Jeffrey Scott Ballard (born August 13, 1963) is an American 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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) from to for 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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Playing career

Ballard played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for Stanford University, and in 1984 played collegiate summer baseball 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. He earned a degree in

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...

from Stanford, and in 1998 was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame as one of Stanford's top pitchers, holding the all-time record in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched for more than 20 years, as well as earning First Team All-Pac-10 twice. In 1989, he finished in a tie with

Dennis Eckersley Dennis Lee Eckersley (born October 3, 1954), nicknamed "Eck", is an American professional baseball pitcher and former color commentator. Between 1975 and 1998, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, ...

and Gregg Olson for sixth place in

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Cy Young Award voting. In 1995, Ballard's car collided with a

semi truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

on a highway in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, breaking his neck and several ribs. The accident ended his career. In 2004, Baltimore Orioles fans voted Ballard one of their 50 best loved Orioles.

Personal life

Following his career, Ballard returned to his hometown of

Billings, Montana Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

. In January 1996, he began working for his father and with his brother at Ballard Petroleum Holdings. Ballard married the former Kristen Callison in 2008. Together, they had a son, Kyren, and a daughter, Kennley, as of 2014.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Jeff 1963 births Living people Baseball players from Montana Hagerstown Suns players Baltimore Orioles players Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Billings, Montana Stanford Cardinal baseball players Stanford University School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences alumni Orleans Firebirds players Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Baseball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charlotte O's players Louisville Redbirds players Newark Orioles players Rochester Red Wings players