh. Established in 1912 as Mount Lebanon, the township was a farming com ...

. The

drafted him out of high school, but instead of signing with the Orioles, he chose to go to

Gulf Coast Junior College A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...

. He then attended

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until September 5, 1956, w ...

and graduated with a combined degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

and art.

Playing career

Peterson was drafted for the second time in the 21st round of the June

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

free agent draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. At that time, his father,

Pete Peterson Douglas Brian "Pete" Peterson (born June 26, 1935) is an American politician and diplomat. He served as a United States Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War and spent over six years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese army after his plane w ...

, was Pittsburgh's farm system director and future

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

. Rick Peterson played in class-A for the Pirates organization for four years, in 1976–79, and also made appearances at higher levels of the minors in 1982, 1983 and 1988.

Coaching career

Peterson began his coaching career in Minor League Baseball when he coached with the single-A Salem Pirates (now

Salem Avalanche Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

) of the

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 un ...

from

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

. In 1980, he was part of the coaching staff with the (R)

Gulf Coast 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 h ...

of the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

. From

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

, Peterson was with the (AA)

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

of the Eastern League. After his stay in Buffalo, he got a coaching position with the (AA)

Lynn Sailors The Lynn Sailors were a Minor League Baseball franchise that originated in 1980 in Lynn, Massachusetts. The Sailors were affiliated with the Seattle Mariners from 1980 to 1982 and with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983, when they were known as the L ...

of the Eastern League in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, Peterson became the bullpen coach of the

. Peterson held this coaching job with the Pirates from

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Cleveland Indians

His father was fired by the Pirates during the 1985 season, and Peterson left the Pittsburgh system after that season as well. He joined 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

organization in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

and was a part of the coaching staff of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

(AA) of the Eastern League in

, Buffalo (

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and ...

) of the American Association in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

and

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rocki ...

(AAA) of the

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

in 1988.

Chicago White Sox

After departing the Cleveland organization, Peterson joined the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

farm system and spent six seasons there as a pitching coach. Peterson was with

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

(AA) of the Southern League in 1989–91, Vancouver (AAA) of the American Association in 1992, and Nashville (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League in 1993–94. After spending many years in the minor leagues, Peterson was promoted to the White Sox on June 21, 1994. From 1994 to 1995, Peterson stayed with the White Sox as a Co-director of the

sports psychology Sport psychology was defined by the European Federation of Sport in 1996, as the study of the psychological basis, processes, and effects of sport. Otherwise, sport is considered as any physical activity where the individuals engage for competi ...

program as it related to performance behavior.

Toronto Blue Jays

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on b ...

, Peterson became 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) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

minor league pitching coordinator. The following season, he was the pitching coach of the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Double ...

, then the AA affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

Oakland Athletics

Peterson joined the

organization as a roving minor league pitching instructor for the 1998 season. He was named the major league pitching coach for the A's on March 26, 1998. He is well known for helping the A's develop the ‘Big Three’ of

Barry Zito Barry William Zito (born May 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. His pitching repertoire consisted of a curveball ...

Mark Mulder Mark Alan Mulder (born August 5, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed starting pitcher, Mulder pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals. He is a two-time All-St ...

, and

Tim Hudson Timothy Adam Hudson (born July 14, 1975), nicknamed "Huddy" is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, H ...

. All three pitchers became 20-game winners under Rick Peterson and Zito won the 2002

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Ha ...

. After he arrived in 1998, Peterson helped his pitching staff obtain an American League best

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

for two years, 3.58 in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

and 3.63 in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

New York Mets

Peterson joined the

in November 2003 as their pitching coach, replacing

Rick Waits Michael Richard Waits (born May 15, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Waits, who threw left-handed, played all or part of twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (1973), Cleveland Indians (1975 ...

. In July 2004, Peterson allegedly said he could "fix"

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

pitcher Víctor Zambrano in "10 minutes" and that Mets’ top prospect and former first-round draft pick

Scott Kazmir Scott Edward Kazmir (; born January 24, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics ...

was at least 3 years away from being a Major League pitcher. The Mets shortly traded Kazmir for Zambrano, which was poorly received by many Mets fans, and the negative response grew when Zambrano had dismal results with the Mets after the trade, while Kazmir was immediately promoted to the majors by the Devil Rays and had strong early success. Many believed that Peterson's statements indicated that he was a prime mover in making the trade. Others claim that Peterson was merely giving his opinion as pitching coach, and that any responsibility for the trade should fall on GM Jim Duquette, owner

Fred Wilpon Fred Wilpon (born November 22, 1936) is an American real estate developer and former baseball executive. He was principal owner of the New York Mets from 1987 to 2020. Early life and education Wilpon was raised in a Jewish family

, COO

Jeff Wilpon Jeffrey Scott Wilpon (born December 9, 1961) is an American businessman who is the executive vice-president of Sterling Equities, and the owner of the Overwatch League Esports team the New York Excelsior. He is the former COO of the New York Met ...

, or scouting directors Al Goldis and Bill Livesey. Early in the 2006 season, Zambrano suffered a season-ending injury to his elbow, and he was not re-signed after the season; the following season (2007) would be his last in the Major Leagues. Kazmir, in contrast, became a three-time All-Star (2006, 2008, 2014) and led the American League in strikeouts in 2007. Some Mets fans have also pointed out that Heath Bell floundered during Peterson's tenure as the Mets pitching coach yet thrived immediately after leaving the Mets, even becoming an All-Star with the San Diego Padres in 2009. "Everything in New York was so serious", Bell said. "I should keep my mouth shut, but I never do. In 2005, I didn't pitch for 28 straight days. I don't know if I did something to Willie andolph, then the manager of the Mets I didn't always get along with hen pitching coachRick Peterson.".

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 ...

listed Bell as one of its "Five players to watch in 2005"—along with Justin Morneau, D'Angelo Jiménez,

Dan Haren Daniel John Haren (born September 17, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Haren played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, W ...

, and

Josh Beckett Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time MLB All-Star, he played for the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Afte ...

. After a poor 2005 season, however, Bell's game appearances declined from 42 in 2005 to 22 in 2006 before he was traded. On February 2, 2007, Peterson's contract with the Mets was extended through the 2009 season. On June 17, 2008, Rick Peterson, along with Manager

Willie Randolph William Larry Randolph (born July 6, 1954) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played from 1975 to 1992 for six different teams, most notabl ...

and first base coach

Tom Nieto Thomas Andrew Nieto (born October 27, 1960) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and Philadelphia Phillies. Nieto is formerly ...

, was fired from his position with the

Milwaukee Brewers

On October 19, 2009, Peterson agreed to become the

new pitching coach. However, when new manager Ron Roenicke's staff was announced on November 15, 2010, it was revealed that Peterson had been replaced by Rick Kranitz with a year remaining on his contract.

Baltimore Orioles

In January 2012, Peterson was hired as the Director of Pitching Development for the Baltimore Orioles, a position he held through the 2016 season.

Business

In January 2009, Peterson along with Jim Duquette and other business partners launche
3P Sports
3P Sports combined Peterson's coaching philosophies for conditioning, pitching drills and sports psychology with biomechanical analysis data using the work done by Dr. James Andrew's American Sports Medicine Institut
ASMI
as the benchmark. The 3P Program claims to help pitchers of all ages achieve peak pitching performance while remaining healthy. 3P sells directly via its web site www.3PSports.com, or through a series of Channel Partners located throughout North America. Delivered over the web as a membership program with 24 × 7 availability, 3P pitchers get monthly updates designed for peak performance results.

References

External links

Prospectus Q&A: Rick Peterson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Rick 1954 births Living people Bradenton Explorers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston Patriots players Chicago White Sox coaches Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Gulf Coast Pirates players Jacksonville University alumni Lynn Sailors players Major League Baseball pitching coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Mets coaches Niagara Falls Pirates players Oakland Athletics coaches Sportspeople from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from New Brunswick, New Jersey Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Salem Pirates players