Dovydas Neverauskas (born January 14, 1993) is a Lithuanian 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 t ...

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 ...

for the Frederick Atlantic League Team of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously 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), ...

(MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and played in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

. He was the first player from Lithuania in MLB and NPB history.

Career

Amateur

Neverauskas's father, who coaches youth baseball and national teams and promotes the sport in Lithuania, encouraged him to play baseball, despite it not being well known in the country. Neverauskas said there were no baseball fields in the country. He attended training camps in Italy to better learn the game. He attended his first MLB game in 2006 on a trip with his father. He attended MLB's European Baseball Academy in 2008 and 2009.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Neverauskas signed with the Pirates as 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 ...

in 2009. He was converted into a

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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

in 2015. He began the 2016 season with the

Altoona Curve The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of th ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League, and was promoted to the Indianapolis Indians of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

International League in June. He pitched a scoreless inning in the 2016 All-Star Futures Game. The Pirates added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. On April 24, 2017, Neverauskas made his

debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Chicago Cubs. He pitched two innings, allowed one run, and had one strikeout. Neverauskas picked up his first Major League win on August 6, 2017, when the Pirates defeated 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 penn ...

in 11 innings. He pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. He finished the season for the Pirates pitching in innings with a 3.91 ERA. The following season, he pitched the majority of the season at the AAA level, registering an ERA of 8 for the Pirates in 25 games. Neverauskas was designated for assignment by the Pirates on November 1, 2020, and released on November 3.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On November 16, 2020, Neverauskas signed a one-year, $875,000 contract with the

(NPB) for the 2021 season. He made his NPB debut on May 30, 2021, taking the loss against the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. History The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural ...

. He only pitched in one game in total, he was unable to produce results in the farm team. Neverauskas returned to the U.S. on October 6, 2021, and released on November 1.

Bonn Capitals

On March 23, 2022, Neverauskas signed with the

Bonn Capitals The Bonn Capitals (full name: "1. Baseballclub Bonn Capitals e.V.") are a German baseball and softball club from Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, founded on November 8, 1989. Its first men's team has been competing in the Baseball Bundesliga since ...

of the German Baseball-Bundesliga. The first inning he pitched in the Bundesliga was an immaculate inning.

Frederick Atlantic League Team

On February 27, 2023, Neverauskas signed with the Frederick Atlantic League Team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neverauskas, Dovydas 1993 births Living people Altoona Curve players Bradenton Marauders players Expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Pirates players Indianapolis Indians players Jamestown Jammers players Lithuanian baseball players Lithuanian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Major League Baseball players from Lithuania Major League Baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Sportspeople from Vilnius State College Spikes players West Virginia Black Bears players West Virginia Power players