Alex John Meyer (born January 3, 1990) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

and has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and the Angels. He officially announced his retirement from professional Baseball on June 25, 2019, due to injuries. He last played for the Los Angeles Angels in 2017.

Amateur career

Meyer attended Greensburg High School in

Greensburg, Indiana Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Decatur County, Indiana. The population was 11,492 at the time of the 2010 census. History Greensburg was laid out in 1822. The founder, Thomas Hendricks Sr.'s wife being a native of Greensburg, Pen ...

, and played for his high school's baseball team. In 2008, his senior year, Meyer had an 8–0

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, a 0.95

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and 108

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s in 51

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. Meyer was named a high school

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

's Mr. Baseball, and the Indiana Player of the Year by

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

and

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

in 2008. 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

selected Meyer in the 20th round of the

2008 MLB Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. Despite being reportedly offered as much as $2.2 million as a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, Meyer chose not to sign with the Red Sox so that he could follow through on his commitment to attend the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

to play

for the

Kentucky Wildcats baseball The Kentucky Wildcats baseball team represents the University of Kentucky in NCAA Division I college baseball and competes in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The current head coach of the Wildcats is Nick Mingione. Ke ...

team. In 2011, his junior year, Meyer had a 7–5 win–loss record with a 2.94 ERA, and led the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

with 110 strikeouts.

Professional career

Washington Nationals

The

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

selected Meyer in the first round, with the 23rd overall selection, of the

2011 MLB Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. Before the 2012 season,

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

rated Meyer as the 83rd best prospect in baseball. He pitched for the

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in 2012, and was named to appear in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

at midseason.

Minnesota Twins

After the 2012 season, the Nationals traded Meyer to the

for

Denard Span Keiunta Denard Span (born February 27, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mar ...

. The Twins invited Meyer to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 2013. After the 2013 season, he participated in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

. The Twins also invited Meyer to

in 2014. Before the 2014 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' ranked Meyer as the 45th best prospect in baseball. Pitching for the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

in 2014, Meyer was named to the All-Star Futures Game as a replacement for teammate

Trevor May Trevor Joseph May (born September 23, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets. May is also a part-owner ...

. Meyer began the 2015 season with Rochester. After struggling with a 7.09 ERA in his first eight starts, Meyer began working as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He pitched to a 0.53 ERA with 20 strikeouts and six walks in 17 innings. The Twins promoted Meyer to the major leagues on June 25. He pitched in two games for the Twins, in which he allowed five runs, including three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, in innings. The Twins demoted Meyer to Rochester, where he pitched to a 7.65 ERA in the next 20 innings he pitched, followed by innings pitched without allowing a run to end the season. In 2016, the Twins decided to send Meyer to Rochester to begin the season as a starting pitcher. The Twins promoted Meyer to the major leagues on April 25, but optioned him back to Rochester on May 3, after making two appearances for Minnesota.

Los Angeles Angels

On August 1, 2016, the Twins traded Meyer and

Ricky Nolasco Carlos Enrique Nolasco (born December 13, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida/Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Angels. He is of ...

plus cash for

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

pitchers

Hector Santiago Hector Santiago or Héctor Santiago may refer to: * Hector Santiago (baseball) (born 1987), American professional baseball pitcher * Héctor Santiago (playwright) (born 1944), Cuban playwright See also * Héctor Santiago-Colón {{Human name di ...

and

Alan Busenitz Alan Paul Busenitz (born August 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) f ...

. Meyer was optioned to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

on April 22, 2017. On September 11, 2017, Angels general manager

Billy Eppler Billy Eppler (born September 16, 1975) is an American baseball executive who is the general manager of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously served as the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels from 2015 to 2020. Befo ...

announced that Meyer will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Meyer was on the disabled list since the middle of July. In 13 starts with the Angels, Meyer went 4-5, with a 3.74

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

, while striking out 75 batters. He was designated for assignment on November 22, 2018 after missing the entire 2018 season. In late December 2018, he re-signed with the Angels to a minor league deal. Meyer retired from professional baseball on June 25, 2019, citing multiple surgeries and countless hours of rehab marking the end of the road.

Personal

During the baseball offseason, Meyer serves as a

substitute teacher A substitute teacher is a person who teaches a school class when the regular teacher is absent or unavailable; e.g., because of illness, personal leave, maternal leave and so on. "Substitute teacher" (usually abbreviated as "sub") is the most co ...

at Greensburg High School and is currently the varsity baseball coach for the Greensburg Pirates. He and his wife Kyra are the parents of 3 children, Roman, Maxwell and Renn. Meyer’s cousin,

Bryan Hoeing Bryan Jerome Hoeing (born October 19, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Amateur career Hoeing attended Batesville High School (Indiana), Batesv ...

, plays in MLB for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Alex 1990 births Living people People from Greensburg, Indiana Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Los Angeles Angels players Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Gulf Coast Twins players New Britain Rock Cats players Rochester Red Wings players Glendale Desert Dogs players Arizona League Angels players Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino players Salt Lake Bees players