Daniel Michael Wheeler (born December 10, 1977) is an American former professional

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 tea ...

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 ...

. He played in

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), ...

for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays,

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 league ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

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 eight ...

, and

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 ...

from 1999 through 2012.

Early career

Wheeler attended

Pilgrim High School Pilgrim High School (also known as Pilgrim, or PHS) is a suburban high school in the Pilgrim Park neighborhood of Warwick, Rhode Island. The school is single-storied and features multiple hallways for specific subjects. Multiple renovations occur ...

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, the third largest city in the state with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is located approximately south of downtown Providence, Rhode Island, sout ...

. He was drafted in the 1996 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays out of Central Arizona College. After the Devil Rays, he played for the

, who traded him to the

for minor leaguer Adam Seuss in 2004.

Houston Astros

In 2005, Wheeler established himself as a top

setup man In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As ...

for the Astros, going 2-3 with a 2.21

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. Compa ...

in 71 games. On October 19, 2005 during the National League Championship Series he recorded the last out at Busch Memorial Stadium in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, a fly ball which was caught by Astro

Jason Lane Jason Dean Lane (born December 22, 1976) is an American professional baseball former player and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Houston Astros and San Di ...

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

off the bat of Yadier Molina. He played on Team USA in the

2006 World Baseball Classic The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto ...

in the offseason. On April 9, 2007, Wheeler became the Astros' closer, replacing Brad Lidge. However, Wheeler lost the closer's job when Lidge overcame injury and returned to the team.

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 28, 2007, Wheeler was traded back to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for third baseman Ty Wigginton. He is one of four pitchers who have pitched in at least 70 games each of the four seasons from 2004 to 08, the others being

Scott Schoeneweis Scott David Schoeneweis (; born October 2, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. In the five seasons from 2003 to 2007, Schoeneweis allowed only one home r ...

(who did so for five seasons), Bob Howry, and

Chad Qualls Chad Michael Qualls (born August 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New Yor ...

Boston Red Sox

On December 17, 2010, the

signed Wheeler to a one-year, $3 million contract with a club option for 2012.

Cleveland Indians

Wheeler was a non-roster invitee with the Cleveland Indians in 2012. He was added to the opening day roster on April 4, 2012. He struggled early, however, with an 8.76 ERA in 12 games. Wheeler was designated for assignment immediately following the game on May 13, 2012, against the Boston Red Sox in which he gave up six earned runs in one inning. After clearing waivers, Wheeler was outrighted to the triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

on May 16, 2012. He appeared in 36 games for Columbus, posting a 3-3 record and a 2.32 ERA. On October 6, 2012, Wheeler elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On December 11, 2012, the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

confirmed they had signed Wheeler to a minor league contract with an expected invite to Major League spring training, but he would never appear in another major league game. Wheeler retired in February 2014.

Personal life

Wheeler is married to Stephanie, who is the daughter of long time Rays play-by-play broadcaster Dewayne Staats.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Dan 1977 births Living people Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Boston Red Sox players Central Arizona Vaqueros baseball players Charleston RiverDogs players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Houston Astros players Hudson Valley Renegades players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Omaha Storm Chasers players Orlando Rays players Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pawtucket Red Sox players Richmond Braves players Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tampa Bay Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2006 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games