Gary Andrew Carignan (born July 23, 1986) is a 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 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), ...

for the Oakland Athletics.

Amateur career

Born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

, Carignan attended high school at

Norwich Free Academy The Norwich Free Academy (NFA), founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a coeducational independent school for students between the 9th and 12th grade. Located in Norwich, Connecticut, the Academy serves as the primary high school for Norw ...

where he played with Eric Campbell and was named Connecticut's top baseball player in 2003 after leading the team to a state championship. 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 p ...

for the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

Tar Heels. In 2005 and 2006, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

, and was named an all-star in 2006. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 5th round of the

2007 MLB Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

Carignan made his major league debut in 2011, and appeared in six games for Oakland that year. He collected his first MLB win on April 12, 2012, against the Kansas City Royals. In that game, Carignan took over from fellow reliever Jordan Norberto. He took the win when

Seth Smith Garry Seth Smith (born September 30, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles. He ...

reached on a fielding error.

Jemile Weeks Jemile Nykiwa Weeks ( ; born January 26, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego P ...

and

Eric Sogard Eric Sidney Sogard (born May 22, 1986) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago C ...

were then walked, loading the bases.

Coco Crisp Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and MiLB team manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Oakland ...

then grounded out, scoring Smith.

Yoenis Céspedes Yoenis Céspedes Milanés (born October 18, 1985), nicknamed "La Potencia" (The Power), is a Cuban-born professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on March 28, 2012, for the Oakland Athletics, and has also p ...

was then hit by a pitch, reloading the bases. The game then ended in the bottom of the twelfth inning when Adam Dolliver was hit, forcing in the winning run. On June 19, 2012, Carignan underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his 2012 season, and causing him to miss all of 2013 as well.

Later career

Carignan signed a minor league deal with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in December 2013. He played the whole season in the minors, totaling 16 appearances. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2014 season. In 2015, Carignan pitched in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He announced his retirement on January 29, 2016.

Personal life

Carignan's great-grandfather Gus Dugas played in MLB in the early 1930s as an outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and Washington Senators.

References

External links

1986 births Living people Baseball players from Connecticut Bourne Braves players Fresno Grizzlies players Kane County Cougars players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Midland RockHounds players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players Oakland Athletics players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from New London, Connecticut Stockton Ports players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1980s-stub