Joseph Neal Devine (born September 19, 1983) 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
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
and
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 ...
.
Baseball career
Atlanta Braves
Devine was the Braves' first selection (27th overall) in the first round of the
2005 Major League Baseball draft
The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...
out of
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
, where he had set the
Wolfpack record for
saves with 24 and made the All-
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
team three times.
After being drafted, Devine spent only two months in the minor leagues, pitching with the Single-A Advanced
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...
and the Double-A
Mississippi Braves
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...
, before being called up to the major leagues on August 20. He was the first player in his draft class to make his MLB debut.
Devine encountered early struggles once being called up to the major leagues, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to allow a
grand slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
in each of his first two games. Braves manager
Bobby Cox
Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...
showed faith in Devine, however, by including him on the postseason roster despite his pitching only five innings with the big-league club during the regular season. In the 18th inning of Game 4 of the
2005 National League Division Series
The 2005 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2005 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Sunday, October 9, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—p ...
, Devine gave up a
walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...
to
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
rookie
Chris Burke to end the Braves' season.
In , Atlanta planned to have Devine start the season at Triple-A
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
as the
closer, but injuries to
Horacio Ramírez and
Blaine Boyer
Blaine Thomas Boyer (born July 11, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, ...
forced the Braves to call him up along with fellow reliever
Ken Ray
Kenneth Alan Ray (born November 27, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals. Ray made his MLB debut on July 10, , for the Royals.
Early career
After briefly pitching for ...
. Devine struggled once again, however, pitching a total of one inning in two games against the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
and giving up seven
runs on five
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
, five
walks, and two
wild pitch
In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...
es. Devine was optioned back to Richmond afterwards, with
Peter Moylan
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
serving as his replacement in Atlanta's
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
. Devine was called up again in September and continued to pitch in Atlanta until the end of the regular season. ''
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...
'' rated Devine as the Braves' ninth-best prospect entering . Devine spent the majority of the 2007 season at Mississippi, though he was called up by Atlanta several times. On September 22, Devine earned his first major league
victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...
against 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 ...
. He finished the 2007 season 1-0 with a 1.08
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 ...
.
Oakland Athletics
On January 14, , Devine was traded to the Oakland Athletics along with minor league pitcher Jamie Richmond for
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
Mark Kotsay
Mark Steven Kotsay (born December 2, 1975) is an American professional baseball manager and former outfielder. He is the manager for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Kotsay appeared in 1,914 MLB games for the San ...
. Devine had a breakout season with the Athletics in ; in 45 innings, Devine gave up just 23 hits, walked only 15, struck out 49, held major-league batters to a .148 BA, and finished with a remarkable 0.59 ERA; the lowest ever in MLB history among pitchers with a minimum of 45 innings since ERA became an official statistic in . This record is not officially recognized because the MLB minimum is 50 innings.
Devine missed the 2009 season following
Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
on his right elbow.
[ The operation was performed Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by ]Dr. James Andrews
James Andrews (born May 2, 1942) is an American orthopedic surgeon. He is a surgeon for knee, elbow, and shoulder injuries and is a specialist in repairing damaged ligaments. Practicing in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Andrews has become one of the best ...
on Devine's ulnar collateral ligament. On December 2, 2009, Devine, avoided arbitration and agreed to a 1-year contract with the 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 ...
.
Devine remained inactive through the 2010 season while still recovering from the surgery. He finally returned to action in 2011. However, after struggling to find control in a flukish spring training game, Joey Devine was sent down to the A's Minor League Sacramento River Cats to work out the kinks. He instantly regained his 2008 form and commenced to not allow a single earned run over his first 12 innings, striking out a solid 17, giving up only 4 hits, and walking a mere one batter. He was recalled to the Oakland A's Major League Roster on May, 20th 2011.
Devines' longest streak of innings without yielding an earned run (33.2 innings) was broken on June 3, 2011, due to inherited runs acquired through reliever Brian Fuentes
Brian Christopher Fuentes (; born August 9, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Minnesota Twins, Oakland A ...
.
After pitching relatively well after his return to the MLB roster in 2011, Devine struggled in late July during his last three outings of that month (Devine attributed control issues to heat and lack of grip during a heat wave in which temps. were over ). On July 22, 2011, he walked three consecutive Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
, throwing a wild pitch behind Brandon Laird
Brandon J. Laird (born September 11, 1987), nicknamed "Sushi Boy", is an American of Mexican descent who was a professional baseball third baseman for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played for the New York ...
to initiate the latter's debut major-league at-bat. His control issues lead to his being demoted back to Sacramento River Cats on July 28, 2011, despite the fact that many of the earned runs he had acquired to that point were inherited after he stepped off the mound. Prior to his last three outings, Devine was one of the leading pitchers on Oakland's MLB pitching staff statistically: 2.14 ERA and declining, over 9K/9 innings, and high octane pitch speeds of up to 97 MPH, with additional nasty off speed pitch movement in his slider, low hits/outs ratio, hitters average under .200, no homers allowed, and an average walk rate.
It was announced on April 10, 2012 that Devine had undergone his second career Tommy John surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...
. Devine was placed on the disabled list for the 2012 season.
Personal life
After leaving baseball, Devine worked for a sports agency, earned a degree from NC State while living in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
and worked as a graduate assistant for the his former college team.
In 2017, Devine told ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' that Brian McCann was still one of his closest friends.
, he was married and had three young children.
References
External links
Joey Devine Interview at Baseball Digest Daily
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devine, Joey
1983 births
Living people
People from Junction City, Kansas
Baseball players from Kansas
Major League Baseball pitchers
Atlanta Braves players
Oakland Athletics players
NC State Wolfpack baseball players
Myrtle Beach Pelicans players
Mississippi Braves players
Richmond Braves players
Sacramento River Cats players
Peoria Javelinas players