Jump to content

John Axford

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 150.108.239.37 (talk) at 04:38, 28 August 2011 (→‎Mustache Style). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

John Axford
Milwaukee Brewers – No. 59
Relief pitcher
Born: (1983-04-01) April 1, 1983 (age 41)
Simcoe, Ontario, Canada
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
debut
September 15, 2009, for the Milwaukee Brewers
Career statistics
(through August 21, 2011)
Win-loss record10-4
Earned run average2.42
Strikeouts158
Saves63
Teams

John Berton "The Ax Man" Axford (born April 1, 1983, in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Career

Path to the majors

Raised in Port Dover, Ontario, Canada, Axford attended Assumption College School in nearby Brantford. Because the school didn't have an interscholastic baseball program, he played for Port Dover Minor Baseball, Team Ontario and Team Canada. His combined four-year totals with the three clubs were a 37–12 record, a 1.88 earned run average (ERA), 278 innings pitched, 432 strikeouts and 173 walks.[1]

He was originally selected by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round (219th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft,[2] but accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Notre Dame instead.[3] He was inactive during his junior year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in December 2003.[1] Used as a starting pitcher in 26 of 36 games, his record in three seasons with the Fighting Irish was 14–6.[4] Despite losing his scholarship as a redshirt senior in 2005, he still earned a bachelor's degree in film, television and theatre.[3]

Axford was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 42nd round (1,259th overall) of the 2005 MLB Draft.[5] He spent the spring of 2006, his one remaining year of collegiate athletic eligibility, at Canisius College where he went 3–8 in fourteen starts.[4] After watching him in action with the Golden Griffins once, the Reds declined to offer a contract. By that summer, he was pitching for the Melville Millionaires of the Western Major Baseball League. A nineteen-strikeout performance in a seven-inning contest caught the attention of the New York Yankees,[3] who signed him as a minor-league free agent on August 11, 2006.[6] His 2007 campaign was divided between three Class A farm teams (Staten Island Yankees, Charleston RiverDogs and Tampa Yankees) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, where he appeared in only one game. A combined 1–4 in 27 games,[4] he was released by New York on December 14, 2007.[6]

Milwaukee Brewers

Axford pitching in 2011 for Milwaukee

After spending the winter working as a cell phone salesman for Telus in the Toronto area,[3] he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers on March 4, 2008.[6] A 5–10 campaign with a 4.55 ERA for the Brevard County Manatees was followed by an offseason employed as a bartender at an East Side Mario's in Hamilton, Ontario.[3] Used exclusively out of the bullpen in 2009, he improved to a combined 9–1 with the Manatees, Huntsville Stars and Nashville Sounds.[4] He was called up to the Brewers on September 7,[7] and made his major league debut eight nights later as the last Brewers pitcher in a 13–7 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He surrendered an earned run, a hit and three walks in one inning pitched.[8]

Axford started 2010 in Nashville before being promoted by the Brewers on May 15, 2010.[9] With Trevor Hoffman struggling in save situations, Axford, even though he had never been a closer in his career, was given the job. Axford became a big success as a Brewer closer and gained popularity with Brewer fans as he sported a handlebar mustache in many of his early appearances, bringing back memories of legendary reliever Rollie Fingers. Axford finished his first full season with an 8-2 record, a 2.48 ERA, pitched in 50 games, was 24 out of 27 in save attempts, and struck out 76 batters in 58 innings pitched.

He was named a relief pitcher on Baseball America's 2010 All-Rookie Team.[10]

Axford went into 2011 as the Brewers closer and continued to repeat much of the success he had in 2010. As of August 21st, Axford is 2-2 with a 2.28 ERA and is 37 out of 39 in save attempts, which currently places him second for most saves this season, with both blown saves coming in the first week of the 2011 season. Axford has struck out 72 batters in just over 59 innings pitched. He is currently 2nd in major league save percentage since May of 2010, and has become one of the most dominant closers in baseball.

In a game against the Chicago Cubs on July 27, Axford converted his 26th consecutive save opportunity, breaking Doug Jones's Brewers franchise record.[11] Axford has still continued his consecutive saves streak, having now converted 33 consecutive saves, which is the second longest streak this season behind Detroit's Jose Valverde.

Axford was named DHL Delivery Man Award winner for the month of July 2011, in which he recorded 11 saves with a 2.57 ERA.[11]

Scouting report

When Axford first entered the Majors as the Brewers everyday closer, he relied heavily (almost exclusively) on his power fastball, which is generally thrown around 95-97, but can reach as high as 98. Because of his height, the pitch is delivered on a downward plane, and is thrown with a peculiar arm snapping motion. Since then, his breaking pitches have become nearly as dominant as his fastball, and he now regularly throws a very good curveball at 79-80 mph with a sharp 12 to 6 break, as well as an 83-86 mph slider with a late, sharp break. He occasionally, but rarely mixes in a changeup. The control Issues that plagued Axford for much of his early career have essentially vanished, and he is now capable of throwing all of his pitches for strikes on command, including his breaking balls. This newfound command of all of his pitches has been key to his rise to dominance as a major league closer.

References

  1. ^ a b John Axford (profile) – University of Notre Dame Athletics.
  2. ^ 2001 Major League Baseball Draft Pick Transactions, Rounds 1–10 – Pro Sports Transactions.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kepner, Tyler. "For the Brewers' Axford, It's Closing Time," The New York Times, Sunday, March 6, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d John Axford – Port Dover Minor Baseball.
  5. ^ "42nd Round of the 2005 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c John Axford (statistics & history) – Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ McCalvy, Adam (September 7, 2009). "Brewers call up righty reliever Axford". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  8. ^ John Axford (2009 pitching gamelogs) – Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. ^ "Brewers promote Axford for bullpen help". MLB.com. May 15, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Eddy, Matt (October 19, 2010). "Future Big League Stars Highlight All-Rookie Team". Baseball America. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  11. ^ a b "John Axford Named Winner of the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Month Award for July" (Press release). MLB.com. 2011-08-04. Retrieved 2011-08-09.

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Axford&oldid=447089548"