Ehren Josef Wassermann (born December 6, 1980) is a former professional baseball player and coach. He currently serves as the head coach for John Carroll Catholic High School. A

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

sidearm

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 ...

, Wassermann made his

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), ...

debut with 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 ...

on July 20, , 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 eigh ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

, retiring both batters faced.

Amateur career

Wassermann attended

Jefferson Davis Community College Coastal Alabama Community College (also known as Coastal Alabama Community College – South) is a public community college with nine campuses in southern Alabama: Bay Minette, Fairhope, Gulf Shores, Atmore, Brewton, Gilbertown, Jackson, Mo ...

before transferring to Samford University, majoring in

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

, in

Homewood, Alabama Homewood is a city in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is a suburb of Birmingham, located on the other side of Red Mountain due south of the city center. As of the 2010 census its population was 25,167, and in 2019 th ...

. In his junior year, he posted a 4.04

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) as a starter and led the staff in appearances (25), innings pitched (91.1), and saves (3) while also finishing second in ERA and strikeouts (65).

Career

Chicago White Sox

Wassermann was signed as an undrafted

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 after attending a tryout camp for the

; he sold knives in between attending tryouts. That year, he started his minor league career with the Bristol White Sox, while posting an 0–1 record and a 14.73 ERA in four appearances. Wassermann also made six appearances for the

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

, going 1–1 with a 1.00 ERA over nine innings pitched. In 2004, he posted a record of 2–3, recorded 30 saves, and pitched to a 2.56 ERA over 51 games for Kannapolis. Wassermann was later promoted to the Single-A

Winston-Salem Warthogs Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, where he finished 1–0 with a 2.70 ERA in 10 games. In 2005, Wassermann went 4–2 with 20 saves and a 1.37 ERA over 42 games for Winston-Salem. He also played in 14 games for the Double-A Birmingham Barons, going 2–0 with a 2.14 ERA. Wassermann spent the entire 2006 season in Birmingham, compiling a 4–8 record with 22 saves and a 2.56 ERA over 61 appearances. In 2007, he was promoted to 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 ...

. He allowed only four

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in four seasons during his minor league career. Wassermann was called up to the White Sox on July 17, 2007, replacing

Nick Masset Nicholas Allen Masset (born May 17, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, and Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB ...

on the team's active roster. Wassermann made his major league debut on July 20, facing the

, and retired both batters he faced. He pitched 42 2/3 innings in 55 relief appearances over two seasons while posting a 2–3 record and a 5.06 ERA in his major league stint. He never allowed a

in his major league career of 57 games. After spending time with the Charlotte Knights in between major league stints, Wassermann would spend the entire 2009 season in Charlotte. In 43 appearances, he was 7–3 with one save and a 3.68 ERA over 63.2 innings pitched. On November 9, 2009, he elected free agency.

Philadelphia Phillies

On January 6, 2010, Wassermann signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He would spend the entire 2010 season with the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

, but appeared in only 18 games due to an injury, going 0–3 with a 6.23 ERA. He elected free agency on November 6, 2010.

Long Island Ducks

On March 24, 2011, Wassermann signed with the Long Island Ducks of the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Atlantic League. He played in 51 games for Long Island, finishing the season 4–1 with 11 saves and a 2.57 ERA over 63 innings pitched. He became a free agent after the season.

Coaching career

In April 2012, Wassermann became the pitching coach for the

Windy City ThunderBolts The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois, in the United States. The ThunderBolts are a member of the Frontier League, which is a partner league of Major League Baseball. Sinc ...

of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

. In January 2013, Wassermann became the pitching coach for the

GCL Twins The Florida Complex League Twins are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays in Fort Myers, Florida, at the Lee County Sports Complex. Prior to 2021, t ...

in the Minnesota Twins organization. In 2018, he became the pitching coach at Hoover High School in Alabama. On June 24, 2022, Wassermann was named the head coach for John Carroll Catholic High School in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

Notes and references

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wassermann, Ehren 1980 births Living people Baseball players from Alabama Birmingham Barons players Bristol White Sox players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Mayos de Navojoa players People from Sylacauga, Alabama Samford Bulldogs baseball players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tomateros de Culiacán players Venados de Mazatlán players Winston-Salem Warthogs players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico