Lawrence Kyle Abbott (born February 18, 1968) is a former American

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 ...

player. In a five-year career, Abbott played four seasons for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

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), as well as one season for the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stad ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). He was officially listed as standing and weighing .

Early life

Abbott was born in

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

. Abbott attended high school at

Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive education, comprehensive State school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unif ...

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

, before attending college at

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 ...

from 1987 until 1988. Abbott transferred to

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

in 1989, where he led his team to the College World Series for the first time in team history.

Career

Abbott began his baseball career with the

, who drafted Abbott with the ninth pick of the

1989 Major League Baseball Draft First-round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft on June 5. Supplemental first round selections Other notable players * Brian Hunter, 2nd round, 35th overall by the Houston Astros * Ti ...

. After signing with the Angels, Abbot played the 1989 season for the

Quad Cities Angels Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which inc ...

, a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

affiliate of the Angels. In 73.2

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, Abbott recorded five wins and four losses with an

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) of 2.57. ''

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 ...

'' ranked Abbott as the 60th-best minor league prospect for the 1990 season. In 1990, Abbott continued his career, playing for two minor league teams: the Edmonton Trappers of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

and the

Midland Angels Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Naga ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. In his time with the Edmonton Trappers, Abbott recorded the worst earned run average on the team, with an ERA of 14.81, over 10.1 innings pitched. After pitching in three games for the Trappers, Abbott was demoted to the double-A Midland Angels. Abbott finished the season tied for second in most wins on the team, while leading the team in losses and walks allowed. ''Baseball America'' ranked Abbott as the eighty-fourth best prospect for the 1991 season. Abbot began the 1991 season playing for the Trappers. Abbott recorded team highs in wins, losses, and innings pitched, leading Abbott to make his Major League debut for the California Angels on September 10, 1991, in a game against the Texas Rangers. For his debut, Abbot served as 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 ...

, allowing two earned runs in six innings pitched. Abbott finished the 1991 season with a 1–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and an ERA of 4.58. In the 1991 postseason, the Angels traded Abbott and Rubén Amaro, Jr. to the

for outfielder Von Hayes. Abbott spent the first seven games of the 1992 season with the Philadelphia Phillies, recording an 0–7 record before being demoted to the minor league

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

. After posting an ERA of 1.54 over 35.0 innings pitched, Abbott was promoted to the Major Leagues, finishing the MLB season with a 1–14 record while allowing eighty runs over 133.1 innings pitched. Abbott finished the season tied for third in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

for most losses, while tying for eighth in most

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 thrown. Abbott pitched the 1993 season for the Red Barons, leading his team in wins, innings pitched, and

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 ...

allowed. Later that year, on November 24, 1993, Abbott was released by the Philadelphia Phillies before playing for the

of the

Japan Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

in 1994. Abbott helped the Buffaloes to a 68–59 record while the Buffaloes finished fourth in their division. On December 6, 1994, Abbott signed a contract valued at $150,000 with the Phillies. Abbott spent the entire 1995 season in the Major Leagues, recording a 3.81 ERA while allowing sixteen walks with twenty-one

strikeout 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 ...

s. Abbott was granted free agency on October 16, 1995. In his last major league season, Abbott played for the Angels, signing with the team on May 29, 1996. Abbott began the year with the Midland Angels, but was promoted to the California Angels when Mark Langston was placed on the fifteen-day

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 ...

. Abbott finished the major league year with a 20.25 ERA in 4 innings pitched.

References

External links

Kyle Abbott
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Kyle 1968 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Long Beach State Dirtbags baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Midland Angels players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Phillies players Quad Cities Angels players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players UC San Diego Tritons baseball players