Robert Michael Seay (pronounced "See") (born June 20, 1978) is a 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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

He has previously played for the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

from 2001 to 2004, the Colorado Rockies in 2005, and the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

from 2006 to 2009.

High school

Seay is a graduate of

Sarasota High School Sarasota High School is a public high school of the Sarasota County Public Schools in Sarasota, Florida, United States, a city on the Gulf of Mexico coast south of Tampa. The school colors are black and orange and the mascot is a sailor. Histo ...

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, where he compiled a 30–4 record in three years (1994–1996) with a 0.79

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) and 362

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 deno ...

s in

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He led Sarasota High School to the Florida State Championship and #16 national ranking in his senior year, going 10–2 with an 0.70 ERA and 122 strikeouts and 29

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

in 70 innings. Seay was named First-team High School All-American and a finalist for

Louisville Slugger Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

's High School Player of the Year Award. Seay was drafted 12th overall 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 p ...

in 1996 but was granted

free agency 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 ...

based on Major League Baseball's amateur draft rule 4-3.

Olympics

Seay was a member of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

baseball team that won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Major Leagues

Tampa Bay Rays

Seay was signed by the

and made his Major League debut in 2001. His first appearance was in

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, allowing 1 hit and no runs. For the 2001 season, Seay pitched in 12 games. After the season, Seay was designated for assignment. He signed a minor league deal to stay in Tampa. He missed most of the 2002 season with a shoulder injury. In 2003, Seay appeared in 12 games while in 2004, he appeared in 21 games. He was traded in the offseason to the Colorado Rockies for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Reggie Taylor Reginald Tremain "Reggie" Taylor (born January 12, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays during his five-year Major League Baseball care ...

after being

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 ...

Colorado Rockies

Then, only after three games with the Rockies he was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left

pectoral muscle Pectoral muscles (colloquially referred to as "pecs") are the muscles that connect the front of the human chest with the bones of the upper arm and shoulder. This region contains four muscles that provide movements to the upper limbs or ribs. P ...

. After the injury, Seay managed to appear in 14 more games. His ERA finished at 8.49 with Colorado.

Detroit Tigers

Seay recorded his first Major League save for the Tigers on May 20, 2007 against the

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 ...

. In 2009, Seay tore his rotator cuff in his left shoulder, ending a solid season in which he compiled a 6–3 record and 4.25 ERA out of the Tigers bullpen. After spending all of 2010 trying to recover without surgery, Seay gave in and scheduled surgery.Detroit Press News reporting the surgery.
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seay, Bobby 1978 births Living people Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Colorado Rockies players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Detroit Tigers players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Sarasota High School alumni Sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in baseball Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Charleston RiverDogs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Orlando Rays players St. Petersburg Devil Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Tulsa Drillers players