Ryan Kittman Rupe (born March 31, 1975) is a former

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

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, ...

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 ...

. Rupe played in the majors for the

Tampa Bay Devil 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) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

and

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

Career

Rupe made his major league debut in 1999 for the Devil Rays, pitching in 24 starts while finishing with an 8-9 record. He was the first player drafted by the team to make the majors. The following season, Rupe had a rough season while battling with knee problems. Rupe finished the 2000 season with an ERA of 6.92, 75 runs allowed in 91 innings and 19 home runs allowed in just 18 starts. In 2001, Rupe pitched in 28 games (26 starts) for the Devil Rays as they struggled in a 62-100-0 season. In 143.1 innings, he allowed 30 home runs and 111 runs to go along with a record of 5-12. His ERA finished at 6.59. The following season, the Devil Rays finished with a record of 56-106-0 and Rupe recorded a decision in all 15 starts he had, going 5-10 during that stretch. He was released following the season and picked up by the Boston Red Sox. Rupe ended his Devil Rays career with a 23-37 career record. Rupe was the first acquisition for Theo Epstein taking over as GM of the Red Sox. Rupe had a 2.7to1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 6.7 K's per nine innings, above-average totals in areas that are strong indicators of future performance per Epstein. Rupe signed a minor league contract with the

. Rupe spent the majority of the season at the AAA level, appearing in just 4 games for the Red Sox. Rupe still holds the AAA PawSox record of most consecutive strikeouts, striking out all 9 hitters. In 2004, Rupe played in

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 ...

for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. For the 2005 and 2006 seasons, Rupe spent time in the

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

and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

minor league systems.

Personal life

He married soccer player Bryn Blalack.

References

External links

1975 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Boston Red Sox players Texas A&M Aggies baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Durham Bulls players Pawtucket Red Sox players Las Vegas 51s players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Hudson Valley Renegades players Charleston RiverDogs players Orlando Rays players Baseball players from Houston 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub