Robert William Wolcott (born September 8, 1973) 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 all or part of five seasons 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

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

(1995–97),

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 f ...

(1998), and

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 ...

(1999). He also played for the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

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) in 2000.

Career

Wolcott was a key member of the 1995 "Refuse to Lose" Seattle Mariner team, the first Mariner team to reach the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. He was a late season call-up from the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

in August, where he was most impressive in his first MLB start against the Boston Red Sox, the team with which he would pitch his final MLB game in 1999. He started Game 1 of the American League Championship Series vs the Cleveland Indians in 1995 at the age of 22. He walked the bases loaded in the 1st Inning but settled down, scattering 8 hits and 2 runs over 7 innings in a Mariners 3-2 Game 1 win. After his season in NPB, he came back to pitch three games in 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 te ...

organization in 2001. Wolcott was forced to retire due to shoulder surgery. After his baseball career ended, he continued his education at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

, where he majored in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

References

External links

1973 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from California Bellingham Mariners players Boston Red Sox players Calgary Cannons players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Modesto A's players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Oregon State University alumni Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes players Pawtucket Red Sox players Port City Roosters players Riverside Pilots players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Tacoma Rainiers players Tucson Sidewinders players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub