Blaine Thomas Boyer (born July 11, 1981) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 dr ...

. He played in MLB for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

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 ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. He also played in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

Baseball career

Boyer attended George Walton Comprehensive High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. The

selected him in the third round of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

. His first season of pro baseball was with the rookie league team the Gulf Coast Braves, where he went 1–3 with a 2.51

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 numb ...

(ERA).

Atlanta Braves

Boyer went 4–5 with a 4.52 ERA and 57

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 den ...

s with the

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

in 2001. The next year, he played with the Class A team the Macon Braves and led the bullpen with 73 strikeouts. In 2003, Boyer stayed with the Macon Braves when they moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. That year he finished fifth in the league in wins with 12, and led the team in wins. He finished the year with a 12–8 record and a 3.69 ERA. He also recorded a minor-league career-high 115 strikeouts. In 2004, Boyer played with Class A Myrtle Beach. He led the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 un ...

with 154 innings pitched and was selected to the Carolina League All-Star team. He was elected the Carolina League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 3 by

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...

. On June 12, 2005, Boyer was called up to the major leagues directly from the AA

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

, and made his debut that day against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

. He went 4–1 with a 2.05 ERA in 23 games at Atlanta's home field,

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...

. In Boyer's first season, playing for the Atlanta Braves as a midseason call-up, he went 4–2 with a 3.11

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 ...

in 37.2 innings. The following two seasons, he spent the majority of the time in the minors, collecting just 7 appearances total. On May 14, 2008, Boyer pitched 1.1 innings to record his first Major League save, against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. He played a career high 76 games, posting an ERA of 5.88 in 72 innings. He was designated for assignment the following season.

St.Louis Cardinals

On April 20, 2009, Boyer was traded to the

for

Brian Barton Brian Deon Barton (born April 25, 1982) is an American former professional outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. Early life Barton attended Westchester High School in his hometown ...

. On June 4, Boyer was designated for assignment. In 15 games for the Cardinals, he had a 4.41 ERA.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On June 8, 2009, Boyer was claimed by the

. He pitched stellar for the D'Backs for the remainder of the 2009 season, posting a 2.68 ERA in 30 games. He remained with the team the following season, appearing in 54 games.

New York Mets

Boyer signed a minor league contract with the

on January 21, 2011. The deal included an invitation to spring training. On April 10, 2011, Boyer was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

Boyer signed a minor league contract with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

on April 20, 2011. He was released on June 18.

Return to St. Louis

Boyer signed a minor league contract with the

on July 5, 2011. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. He was released on August 13, after allowing 26 runs in 16 innings for Memphis.

Kansas City Royals

Boyer retired from baseball in 2012. He returned to baseball the next year, when he signed a minor league contract with the

on January 3, 2013. He was released in May.

Hanshin Tigers

Boyer subsequently signed with the

after his release from Kansas City.

San Diego Padres

Boyer signed a minor league deal with the

on January 9, 2014. His contract was selected from the Triple-A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University ...

on May 22. He was designated for assignment on May 25, and outrighted back to El Paso on May 27. He was called back up on June 15. He became a free agent after the season. For the Padres, he ended with a 3.57 ERA in .

Minnesota Twins

On January 7, 2015, Boyer signed a minor league contract with the

. The team announced that Boyer had made the Opening Day roster on March 30. For the entire season, Boyer posted a career low 2.49 ERA in 68 games for the Twins.

Milwaukee Brewers

On February 12, 2016, Boyer signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training, and made the Opening Day roster with a contract worth $950,000. He appeared In 61 games for the Brewers, posting an ERA of 3.95 with a 2-4 record.

Return to Atlanta

Boyer signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves on January 17, 2017. He was released on March 25.

Boston Red Sox

On April 3, 2017, Boyer signed a minor league deal with the

. The Red Sox called up Boyer on May 28 2017. In 32 games for Boston, he was 1-1 in .

Return to Kansas City

On February 7, 2018, Boyer signed a minor league deal with the

. His contract was purchased by the Royals on March 29, 2018. He appeared in 21 games, going 2-1 with a 12.05 ERA, before he was released on August 15, 2018.

Personal life

Boyer is married to Ginsey, with whom he has two sons. In November 2015, working with non-profit group

The Exodus Road The Exodus Road (TER) is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization that works to combat human trafficking through prevention, intervention, and aftercare programs. History Founding In 2010, co-founders Matt and Laura Parker moved their fam ...

, Boyer spent ten days undercover with former MLB first baseman (and his former Braves teammate)

Adam LaRoche David Adam LaRoche (born November 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks ...

, helping to identify and rescue underage sex slaves in Southeast Asia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyer, Blaine 1981 births Living people Baseball players from Marietta, Georgia Major League Baseball pitchers American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players St. Louis Cardinals players Arizona Diamondbacks players New York Mets players Hanshin Tigers players San Diego Padres players Minnesota Twins players Milwaukee Brewers players Boston Red Sox players Kansas City Royals players Gulf Coast Braves players Danville Braves players Macon Braves players Rome Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Mississippi Braves players Richmond Braves players Reno Aces players Indianapolis Indians players Palm Beach Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players Omaha Storm Chasers players El Paso Chihuahuas players Pawtucket Red Sox players