Andrew Michael Sonnanstine (born March 18, 1983) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

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). He played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays. Sonnanstine is a graduate of

Wadsworth High School Wadsworth High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 in Wadsworth, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Wadsworth City School District. ...

Wadsworth Wadsworth may refer to: People * Wadsworth (surname) * Wadsworth (given name) Places * Wadsworth, Illinois, United States, a village * Wadsworth, Kansas, United States * Wadsworth, Nevada, United States, a census-designated place * Wadswo ...

, Ohio, and attended

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

. He also pitched for the Sanford Mainers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Baseball career

Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays

Sonnanstine made his first major league start against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, receiving a no-decision. He picked up his first major league win on June 10, , in a game against the

Florida 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 ...

. Sonnanstine demonstrated strikeout potential in 2007 when, through seven innings of work against the Marlins, he

struck out 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 denote ...

ten batters, including a franchise-record seven in a row, while allowing two runs on seven hits. He also went 2-for-3 as a batter, scored his first run and drove in his first career

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

. Sonnanstine has impressed many by his mental approach to the game, as he is a fierce competitor who takes a mental approach similar to that of

Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Maddux is best known for his accomplishments while playing for the Atlanta Braves ...

. One of Sonnanstine's best starts came on August 31, 2007, against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, where he pitched 8 innings, allowing 2 hits and no

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s (1 unearned run) with 5 strikeouts and no walks. He ended his

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

campaign with a 6-10 record, pitching 130 innings with an

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. Comp ...

of 5.85. In another career night, on April 19, , Sonnanstine pitched a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. He allowed just 3 hits and struck out 4 batters while walking only one. On October 6, 2008, Sonnanstine pitched 5 innings of 2-run baseball against the Chicago White Sox in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The Rays prevailed putting up six runs of their own and clinching the American League Division Series. Sonnanstine allowed two stolen bases in two years ('07-'08). On May 17, 2009, in a game against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, Sonnanstine was included in the starting lineup due to a mistake when Rays manager

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. Maddon began his coaching career in MLB ...

entered the wrong lineup card, which had both

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 through 2017, and the S ...

and

Ben Zobrist Benjamin Thomas Zobrist (; born May 26, 1981), is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chi ...

playing third base, omitting the DH spot. The last time a pitcher was in the initial batting order in a game between two AL teams was September 23, 1976, when the White Sox batted

Ken Brett Kenneth Alven Brett (September 18, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher and the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for ...

eighth against the Twins. Sonnanstine went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and ended up winning the game despite the lineup error and giving up five runs. Through July 1, 2009, Sonnanstine had the highest ERA of any major league pitcher (6.61). After the Rays traded

Scott Kazmir Scott Edward Kazmir (; born January 24, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics ...

to the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, Sonnanstine was recalled from Triple-A Durham to fill the hole in the starting rotation. In his first game since the beginning of the season against the rival

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 ...

, he posted a loss, giving up 3 earned runs, 2 home runs, 8 hits and 5 total runs in 4 innings with a pitch count of 91 (55s-36b). On August 19, 2010, Sonnanstine was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

was called up to make his MLB debut that day against 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 ...

Sonnastine's 2011 book with Tucker Elliot ''Tampa Bay Rays IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom,'' published by Black Mesa books contains ten chapters of Rays history and offers up 200 trivia questions.

Chicago Cubs

On December 26, 2011, Sonnanstine agreed on a one-year, non-guaranteed split contract with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. He declined to be optioned to Triple-A, and has been out of baseball ever since.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnanstine, Andy 1983 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Ohio Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tampa Bay Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Charleston RiverDogs players Durham Bulls players Montgomery Biscuits players People from Barberton, Ohio People from Wadsworth, Ohio Southwest Michigan Devil Rays players Visalia Oaks players Kent State Golden Flashes baseball players Charlotte Stone Crabs players