Paul Douglas Creek (born March 1, 1969) 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), ...

pitcher with a nine-year career from 1995 to 1997, 1999 to 2003, and 2005. He played for 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 ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

and 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 venu ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and

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 ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. He also played one season for the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

of Japan in .

Amateur

Creek attended

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, and in 1990 he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Upon being selected in the fifth round of the 1990 MLB draft by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, Creek opted to not sign with them, returning to the draft pool the following season.

Minor leagues

In , he was selected by the

in the seventh round of the draft and was signed to a deal shortly thereafter. After signing a contract with the Cards, Doug Creek bounced around A ball in 1991 and 1992, playing for four teams (

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

) in that span. He was used primarily as a starting pitcher. Despite some early career struggles with Hamilton and Savannah in 1991, his performance improved upon joining Springfield the following season. Creek registered a career low 2.58

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 ...

to go along with his 4-1 won-loss record with the Springfield squad. He then continued his strong 1992 pitching with St. Petersburg and started each of the 13 games he appeared in, going 5–4 with a still impressive ERA at 2.82. After playing in AA and compiling a career record of 18–22 with a 4.00 ERA as a Double A pitcher, Doug had three separate stints playing with the AAA team out of

Louisville 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. ...

. He alternated between Louisville and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, the AA team that was affiliated with St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals

After a solid showing at both the AA and AAA levels, the Cardinals decided it was time to see what Creek could offer to their big league team. On September 17, , Doug Creek faced the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

for his first taste of big league action. He threw one inning and struck out two batters as the Dodgers could not register a hit off Creek. He appeared in five more games for St. Louis, throwing a total of six

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

in six games and did not permit any runs to score. After the 1995 year ended he was dealt in the off-season to the

in a multi-player deal that also sent

Rich DeLucia Richard Anthony DeLucia (born October 7, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for several teams between and . Biography A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, DeLucia attended Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High ...

and Allen Watson to the Giants. The Cardinals received

Royce Clayton Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Colo ...

and

Chris Wimmer Chris Wimmer (born June 23, 1979) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has raced mostly in short track competition and as high as the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series). Wimmer competed in the ASA Midwest Tour (now ARCA ...

in return.

San Francisco Giants

Creek tried to pitch well for his new team and the then-27-year-old hurler threw 48 innings and finished the season with a 6.52 ERA in 63 appearances. He also had an 0–2 win–loss record. He spent the following season on the Giants AAA team in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

where, in 25 games (18 of them starts), he went 8–6 with 2

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and 1

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. His showing at Triple A in earned him a quick promotion back to San Francisco. He went 1-2 and compiled a 6.75 ERA, while striking out 14 of the batters he faced.

Hanshin Tigers

On November 7, 1997, 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 ...

purchased Creek's contract from the Giants. Creek never played for the White Sox as his contract was purchased again less than a month later (December 4, 1997), this time by a team in Japan. The

of the Japan

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

bought his contract from Chicago and Doug went to play out the baseball season in Japan. For the Tigers he split the season between the Central League and Western League teams spending the majority of the campaign with the Western League squad. In 17 games (16 starts) he went 9–1 with a 2.16 ERA for the Western League's Hanshin Tigers. Creek led the league in earned run average and

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 with 101. He was less stellar playing in the Central League though as he went 0–4 with 5.65 ERA in his 7 appearances.

Chicago Cubs

Doug Creek returned from his one-year stint in Japan by signing a contract with the

on January 29, . He pitched most of the season with

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, then the AAA team for the Cubs. Doug went 7–3 in 25 games (20 starts) and held his ERA to 3.79. He was also able to pick up a save. Chicago decided to call up the southpaw and he struggled in the 6 games he pitched in ending the season with a 10.50 ERA.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

On February 1, the

signed Doug Creek to a contract, and Creek would play out the next two and a half seasons of his MLB career with the cellar-dwelling Devil Rays. In 2000, he saw action in 45 games (all in relief) as he posted a 1–3 mark for Tampa Bay. Creek also picked up his first (and only) career save to go along with his 4.60 ERA. The following season Creek was able to lower his earned run average to a 4.31 mark as he pitched in a career-high 66 games and had a won-loss record of 2–5. He also threw a career-high 62 innings. Creek spent the first four months of the regular season on the D-Rays where he appeared in 29 games winning two of them and dropping one. His ERA however was at a 6.27 clip. On July 24, , Tampa Bay and the

consummated a deal that sent Creek to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for cash considerations.

Seattle Mariners

Creek played in 23 games for the Mariners going 1–1 with a 4.91 ERA. His 2002 combined totals were 52 games, 3–2 record, 55.0 IP, and a 5.82 ERA.

Toronto Blue Jays

In October 2002 Creek was signed by the

to be a key member of their bullpen. However, things did not go as planned in the 2003 season as Doug pitched just 13 innings in 21 appearances to go along with his 3.29 ERA for the Jays, as he underwent

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 ...

in June 2003.

Back to the Cardinals

Creek was then signed in February , returning to the Cardinals. With St. Louis, he was only used as a reliever in Triple AAA, going 2–1 with a 4.71 ERA in 33 games for Memphis.

Detroit Tigers

The

signed Creek in January to add pitching depth to their roster. He played on the Tigers' AAA affiliate in Toledo pitching 28 games (1 start) as he chalked up a record of 2–2 to go along with an ERA of 4.61. Unlike in St. Louis, Creek was able to crack the lineup and appear in 20 games for the Tigers. He threw 22 innings in those 20 games for Detroit, finishing the year with a 6.85 ERA.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Creek, Doug 1969 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Virginia Chicago Cubs players Cotuit Kettleers players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets baseball players Hamilton Redbirds players Hanshin Tigers players Iowa Cubs players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pastora de Occidente players People from Winchester, Virginia Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players Savannah Cardinals players Seattle Mariners players Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays players