Duane Arthur Below ( ; born November 15, 1985) 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 has 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

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

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 ...

. Below has also played in the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

for the

Kia Tigers Kia Tigers ( ko, KIA 타이거즈) are a South Korean professional baseball team founded in 1982 and based in the southwestern city of Gwangju. Until 2001, they were known as the Haitai Tigers. The Tigers are a members of the KBO League and are ...

and 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

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

Professional career

Major League Baseball

Detroit Tigers

Prior to playing professionally, Below attended Britton-Macon Area School District, in

Britton, Michigan Britton is a village in Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 586 at the 2010 census. The village is located within Ridgeway Township. History The village of Britton was originally called Balch and was established aft ...

and

Lake Michigan College Lake Michigan College is a public community college in Berrien County, Michigan. The main campus is in Benton Township, Michigan with regional campuses in Niles and South Haven. The Welch Center for Wine & Viticulture opened on the main campu ...

. He was drafted by the Tigers in the 19th round of the 2006 amateur draft and began his professional career that year. He is the first player from Britton to be on a major league roster. Below pitched for two teams in 2006, the

GCL Tigers The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home gam ...

(15 games) and the

Oneonta Tigers The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games at ...

(two games). Overall, he went 2–0 with a 2.09 ERA in 17 games (six starts). In 2007, he pitched for the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

, going 13–5 with a 2.97 ERA in 26 starts, striking out 160 batters in innings. With the

Lakeland Flying Tigers The Lakeland Flying Tigers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Lakeland, Florida, and play their home games at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. ...

in 2008, he went 8–7 with a 4.46 ERA in 27 games (26 starts). He split 2009 between Lakeland (six games) and the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

(two games), going 2–4 with a 2.70 ERA in eight starts overall. With Erie again in 2010, he went 7–12 with a 4.93 ERA in 28 starts. Following the reassignment of

Charlie Furbush Charles Roderick Furbush (born April 11, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners. Early life and career Furbush was born in South Portland, M ...

from the Tigers to the Toledo Mud Hens, Below was called up to assume a starting vacancy. Below took the place on the active roster spot for

Adam Wilk Adam Robert Wilk (born December 9, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles of Anaheim, New York Mets, and Minnesota Twins as well as in th ...

, while

Casper Wells Casper Charles Wells V (born November 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies ...

was reassigned to allow Furbush to return to the bullpen. Below made his major league debut against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

on July 20, 2011, allowing one earned run in five innings. Below earned a no-decision in the game. Below went 0–2 in 14 games in 2011. In 2012, Below was on the opening roster for the Tigers for the first time in his career, made available after an injury to Luis Marte. In his first two appearances of the season, Below earned wins in relief against the

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 ...

. On April 7, he won in relief of

Doug Fister Douglas Wildes Fister (born February 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Tex ...

, who left the game early after a left-side strain. The next day, he earned a win after retiring one batter in the 11th inning. The Tigers designated Below for assignment on April 24, 2013.

Miami Marlins

Below was claimed off waivers on April 25, 2013, by the

, who assigned him to Triple-A.

Second stint with the Tigers

Below signed a minor league deal to return to the Tigers on December 11, 2013.

Kia Tigers

Below signed with the

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

in August 2013.

New York Mets

On February 7, 2015, Below signed a Minor League deal with the

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 ...

. Below spent the entire 2015 season with the Las Vegas 51s with a 4-3 record, 2.19 ERA and 1.10 WHIP with 28 strikeouts over 49.1 innings pitched. On December 14, 2015, Below signed back with the Mets.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

Below signed with the

for the 2015 season.

Somerset Patriots

Below signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

for the 2017 season. He re-signed for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Pitching style

Below's primary pitch is a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is ca ...

at 89–92 mph. He also throws a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

(85–88), a

12–6 curveball The 12–6 curveball is one of the types of pitches thrown in baseball. It is categorized as a breaking ball because of its downward break. The 12–6 curveball, unlike the normal curveball (also referred to as the "11 to 5 curve" or a "2 to 8 ...

(78–82), a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

(84–86). His repertoire against left-handed hitters is mostly fastball-slider-curveball, while against right-handers he substitutes the changeup for the curveball. His pitches have below-average whiff rates, and his K/9 rate is 5.1.

References

External links

Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Below, Duane Living people 1985 births Baseball players from Michigan People from Lenawee County, Michigan Baseball pitchers Detroit Tigers players Miami Marlins players Michigan State Spartans baseball players Oneonta Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Tigers players Toledo Mud Hens players New Orleans Zephyrs players Kia Tigers players Yokohama DeNA BayStars players Las Vegas 51s players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Japan KBO League pitchers Somerset Patriots players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Gigantes del Cibao players