Kyle Farnsworth
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| Kyle Farnsworth | |
|---|---|
 Farnsworth pitching for the New York Yankees on July 29, 2007. |
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| Kansas City Royals — No. 40 | |
| Relief pitcher | |
| Born: April 14, 1976 Wichita, Kansas |
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| Bats: Switch | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 29, 1999 for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Career statistics (through 2009 season) |
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| Win–Loss | 31–53 |
| Earned run average | 4.47 |
| Strikeouts | 780 |
| Teams | |
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Kyle Lynn Farnsworth (born April 14, 1976 in Wichita, Kansas) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.
Farnsworth graduated from Milton High School in Milton, Georgia in 1994. During high school, he played baseball, basketball, and football. He continued to play baseball in college at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia.
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[edit] Major league career
[edit] Chicago Cubs
Farnsworth was drafted in the 47th round by the Chicago Cubs in 1994. He played for the Cubs from 1999 to 2004.
[edit] First Stint with the Detroit Tigers
On February 9, 2005, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Roberto Novoa, Scott Moore and Bo Flowers.
[edit] Atlanta Braves
On July 31, 2005, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for pitchers Zach Miner and Roman Colon.
In his last 58 appearances in the 2005 season, Farnsworth posted a 1.62 earned run average (ERA) and held opponents to a .162 batting average. He converted 16 straight save opportunities after failing to convert his first two.
[edit] New York Yankees
Following the season, Farnsworth signed with the New York Yankees, replacing Tom Gordon as the team's primary set-up man. The deal, worth $17 million over three years, was then second highest offer Farnsworth received. The Texas Rangers reportedly offered a three-year, $16.5 million contract with a vesting option that would have taken the deal to $21 million, plus incentives.[1]
He struggled in the 2006 season, accumulating a 4.36 ERA. His struggles continued in the 2007 season.[citation needed]
[edit] Second stint with the Detroit Tigers
On July 30, 2008, Farnsworth returned to the Tigers in a trade for Iván Rodríguez.[2]
[edit] Kansas City Royals
On December 13, 2008, the Royals reached an agreement with Farnsworth on a two-year, $9.25MM deal.[3]
[edit] Incidents
Farnsworth was involved in a brawl that occurred in the 2003 season when his former team, the Chicago Cubs, were playing the Cincinnati Reds. Reds pitcher Paul Wilson stepped out of the batter's box after an inside pitch, and started to yell at Farnsworth. Farnsworth then met Wilson a short distance from home plate and speared him to the ground. He was suspended three games for his actions, but MLB reduced the suspension to two games.[4]
In the 2004 season, Farnsworth angrily kicked an electric fan in the Cubs' dugout after an outing in which he gave up six runs in one inning to the Houston Astros. Farnsworth ended up severely bruising and spraining his knee in the process, and was placed on the disabled list as a result.[5]
Farnsworth was involved in a bench-clearing fight in the 2005 season while playing for the Detroit Tigers, against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. After order appeared to have been restored, Farnsworth charged Royals pitcher Jeremy Affeldt and tackled him to the ground in a similar fashion as he did with Paul Wilson. He was ejected from the game.[6]
On April 17, 2008, Farnsworth threw behind Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez. While Farnsworth claimed that the ball slipped out of his hand as a result of trying to throw the ball as hard as possible, Ramirez was skeptical and surmised that the pitch was retaliation for Alex Rodriguez being plunked the prior night after hitting a home run in the game. Following Farnsworth's pitch, the umpire issued warnings to both dugouts that any ill-intentions from that point forward would result in ejections.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Yankees, Farnsworth agree to 3-year, $17M contract". ESPN.com. 2005-12-03. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2245182. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3511535
- ^ Royals agree to terms with reliever Farnsworth on two-year deal
- ^ http://static.espn.go.com/mlb/news/2003/0626/1573132.html
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/cubs/2004-08-28-farnsworth-dl_x.htm
- ^ Beck, Jason (July 17, 2005). ""Seven ejected in bench-clearing melee. Guillen, Bonderman, Farnsworth tossed from game."". mlb.com. http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050717&content_id=1134695&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ^ The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: News: Farnsworth pitch to Manny causes stir
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
