Steven Geltz (born November 1, 1987) 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

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

and

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 ...

Amateur career

Geltz was born in

Newfane, New York Newfane is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 9,666 at the 2010 census. The Town of Newfane is in the north-central part of the county, north of the City of Lockport. History The Town of Newfane was esta ...

to Roxanne, a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a healthcare professional who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized ...

, and John, an electrician. Geltz was raised in Ransomville, New York, a small town with merely 1,400 inhabitants. Geltz attended Wilson High School in

Wilson, New York Wilson is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 5,993 at the 2010 census. The town was named after an early settler, Reuben Wilson, who built and dwelt in a log cabin on the shore of Lake Ontario at the site of ...

. Only 5'9" as a senior in high school, Geltz was overlooked by most

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, ...

programs and all

clubs despite his talents as a pitcher, and attended nearby

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels

Geltz signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2008 out of the

and was assigned to the Orem Owlz. Geltz was called up to the majors for the first time on August 10, 2012.

Tampa Bay Rays

Before the 2013 season, the Angels traded Geltz to the

for pitcher

Dane De La Rosa Dane David De La Rosa (born February 1, 1983) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Career Prior to playing professiona ...

. Geltz spent all of 2013 in the

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 ...

with 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 ...

. In May 2014, Geltz received a 50-game suspension without pay after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time in his career in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The positive test was a result of recreational

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

use during the offseason. Geltz pitched his first full Major League season in 2015. On April 14, Geltz faced four

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 ...

batters and got four outs for his first Major League win. On April 22 against 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, Geltz picked up his first save in the Major Leagues. Geltz set a Rays franchise record later in the season by retiring 32 batters in a row. He lost the streak on June 24 by allowing an extra-inning single to

Ezequiel Carrera Ezequiel Manuel Carrera Reyes (born June 11, 1987) is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto Blue ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

Geltz was claimed off waivers by the

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

on November 28, 2016. He was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

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 ...

to the minors on December 3, but rejected the assignment and elected free agency. On January 3, 2017, Geltz signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

to begin the season. In 23 games, he was 2–2 with a 2.67 ERA. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Philadelphia Phillies

On January 2, 2018, Geltz signed a minor league contract with the

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

. Before the season, he was suspended 100 games for his third positive test for a drug of abuse. Geltz was released by the organization on August 15.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geltz, Steven 1987 births Living people Los Angeles Angels players Tampa Bay Rays players Buffalo Bulls baseball players Orem Owlz players Arizona League Angels players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Arkansas Travelers players Salt Lake Bees players Durham Bulls players Mesa Solar Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Niagara County, New York Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Oklahoma City Dodgers players