David Kent Purcey (born April 22, 1982) 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), ...

(MLB) for the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Amateur career

Purcey attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

at Trinity Christian Academy in

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, in the United States. Addison is situated to the immediate north of the city of Dallas, with a 2020 census population of 16,661. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipaliti ...

, and then attended the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, where he played for the Sooners baseball team. In 2003, 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

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

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 ...

and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

Draft

Purcey originally was drafted in the

2001 MLB draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

by the

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 ...

in the 20th round. He then was drafted again by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the 17th round of the 2003 MLB draft, and finally drafted once again by Toronto in the first round (16th overall) during the 2004 MLB draft.

Toronto Blue Jays

Purcey made his major league debut on April 18, 2008, starting against the

and allowing one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

over innings. He was returned to the minor leagues after two major league appearances, but was recalled to the Blue Jays in July, and ended the 2008 season in the team's starting rotation. On August 27, 2008, Purcey started against the

Tampa Bay 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) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

and pitched his first career major league complete game. He recorded 11 strikeouts and scattered five hits through eight innings of work. Following

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

2009, Purcey earned the third spot in the rotation, but switched spots with

Jesse Litsch Jesse Allen Litsch (born March 9, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. After working as a batboy for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, he was drafted in the 24th round by the Toronto Blue Jays in , and played from 2007 to 2011, when ...

to separate the left-handers. Purcey was second in the rotation until May 1, 2009 when he was assigned to the Toronto Blue Jays

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

affiliate Las Vegas 51s. Purcey went on to split the remainder of the season between the Blue Jays and Las Vegas. He posted a record of 1–3 and a 6.19

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 ...

in nine starts with Toronto in 2009. He often struggled with his command, which improved somewhat with Las Vegas. On May 24, 2010, Purcey was recalled by Toronto and moved to the bullpen as a relief pitcher after

Dana Eveland Dana James Eveland (born October 29, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, L ...

was designated for assignment. On July 26, 2010, Purcey recorded his first major league save 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 ...

in a 9–5 win.

Oakland Athletics

Purcey was traded by the Blue Jays on April 18, 2011, to the

in exchange for minor league relief pitcher

Danny Farquhar Daniel Andres Farquhar ( ; born February 17, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox before retiring on July 31, 2019. Amateur career ...

. Purcey was acquired after injuries to

Rich Harden James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Early years Harden attended Claremont Secondary S ...

and

Dallas Braden Dallas Lee Braden (born August 13, 1983) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to as a member of the Oakland Athletics and, wh ...

Detroit Tigers

On May 27, 2011, Purcey was traded to the

for

Scott Sizemore Scott Daniel Sizemore (born January 4, 1985) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played for the Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees from 2010 to 2014. Early life Sizemore was born in Virginia Beach ...

. Purcey was designated for assignment on August 2, 2011.

Philadelphia Phillies

Purcey signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on December 9, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. Purcey spent the year with Triple-A

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, going 1–4 with a 4.37 ERA in 47 games (one start) while striking out 63 in 57.2 innings pitched.

Chicago White Sox

On November 21, 2012, Purcey signed a minor league deal with the

. He started the 2013 season with the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. On July 3, 2013, his contract was purchased by the White Sox to replace

Jesse Crain Jesse Alan Crain (born July 5, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. High school and college Crain was born in Toronto, Ontario and at ...

who was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. While with the White Sox, Purcey suffered a strained ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow during the last week of the 2013 season. He was outrighted to Charlotte on October 18, 2013. The White Sox signed Purcey to a minor league contract with spring training invitation on November 8, 2013. On May 12, 2014, Purcey was released by the White Sox.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

Purcey signed with the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

in March 2015.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purcey, David 1982 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Major League Baseball pitchers University of Oklahoma alumni Toronto Blue Jays players Oakland Athletics players Detroit Tigers players Chicago White Sox players Oklahoma Sooners baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Auburn Doubledays players Dunedin Blue Jays players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Syracuse Chiefs players Las Vegas 51s players Toledo Mud Hens players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Charlotte Knights players Somerset Patriots players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players