Cameron Cairncross (born 11 May 1972) is a former left-handed

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 ...

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), ...

who debuted for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

on 20 July 2000, and pitched his final game on 1 October of that same season. Cairncross was born in

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia and attended Cairns State High School. He signed with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

as an amateur free agent in 1990, and began his professional career a year later with the

Charleston Rainbows Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. For the season, he had an 8–5 win–loss record and a 3.56

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) in 24 games. The following season, Cairncross pitched for the

Waterloo Diamonds Located in Waterloo, Iowa, the Waterloo Diamonds was a baseball team that formed in 1989 and lasted until 1993. A member of the Midwest League, they were affiliated with two teams in 1989-the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres and the franchise ...

and had an 8–8 record, a 3.61 ERA, and 138

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 24 games. In 1993, he was promoted to the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

, and in 29 games for them, he had a 10–11 record and a 5.12 ERA. Cairncross started the 1994 season with the Quakes, then was promoted to the

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...

and the AAA Las Vegas Stars. After the season concluded, he had to have

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

on his shoulder, and missed both the 1995 and 1996 seasons as a result. Cairncross then rejoined the Quakes in 1997 and pitched in 60 games, going 1–3 with a 5.62 ERA; the Padres released him after the season ended. After spending 1998 with the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark w ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

, he was picked up by the

and spent 1999 with the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. He then spent 2000 on the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

and with Buffalo and was planned to be named to the

Australian national baseball team The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand wi ...

for the

2000 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 ...

, but was instead promoted to the major league roster. He made his major league debut on 20 July, and his lone major league win came on 3 September 2000 against 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. Cairncross got the last two outs in the top of the 13th of an 11–11 game, then

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...

hit a

walk off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

in the bottom of the 13th for a 12–11 victory. For the season, he appeared in 15 games, all in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, and had a record of 1–0 with 2

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

, 8

s, and an

(ERA) of 3.86 in 9.1

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 ...

. In 2001, Cairncross had shoulder surgery, and ended up missing the entire season. He was released after the 2001 season, ending his professional baseball career.

References

External links

Cam Cairncross profile at Australian Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cairncross, Cam 1972 births Akron Aeros players Australian expatriate baseball players in the United States Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Kinston Indians players Living people Major League Baseball players from Australia Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Cairns Charleston Rainbows players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Waterloo Diamonds players Wichita Wranglers players