Scott Kazmir
Scott Edward Kazmir is an American former professional baseball pitcher who participated in 15 Major League Baseball seasons between and, most notably with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Kazmir was born and raised in the Houston, Texas area and gained the attention of MLB scouts as an award-winning multi-sport high school athlete. He was chosen in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets and quickly progressed through the lower levels of the club's minor league system. He was one of the top pitching prospects in when the Mets sent him to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a trade deadline deal that has been listed as one of the most lopsided in recent major league history. The Devil Rays soon called him up to the major leagues, and he made his MLB debut as a 20 year old in August 2004.
Kazmir quickly became a mainstay in Tampa Bay's starting rotation, winning at least 10 games in each of his four complete seasons with the club at a time when the team lost at least 90 games per year. He was named to his first All Star team in, led the American League with 239 strikeouts in, and is still among Tampa Bay's all-time leaders in many pitching categories, including strikeouts, earned run average, wins, and games started.
Kazmir missed time due to injury in and early, and the Rays dealt him to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the 2009 trade deadline. Continuing issues with his health and pitching mechanics reduced his effectiveness over the following seasons and the Angels released him in June 2011. Kazmir did not sign with any major league organization over the next season and a half as he independently sought to regain his form. He returned to the majors with the Cleveland Indians in and placed third in voting for American League Comeback Player of the Year after winning ten games. He then signed a two-year contract with the Oakland Athletics and continued his resurgence, as he was named an All-Star and earned a career high 15 wins in. The A's dealt Kazmir to his hometown Houston Astros at the 2015 trade deadline, and he signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the season.
Kazmir won 10 games for the Dodgers in, but a series of injuries kept him out of the big leagues for the final two years of his contract, and he remained unsigned in 2019. He began another comeback in 2020 with an independent minor league team and returned to the major leagues in with the San Francisco Giants, for whom he started four games. Also in 2021, Kazmir was selected as a member of the United States national baseball team for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he started and won the quarterfinal game.
High school career
Kazmir attended Cypress Falls High School in Harris County, Texas. He played both varsity baseball and junior varsity football at the school until his junior year, when he decided to focus on baseball to great success. During one stretch on the high school baseball diamond, Kazmir threw five no-hitters in six games: four consecutive no-hitters, then a one-hit game, then another no-hitter. As a senior, he struck out 172 batters in 75 innings pitched and had an earned run average of 0.37.Kazmir was recruited by several major college baseball programs and verbally committed to play for the Texas Longhorns baseball team. However, after he was drafted in the first round of the 2002 MLB draft by the New York Mets, he decided to sign a professional baseball contract and did not attend college. His high school teammate Clint Everts was selected 5th overall by the Montreal Expos, and they became the first pair of pitchers from the same high school team to be drafted in the first round.
Professional career
New York Mets
Kazmir quickly advanced through the lower level of the New York Mets' minor league system. He led the minor leagues in strikeouts per nine innings in 2003 and was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League in July during his second full season of pro baseball.Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays
On July 30, 2004, Kazmir was traded along with minor league pitcher Joselo Díaz to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for veteran starting pitcher Víctor Zambrano and minor league reliever Bartolomé Fortunato. The trade was widely criticized by the New York media and fan base at the time, and given Kazmir's subsequent success and the limited contributions from the oft-injured Zambrano, the trade has often been mentioned as one of the most uneven trading deadline deals in major league history.The Devil Rays sent Kazmir to their Double-A affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League, where he started four games, throwing 25 innings and allowing 14 hits while striking out 24. In late August, Tampa Bay called him up to the major leagues, bypassing the Triple-A level altogether.
2004–2005
Kazmir made his major league debut on August 23, 2004, pitching five shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners. He initially struggled with his control and had a 2–3 record and an ERA of 5.67 in 8 appearances in 2004, but he showed potential by striking out 11.07 batters per nine innings. On September 9, Kazmir made his only relief appearance with the Rays, allowing one run in three innings against the Yankees.2006 season
Kazmir started the season opener April 3 at Baltimore. At 22 years, 2 months and 10 days Kazmir was the youngest opening day starter since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1986. He lost the decision after 6 ER in 4 IP, but his first full major league season was a success overall, with a record of 10–8 with 163 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA in 144.2 innings. Kazmir often pitched best when facing the opponent's ace starter; he won decisions against Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, two-time 20 game winner Jamie Moyer, two-time All-Star and 20 game winner Dontrelle Willis, 2001 World Series co-MVP and 3-time 20 game winner Curt Schilling, and 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett.On June 22, 2006, Scott Kazmir passed Sandy Koufax and put himself in the 22nd spot in MLB history for most strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher before his 23rd birthday. He also picked up his team leading ninth victory in the process.
On July 2, 2006, Kazmir was elected by the players to appear in the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, his first all-star appearance. The next day, he threw his first complete game shutout, blanking the Boston Red Sox in Tropicana Field on 2 hits while striking out 10.
In the All-Star Game, Kazmir threw a perfect sixth inning, retiring Freddy Sanchez, Carlos Beltrán, and Albert Pujols.
On August 22, 2006, Kazmir struck out eight Texas Rangers, becoming the all-time Rays strikeout leader.
2007 season
2007 is generally considered to be Kazmir's best year. He led the AL in strikeouts and games started and also set career highs in wins, innings pitched, and WAR. He became the first pitcher in Tampa Bay history to total over 200 strikeouts in a season, and to date, he is the only pitcher in team history to lead the league in strikeouts.Kazmir was one of the MLB's most unhittable pitchers in 2007, with hitters only making contact 74.5% of the time, the fourth best in the league. In their year-end review, Baseball Prospectus proclaimed, "Health permitting, he’s one of the best pitchers in the AL."
It was also during this time that Tampa Bay fans began crowning Kazmir with the nickname "Pizza Man" which was a reference to a longstanding promotion at Tropicana Field where if the Rays pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts during a game, attendees of the game could trade in their ticket stub for a free pizza at participating Papa John's restaurants. The inference was that when Kazmir was pitching, there was a much higher chance of a free pizza for fans.
2008 season
Kazmir strained his elbow at the beginning of spring training in. While the injury was not considered serious at the time, the Rays were cautious with their star pitcher. His recovery and belated season preparation delayed his first start until May 4, when he faced the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. He set a team record for wins in a month in May, going 5–1 with a 1.22 ERA and not allowed more than 1 run or 4 hits in a game after his first start. For his efforts, he was named the AL pitcher of the month, the first Rays player to win the honor.Kazmir was named to the American League squad for the 2008 MLB All-Star Game. Though the Rays' management preferred that Kazmir rest his arm and not pitch in the mid-summer classic if at all possible, the game ended up being the longest ever and Kazmir stepped to the mound in the 15th inning. He threw a scoreless frame and the AL all-stars scored the winning run in the bottom of the 15th, making Kazmir the winning pitcher.
Kazmir was less effective over the second half of the season, posting a 5–3 record and 4.02 ERA as the Rays won their first American League East championship. In the postseason, Kazmir made 5 starts and went 1–1 with a 4.21 ERA as the Rays won their first AL pennant. But in what was a continuing trend, he could never work very deep into a ballgame, averaging just 5 innings while throwing over 100 pitches per start in the playoffs.
Kazmir averaged 4.28 pitches per plate appearance on the season, the highest rate in the majors. "He's an ace as far as his numbers go", Baseball Prospectus wrote, "But he doesn't do many of the other things one expects from an ace. He regularly misses time here and there, he's so inefficient that he often hits 100 pitches before he's made it to the fifth inning, and he can become a scheduled strain on the bullpen. Don't get us wrong, he's great, and clearly worth the nearly $40 million he'll receive over the next four years, but he's far from deserving of the "ace" designation."
During the season, the Rays and Kazmir agreed on a four-year contract extension which guaranteed the lefty $28.5 million and had a maximum value of approximately $39.5 million if the team picked up his option for the 2012 season.