Wedsel Gary "Buddy" Groom Jr. (born July 10, 1965) is a former

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middle relief pitcher In baseball, a middle reliever or middle relief pitcher, is a relief pitcher who typically pitches during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings of a standard baseball game. In leagues with no designated hitter, such as in the National League prio ...

. He attended the

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and was drafted by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in the 1987 amateur draft. He played in 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 No ...

, and he eventually signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1990. He moved up through the minors and broke into the majors as a spot starter for the Tigers in 1992. He

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all of his 5 decisions, and he did not win a decision until 1995, his first year as a bonafide reliever. In 1995, he was traded to the

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for

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, where he finished the year. The next year, he signed with the Oakland Athletics, where he played until 1999. He signed with 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 ...

and played there through the 2004 season. In 2005, he signed 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 ...

. On July 30, 2005, Groom was designated for assignment. During his exit from the Yankees, the ''

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'' reported that Groom said that he wasn't one of "Joe's boys", and claimed he was used as a "mop up guy". Groom was referring to Yankees manager

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

. On July 31, Groom was traded to the

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 ...

. After the 2005 season, Groom 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 ...

. Groom had a career 31–32 record, a 4.64

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 ...

, and 27 career saves. He started 15 games and recorded 494 strikeouts. He led the league in appearances in 1999 with 76, and is 35th on the all-time list of appearances with 786. He holds the major league record for most games pitched without recording a plate appearance.

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groom, Buddy Baseball players from Dallas Major League Baseball pitchers 1965 births Living people Birmingham Barons players Daytona Beach Admirals players London Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players Mary Hardin–Baylor Crusaders baseball players Columbus Clippers players Tampa White Sox players Gulf Coast White Sox players Detroit Tigers players Florida Marlins players Oakland Athletics players Baltimore Orioles players New York Yankees players Arizona Diamondbacks players American expatriate baseball players in Canada

See also

References

External links