Braden LaVerne Looper (born October 28, 1974) is an American former

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) ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

who played for several teams between 1998 and 2009.

High school

Looper was a scholar athlete while a student at Mangum High School in Mangum, Oklahoma. He graduated in 1993 with four

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

each in

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 ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and two in football, while also a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic ach ...

College and Olympics

Looper focused on baseball while attending

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of stud ...

, and was inducted into their sports Hall of Fame in 2003. In 1994, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

. In 1996, he competed in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

, and was a first-team

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 ...

n as a junior. Looper was also a member of the bronze medal-winning Team USA in the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Major leagues

St. Louis Cardinals

Looper was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals as the third pick in the first round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

on March 31, 1998, striking out the side in a relief appearance. After the 1998 season, he was traded to 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 fra ...

for

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Édgar Rentería Édgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby", is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals, th ...

Florida Marlins

Looper was inconsistent with the Marlins, working his way into the closer role. However, he had a penchant for blowing easy saves. Toward the end of the 2003 season, as the Marlins were in a pennant race that culminated in a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

win, Looper faltered and was replaced as closer by Ugueth Urbina. Looper appeared in relief in the fourth game of the World Series, which went 12 innings. His performance gained him a win, as the Marlins won the game in the bottom of the 12th.

New York Mets

In January 2004, Looper signed with 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 leagu ...

as a free agent and had his best season to date going 2-5 with 29 saves and a 2.70 ERA. However, Looper had many crucial blown saves during the 2005 season, including blown saves on Opening Day, in a game that would have clinched a Met sweep at Yankee Stadium and as part of an eight-run collapse by the Mets pen against the Nationals. These performances still fresh in fans' minds, he was greeted with loud boos and "Looper sucks!" chants upon his returns to Shea with the Cardinals, most prominently during the

2006 NLCS The 2006 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the 2006 National League playoffs, began on October 12 and ended on October 19; it was scheduled to begin on October 11, but was postponed a day because of inclement weather ...

. In September 2005, Looper underwent shoulder surgery to repair a blown

AC joint The acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint, is a joint at the top of the shoulder. It is the junction between the acromion (part of the scapula that forms the highest point of the shoulder) and the clavicle. It is a plane synovial joint. Structure ...

. This, in addition to the emergence of

Aaron Heilman Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Heilman was drafted by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame in 2001. He came up through the Mets system as a starting pitcher, but was converted to ...

and acquisition by the Mets of other relief pitchers, kept the Mets from picking up his $5 million option for 2006.

St. Louis Cardinals (second stint)

On December 15, 2005, Looper signed a three-year, $13.5M contract with the Cardinals to set up star closer and former Met

Jason Isringhausen Jason Derik Isringhausen ( born September 7, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1995 through 2012 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Ba ...

. He was part of the

2006 World Series The 2006 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2006 season. The 102nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Leag ...

winning St. Louis Cardinals team. Primarily an eighth inning setup man, Looper posted a 9-3 record as the team's bullpen wins leader. Beginning in the 2007 season Looper became a

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 pitc ...

for the first time in his major league career. Before the season began, Looper stated that his goal was to reach 200 innings pitched in the season. In his first season as a starter, Looper reached career highs in wins (12), innings pitched (175), and strikeouts (84) in 30 starts (31 total appearances).

Milwaukee Brewers

On October 30, , Looper filed for free agency. On February 12, , Looper signed a one-year deal with an option for 2010 with the

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) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

. Although Looper had a 14–7 record in 2009, he led the major leagues by allowing 113 earned runs. After the season the Brewers did not pick up the option on Looper for 2010, making him a free agent.

Retirement

After not pitching in the 2010 season, Looper was a non-roster invitee of 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 locate ...

to spring training as a candidate to be either a starter or reliever on the team. Looper had stated that the Cubs were the only team he would attempt a comeback with. However, on March 25, Looper was informed he would not make the opening day roster, and he retired.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Looper, Braden 1974 births Living people People from Weatherford, Oklahoma Baseball players from Oklahoma Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Florida Marlins players New York Mets players Milwaukee Brewers players Baseball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Wichita State Shockers baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Prince William Cannons players Arkansas Travelers players Memphis Redbirds players Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics People from Mangum, Oklahoma People from Palos Heights, Illinois People from Frankfort, Illinois All-American college baseball players