Nick Gardewine (born August 15, 1993) is an 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 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 ...

for the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He has 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 Texas Rangers.

Amateur career

Gardewine attended Effingham High School in

Effingham, Illinois Effingham is a city in and the county seat of Effingham County, Illinois, United States. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. The city is part of the Effingham, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

, and graduated in 2012. He played for the school's baseball team as a

and finished his senior year with an 8–1

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 matc ...

, a 0.76

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), and 74 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. He then enrolled at

Kaskaskia College Kaskaskia College is a public community college in Centralia, Illinois Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the large ...

and pitched for the school's baseball team in the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

for one season. He had a 2.12 ERA, and threw a no-hitter in a game against

Lake Land College Lake Land College is a public community college in Mattoon, Illinois. It was founded in 1966. As of the Fall 2021 semester Lake Land serves 3,644 students, mainly from the east-central Illinois region. The campus has seven major buildings plus ...

, helping his team reach the

JUCO World Series The JUCO World Series is an annual baseball tournament held across three divisions of National Junior College Athletic Association baseball. Taking place in late May and early June each year, it determines the junior college baseball national champi ...

Professional career

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers selected Gardewine in the seventh round, with the 220th overall selection, of the

2013 MLB Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He signed with the Rangers, and pitched in Minor League Baseball for the

Arizona Rangers The Arizona Rangers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, noncommissioned civilian auxiliary that supports law enforcement in the US, state of Arizona. In 2002, the modern-day Arizona Rangers were officially recognized by the State of Arizona when the Le ...

of the Rookie-level

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it ...

in 2013 where he was 3–3 with 3.21 ERA in 14 games. In 2014, Gardewine pitched for the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

, and had a 6–3 win–loss record and a 4.54 ERA. He played for the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

in 2015, and had a 6–8 win–loss record and a 4.31 ERA. While pitching for Hickory, Gardewine tore his

supraspinatus muscle The supraspinatus (plural ''supraspinati'') is a relatively small muscle of the upper back that runs from the supraspinous fossa superior portion of the scapula (shoulder blade) to the greater tubercle of the humerus. It is one of the four rota ...

. He rehabilitated the injury into the 2016 season, where he became a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

for the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eigh ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League. In 29 relief appearances for Hickory in 2016, he was 5–1 with a 2.47 ERA. Gardewine began the 2017 season with the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are named for the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regime ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

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 ...

. The Rangers promoted Gardewine to the major leagues for the first time on August 21, 2017. Gardewine appeared in 12 games for Texas in 2017, producing a 0–0 record, and 5.63 ERA in 8 innings. In 2018 Gardewine appeared in 3 games for Texas, posting a 0–0 record, and 3.60 ERA in 5 innings. He appeared in 12 games for the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, throwing 12 innings with a 2–1 record, 7.30 ERA, and 17 strikeouts in 12 games. Gardewine was placed on the AAA DL on May 17, 2018 with a right forearm strain. Gardewine spent the rest of the 2018 season rehabbing his injury and did not appear in another game. Gardewine was placed on the MLB 60-day DL from August 25 - November 2, 2018. In 2019, Gardewine was optioned to the Nashville Sounds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League to open the season, and appeared in four games before being shut down for the season due to injuries. On June 8, he was designated for assignment. On June 13, he was released by Texas. On June 19, he signed a two-year minor league contract with the Rangers. Gardewine was released by the Rangers organization on June 1, 2020.

Cleburne Railroaders

On May 7, 2021, Gardewine signed with the

of the

. Gardewine appeared in 1 game with Cleburne, pitching a shutout inning with 3 strikeouts.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On May 20, 2021, Gardewine’s contract was purchased by 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 ...

organization.

Cleburne Railroaders (second stint)

On April 29, 2022, Gardewine signed with the

of the

. Gardewine appeared in 42 games for Cleburne in 2022, recording a 5-4 record and 2.72 ERA with 15 saves and 59 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched. On January 23, 2023, he was released by the Railroaders. Gardewine re–signed with Cleburne on June 17.https://aabaseball.com/transactions/

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardewine, Nick 1993 births Living people People from Effingham, Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Kaskaskia Blue Devils baseball players Arizona League Rangers players Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Spokane Indians players Hickory Crawdads players High Desert Mavericks players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Nashville Sounds players Cleburne Railroaders players Reno Aces players Águilas de Mexicali players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico