Stephen J. Fife (born October 4, 1986) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played for the

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), ...

(MLB) for 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Early years

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Fife was a member of Idaho's first-ever team at the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He graduated from

Borah High School Borah High School is a three-year public secondary school in Boise, Idaho, one of four traditional high schools in the Boise School District. It serves students in grades in the southwest portion of the district. It is named after a prominent ...

in 2005, where he led the Lions to the 5A state title in his senior season, their first since 1981. Fife was also a member of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Boise Senators, winners of the state title (AA) in 2004. He attended

Everett Community College Everett Community College (EvCC) is a public community college in Everett, Washington. EvCC educates more than 19,000 students every year at locations throughout Snohomish County, Washington, with most students and faculty at the main campus in E ...

north of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

and transferred to the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, where he was a Mountain West Conference All-Star for the Utes. Following his junior season, Fife was selected by 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 eight ...

in the 3rd round of the

2008 Major League Baseball draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

Playing career

Boston Red Sox

Fife spent 2008 and 2009 in Class-A with the Lowell Spinners, Greenville Drive, and Salem Red Sox. In 2010, with the AA

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

, he started 26 games and was 8-6 with a 4.75 ERA. He began 2011 with Portland, starting 18 games with an 11-4 record and 3.66 ERA.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 31, 2011, Fife was traded (along with

Tim Federowicz Timothy Joseph Federowicz (born August 5, 1987) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and ...

) to the

in a three-team trade that sent

Trayvon Robinson Trayvon Andrew Dwayne Robinson (born September 1, 1987) is an American professional baseball left fielder for the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mar ...

to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. In 6 starts with the Dodgers AA affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts, he was 3-1 with a 4.01 ERA. He was added to the 40-man roster after the season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft and promoted to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes to start 2012. Stephen Fife on September 6, 2012

Fife was called up to the majors for the first time on July 17, 2012 to make a spot start against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in place of the injured

Chad Billingsley Chad Ryan Billingsley (born July 29, 1984) is an Americans, American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers from through and Philadelphia Phillies in . He ...

. He pitched six innings, allowing only one run while inducing 11 ground ball outs and left the game with the lead, only to get a no decision when the bullpen blew the game in the eighth. He was optioned back to the Isotopes after the game. After one start with the Isotopes, he returned to the Dodgers after

Nathan Eovaldi Nathan Edward Eovaldi ( ; born February 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Ra ...

was traded. He made two more starts with the Dodgers on July 27 and August 1 before returning to the minors after the team acquired Joe Blanton. In 24 starts (and 1 relief appearance) with the Isotopes, Fife was 11-7 with a 4.66 ERA. He was later recalled to the Dodgers in September and made two more starts. In his 5 total starts with the Dodgers in 2012, he was 0-2 with a 2.70 ERA. Fife picked up his first career win on June 3, 2013, in a spot start against the San Diego Padres. He again split the season between Albuquerque and Los Angeles. With the Dodgers, he made 10 starts (and appeared in 2 games out of the bullpen) with a 4-4 record and 3.86 ERA. In the 2014 season, he made one appearance for the Dodgers, starting a game on May 4 against the

Miami 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 club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. He allowed four runs in six innings in that game. He also started nine games for the Isotopes (and appeared in relief twice). He was 2-2 with a 7.01 ERA before going to the DL with a sore arm. On August 13, 2014, he underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), 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 bo ...

, ending his season. On October 13, 2014, he was outrighted to the minor leagues and removed from the 40 man roster.

Chicago Cubs

On December 11, 2015 the Chicago Cubs signed Fife to a minor league contract. Fife spent the 2016 season with the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

, where he posted an 0-2 record with a 4.61 ERA.

Miami Marlins

On December 13, 2016, Fife signed a minor league contract with the

. He was released on June 16, 2017.

Saitama Seibu Lions

Fife signed with the

soon after his release from the Marlins.

Cleveland Indians

In February 2018, Fife signed a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Indians. He elected free agency on November 3, 2018.

Scouting report

Fife is an extreme groundball pitcher throughout his minor league and major league career. Fife relies on a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

, which he throws between . He also throws a curveball at and a changeup at .

References

External links

, o
NPBUtah Utes baseball
– Stephen Fife
Everett Community College Athletics
– Stephen Fife * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fife, Stephen 1986 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona League Cubs players Arizona League Dodgers players Baseball players from Idaho Chattanooga Lookouts players Columbus Clippers players Estrellas Orientales players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Greenville Drive players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball pitchers New Orleans Baby Cakes players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Portland Sea Dogs players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Saitama Seibu Lions players Salem Red Sox players Salt River Rafters players Utah Utes baseball players