Nicholas Raymond Bierbrodt (born May 16, 1978) is an American former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 ...

. He spent four seasons from 2001 to 2004 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) with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

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 ...

and Texas Rangers.

Career

He was a first round pick for the

in the 1996 MLB draft, becoming the first player ever drafted by the franchise. He had compiled a minor league record of 28-28 from 1996 to 2001, when in 2001 he was promoted to the Major League team and added to the Diamondbacks rotation. He made 5 starts for the Diamondbacks before being traded to the

for

Albie Lopez Albert Anthony "Albie" Lopez (born August 18, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He graduated from Mesa Community College. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 20th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Lopez spen ...

and Mike DiFelice. Between Arizona and Tampa Bay, Bierbrodt finished with a record of 5–6 with a 5.55 ERA in 16 starts. Bierbrodt was shot three times in the arm and chest in a taxi cab in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

in June 2002. He missed the entire 2002 season while recovering. In 2003, Bierbrodt made the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster. His return to the Majors was short lived, as in 13 games for the Devil Rays, he had a 9.14 ERA and was later claimed off waivers by the

In 2004, he signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers, appearing in 4 starts for them that year. In 2005, Bierbrodt signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and ...

, an independent league team. He would remain with the Patriots for two years before signing with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

. After playing for the

Brother Elephants A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

in , he returned to the United States the

next year "Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters' album ''There Is Nothing Left to Lose''. History A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a single in 2000 and wa ...

, joining the

Long Beach Armada The Long Beach Armada were an independent professional baseball team based in Long Beach, California, in the United States. The Armada was a member of the North Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League (GBL), which was not affiliated wi ...

of the independent

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

. In 2010, Bierbrodt signed a minor league deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. In 2011, 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

signed Bierbrodt to a minor league deal. He spent 2011 in the Orioles farm system before retiring.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bierbrodt, Nick 1978 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Baseball players from California Bowie Baysox players Brother Elephants players Bridgeport Bluefish players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charleston RiverDogs players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players El Paso Diablos players Frisco RoughRiders players High Desert Mavericks players Lethbridge Black Diamonds players Long Beach Armada players Major League Baseball pitchers Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma RedHawks players People from Tarzana, Los Angeles Baseball players from Atlanta Somerset Patriots players South Bend Silver Hawks players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Texas Rangers players Tucson Sidewinders players Tulsa Drillers players American shooting survivors Algodoneros de Guasave players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Millikan High School alumni