Brandon League
| Brandon League | |
|---|---|
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| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 31 | |
| Relief pitcher | |
| Born: March 16, 1983 Sacramento, California |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 21, 2004 for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Career statistics (through May 15, 2013) |
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| Win–loss record | 19–30 |
| Earned run average | 3.68 |
| Strikeouts | 316 |
| Saves | 69 |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
Brandon Paul League (born March 16, 1983) is a Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. League was the closer for the Seattle Mariners in the 2011 season and is a one-time All-Star.
Contents |
Professional career [edit]
Toronto Blue Jays [edit]
He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 2001 MLB Draft, and was signed on July 3, 2001.[1] He made his major league debut on September 21, 2004 against the New York Yankees as he pitched a solid inning and a third.[2]
Following League's breakout season in 2006, he engaged in strength conditioning during the offseason, and at the behest of the Blue Jays, did not pitch until spring training. As a result, he overdeveloped some shoulder muscles, resulting in a significant drop in his fastball velocity.[3] League was placed on the 60-day disabled list and missed the majority of the 2007 season. Both his velocity and effectiveness recovered the following season.
Seattle Mariners [edit]
On December 22, 2009, League was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with minor-league outfielder Johermyn Chávez for pitcher Brandon Morrow.[4] He signed a one-year, $1.08 million contract for 2010.[5] Because of an injury to David Aardsma, League started the 2011 season as the Mariners' closer.[6] He was selected to his first All-Star game as a relief pitcher for the 2011 All-Star game. On June 8, 2012. League was one of six Mariners to throw a combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Safeco Field. After a series of blown saves, League was replaced by Tom Wilhelmsen as closer. In 2½ seasons with the Mariners, League had converted a total of 52 saves in 69 chances with a 3.26 ERA.
Los Angeles Dodgers [edit]
On July 30, 2012, League was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor leaguers Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom.[7] He became the Dodgers closer in September after Kenley Jansen was sidelined with an irregular heartbeat. In 28 games with the Dodgers, he was 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 6 saves.
On October 30, the Dodgers re-signed League to a three-year, $22.5 million deal with a vesting option worth $7.5 million for 2016.[8]
Pitching style [edit]
League's main pitch is a very hard sinker averaging 96 mph in the 2012 season. (In 2011, he had the hardest sinker of any relief pitcher, at 97.3 mph.)[9] He also has an upper-80s slider that he uses primarily early in the count to right-handed hitters. He also has a splitter that he uses as a strikeout pitch. The splitter has a superb whiff rate of 55%.[10]
Personal [edit]
He is married with three children. He resides in Honolulu, and is hapa Yonsei. His maternal great-grandparents were born and raised in Fukuoka prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan.[11]
References [edit]
- ^ "Brandon League Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ "September 21, 2004 Toronto Blue Jays at New York Yankees Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ "Notes: League headed to Syracuse". BlueJays.com. 2007-03-25. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
- ^ Bastian, Jordan. Jays get Morrow, send League to M's, MLB.com. Published December 23, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ Baker, Geoff. Felix Hernandez arrives in Seattle: deal done pending physical, press conference scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, Seattle Times. Published January 20, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2010.
- ^ "Aardsma Set to Pitch Again on Sunday". NBCSports.com. 2011-04-23. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
- ^ Shelburne, Ramona (July 31, 2012). "Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Brandon League from Seattle Mariners". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ Gurnick, Ken (October 30, 2012). "Dodgers ink League to three-year deal". Dodgers.com.
- ^ "PitchFX Leaderboards". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Brandon League". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ Sogi, Francis Y. (2004). Riding the Kona Wave: Memoirs of A Japanese American. New York, New York: The Cheshire Press. p. xiii, 1, 163. ISBN 0-9762575-0-5.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brandon League |
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- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Brandon League on Twitter
| Preceded by Johan Santana |
No-hit game June 8, 2012 (with Millwood, Furbush, Pryor, Luetge, & Wilhelmsen) |
Succeeded by Matt Cain |
- 1983 births
- Living people
- Toronto Blue Jays players
- Seattle Mariners players
- Los Angeles Dodgers players
- American League All-Stars
- American people of Japanese descent
- Baseball players from California
- Baseball players from Hawaii
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- People from Honolulu, Hawaii
- People from Sacramento, California
- Medicine Hat Blue Jays players
- Auburn Doubledays players
- Dunedin Blue Jays players
- Charleston AlleyCats players
- New Hampshire Fisher Cats players
- Syracuse SkyChiefs players
- Gulf Coast Blue Jays players
- Syracuse Chiefs players
- American sportspeople of Asian descent
