Guido Joel Knudson (; born August 5, 1989) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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

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 ...

Early life

Prior to playing professionally, Knudson attended

Bonita Vista High School Bonita Vista High School (BVH) is a public, four-year (grade levels 9–12) high school located in the city of Chula Vista, California. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District, and offers both Advanced Placement and International ...

and then the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. During his tenure at the university, he pitched for the

North Adams SteepleCats North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

and he also played for the

Woodstock River Bandits The Woodstock River Bandits are a collegiate summer baseball team in Woodstock, Virginia. They play in the Northern division of the Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA and MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball leagu ...

of the

Valley Baseball League The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA and MLB-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. The league was started in 1923 and sanctioned by the NCAA in 1961. It has been a wooden bat league since 1993 ...

, earning an All-Star selection in 2009. He earned All-West and All- CCAA honors in 2011.

Career

Detroit Tigers

The

selected Knudson in the 28th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

and he pitched for 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 ...

and

Connecticut Tigers The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They play th ...

that year, posting a 3.42 ERA in 18 games. In 2012, he had a 3.86 ERA in 16 games between 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. ...

and

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. ...

and in 2013, he had a 1.79 ERA in 42 games for the Whitecaps. Between Lakeland 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 ...

in 2014, he had a 3.99 ERA with seven saves in 40 appearances. One observer noted he has a "slider that is about MLB average" and that he "may cut out an MLB career for himself." On August 20, 2015, the Tigers purchased the contract of Knudson from the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

after placing starters

Aníbal Sánchez Aníbal Alejandro Sánchez Jr. (; born February 27, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Florida Marlins and has also played for the Detroit Tiger ...

and

Daniel Norris Daniel David Norris (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Guardians organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers ...

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 ...

. Prior to being called up by the Tigers, Knudson had a 1–2 record and a 2.52 ERA in 30 appearances with the Mud Hens, allowing 27 hits over 39 innings, with 21 walks and 40 strikeouts. Knudson made his major league debut on August 22, in a game against the Texas Rangers. In his debut, he pitched one inning, allowing one hit, a home run to

Rougned Odor Rougned Roberto Odor () (born February 3, 1994), nicknamed "Rougie", is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Balt ...

, with two strikeouts and no walks. Knudson became the first pitcher since at least 1914 to give up a home run in each of his first four Major League relief appearances.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 9, 2015, Knudson was claimed off waivers by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He was released in January 2016, but was re-signed the same month. He was released again on June 17.

Seattle Mariners

On July 3, 2016, Knudson signed a minor league deal with 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 ...

. He elected free agency on October 6, 2016. Knudson retired from professional baseball in April 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knudson, Guido 1989 births Baseball players from San Diego County, California Connecticut Tigers players Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Tigers players Lakeland Flying Tigers players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Bonita Vista High School alumni Toledo Mud Hens players UC San Diego Tritons baseball players West Michigan Whitecaps players Indianapolis Indians players Tacoma Rainiers players North Adams SteepleCats players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players People from Bonita, California