Brooks Joseph Kriske ( ; born February 3, 1994) is an American

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 ...

in the Kansas City Royals organization. He made his MLB debut in 2020 with the

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

and also played for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Amateur career

Kriske played all four years of varsity baseball at

Palm Desert High School Palm Desert High School is a secondary school located in Palm Desert, California. The school is a part of the Desert Sands Unified School District. Academics Palm Desert offers numerous Advanced Placement and Honors courses, amongst CP class ...

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

. He helped his team to three consecutive

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

(CIF) State Finals from 2010–2012, winning the CIF state championships in 2010 and 2012. Kriske pitched a complete game shutout in the final in 2012. He was a two-time All State selection. Kriske attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

(USC) and 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

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

. He was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB draft.

Professional career

New York Yankees

Kriske began his professional career in 2016 with the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

. He underwent Tommy John surgery that year, and subsequently missed the 2017 season. He was an all-star in the Florida State League pitching for the

Tampa Tarpons The Tampa Tarpons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Tampa, Florida. The Tarpons play their home games at George M. Steinbrenner Field, which is ...

before being promoted to Double-A with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

. The Yankees added him to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

after the 2019 season, before being optioned to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

of Triple-A in March 2020. Kriske was added to the Yankees' active roster on July 26, 2020. He made his major league debut on July 29 against the

, striking out two batters and walking one in an inning of relief. For the shortened 2020 season, Kriske appeared in four games without registering a decision, while pitching to a 14.73

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 number ...

(ERA) while striking out eight batters in innings. Kriske began the 2021 season in Triple-A with the RailRiders. He was recalled by the Yankees twice in June and once in July. On July 21, Kriske recorded his first major league win, throwing a scoreless 10th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies, as the Yankees scored in the bottom half of the inning to win. The next day, Kriske was again used in extra innings, this time in a save situation against the

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 eigh ...

. However, he blew the save and took the loss, tying the MLB regular-season record by throwing four

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es in the inning. He was optioned to Triple-A after the game. On September 14, the Yankees designated Kriske for assignment.

Baltimore Orioles

Kriske was claimed off waivers by the

two days later on September 16 and sent to the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

.Powers, Shad. "Changing Major League teams, Brooks Kriske dropped by Yankees, picked up by Orioles," ''The Desert Sun'' (Palm Springs, CA), Monday, September 20, 2021.
Retrieved September 22, 2021 After pitching a scoreless inning in his only Tides appearance, he was promoted to the Orioles on September 19. He made his Orioles debut in a 4–3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at

Citizens Bank Park Citizens Bank Park is a baseball stadium located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the city's South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It is the home playing field of the Philadelphia Phillies, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. The ...

on September 22. The only batter he faced was

Andrew McCutchen Andrew Stefan McCutchen (born October 10, 1986) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Philadelphia ...

whose foul out to the catcher stranded two base runners to end the seventh inning. After appearing in four games with a 12.27 ERA in innings, Kriske was granted his release to pursue an international opportunity on November 30.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On December 8, 2021, Kriske signed with the

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

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 ...

Kansas City Royals

On December 15, 2022, Kriske signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.

Personal life

Kriske is named after Brooks Robinson.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriske, Brooks 1994 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from California Charleston RiverDogs players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players People from Palm Desert, California Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Tarpons players Trenton Thunder players USC Trojans baseball players category:Yokohama DeNA BayStars players category:Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers American expatriate baseball players in Japan La Crosse Loggers players