Jeffrey Charles D'Amico (born December 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball

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 ...

from to . D'Amico, sometimes nicknamed "Big Daddy" due to his six-foot nine stature, was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

who played for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

of the

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). His career record was 42 wins, 52 losses, 498

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

and a 4.61

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).

Career

D'Amico was selected by the

in the first round of the

1993 Major League Baseball Draft The 1993 Major League Baseball draft began with first round selections on June 3, 1993. Alex Rodriguez was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners. Other notable draftees included Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, Jason Varitek, Scott Rolen, ...

. After three seasons in the minor leagues, he made his debut on June 28, 1996, and spent the next six years with the Brewers. After missing all of 1998 and most of 1999 due to shoulder surgery, D'Amico had a career year in 2000. That season, his ERA hovered around 2.00 for much of the season and he contended for the NL ERA title. Needing just a few innings to qualify for the title on his last start of the season, he surpassed the 162 innings minimum threshold, but in the process gave up enough runs to lose the title. D'Amico finished third, behind

Kevin Brown Kevin Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Kevin Brown (blues musician) (born 1950), English blues guitarist * Kevin Brown (author) (born 1960), American journalist and translator * Kevin Brown (poet) (born 1970), American poet and teacher * Kevin ...

and

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

. On April 12, 2001, D'Amico hit the first triple at

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...

after Houston's centerfielder

Richard Hidalgo Richard José Hidalgo (born June 28, 1975) is a former professional outfielder. He played with the Houston Astros (1997–2004), New York Mets (2004), and the Texas Rangers (2005) of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-hand ...

crashed into the wall trying to flag down the fly ball to center. D'Amico was never able to follow his 2000 success as he struggled with injuries for the Brewers in 2001, before ending his career with appearances on the Mets, Pirates, and Cleveland. He led the National League in losses during the 2003 season with the Pirates and was released by the Indians in June 2004 after posting a 7.63 ERA in 7 starts. Although a very weak hitter in his major league career, posting a .101 batting average (15-for-148) with 2 home runs and 5 RBI, he was a very good fielding pitcher. In 784 innings pitched over 139 games, he committed only one error in 116 total chances for a .991

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amico, Jeff 1975 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from St. Petersburg, Florida Beloit Snappers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Edmonton Trappers players El Paso Diablos players Huntsville Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Lake County Captains players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New York Mets players Pittsburgh Pirates players