Oliver Gardner Drake (born January 13, 1987) is an American 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

who is a free agent. 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

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) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

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) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

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 ...

Los Angeles 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 ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

, and

Tampa Bay 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 v ...

. In 2018, he became the first to play for five MLB teams in a single season.

Amateur career

Drake is a graduate of

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP a ...

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

, earning letters in baseball and hockey while a student there. He was a first-team All-CNEPSL as a junior and a senior, winning the Thompson Blanket, Ralph E. Jillson and Nettie M. Johnson Memorial awards as the latter. After high school, Drake attended the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of ...

and played for the Navy Midshipmen baseball team. He had one of the best freshman pitching seasons in school history, going 3–3 with a 3.22

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 numb ...

(ERA). He went 6–3 with a 3.70 ERA as a sophomore, having an 8.74

strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted ...

. After two years at Navy, Drake was drafted in the 43rd round (1,286th overall) of the 2008 M by the Orioles.

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

Drake was assigned to Rookie-league Bluefield, then the Bluefield Orioles, pitching in 7 games, going 1–0 with a 0.77 ERA before being promoted to Low-A

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

, pitching in 5 games with a 0.87 ERA. His totals in 2008 were 12 games, going 1–0 with a 0.82 ERA. He spent all of 2009 with Single-A Delmarva, going 8–9 with a 4.34 ERA over 25 games, 24 of them starts. He played all of 2010 with High-A

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederi ...

, going 6–6 with a 4.36 ERA over 24 games. He also played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

with Scottsdale, going 1–3 with an 8.38 ERA. He split 2011 with Frederick and Double-A Bowie, while also playing 1 game with Triple-A

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, going 11–8 with a 3.32 ERA over 27 games. He was added to the Orioles' 40-man roster following the season. He had shoulder surgery in 2012. Entering 2014, he was rated the Orioles' 24th-best prospect by ''

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 ...

''. Drake signed a major league deal with the

on November 18, 2014. In 2015, in 18 innings for Norfolk, he had a 0.96 ERA. On May 23, 2015, Drake was promoted to the Major League team and made his pitching debut that day. Entering the game in the ninth inning of a scoreless tie against the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

, Drake pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out two in a game the Orioles eventually lost 1–0 in 13 innings. By making his big-league debut, Drake became the second former Naval Academy pitcher to make his Major League debut during the 2015 season, along with Navy alum

Mitch Harris Mitch Harris (born October 31, 1969) is an American guitarist. He started his career in the grindcore band Righteous Pigs. He did a side project with Mick Harris – then the drummer of grindcore band Napalm Death – called Defecation. Shortl ...

of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

. Drake pitched in five games and 7.2 innings for the Orioles with a 3.52 ERA. On June 3 he was optioned back to the AAA Norfolk Tides. Drake pitched in 13 games for the Orioles in 2015, pitching to a 2.87 ERA in 15 innings. He struck out 17 batters. On September 23, 2016, Drake pitched one inning of relief in extra innings out of the bullpen for the Orioles. The Orioles would walk it off in the bottom half of the inning, giving Drake his first career victory.

Milwaukee Brewers

On April 13, 2017, Drake was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the play ...

. Later the same day, the Orioles traded him to the

for a player to be named later or cash considerations. On March 28, 2018, Drake made the Opening Day roster for the Milwaukee Brewers. Drake posted a 5.11 ERA, 1.7

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

and a 7:7 K:BB across 12.1 innings in Spring Training leading up to the 2018 season. After struggling to begin the season, he was designated for assignment on May 1.

Cleveland Indians

On May 5, 2018, Drake was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. He was later designated for assignment on May 26.

Los Angeles Angels

On May 31, 2018, Drake was claimed off waivers by the

. Drake was designated for assignment on June 16, 2018, and again on July 23.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 26, 2018, Drake was claimed by the

. He was designated for assignment on July 30.

Minnesota Twins

On August 3, 2018, Drake was claimed off waivers by the

. When Drake entered the game on August 4 against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

, he set the MLB record for most teams played for in a single season with five.

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 1, 2018, Drake was claimed off waivers by the

. He was designated for assignment on November 20. On November 26, Drake was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays. On January 4, 2019, Drake was traded back to the Rays for cash considerations. On January 18, 2019, the Rays designated Drake for assignment, and he was outrighted to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

on January 24. He was called up by Tampa Bay on May 26 as

Tyler Glasnow Tyler Allen Glasnow (born August 23, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Glasnow was born on August 23, 199 ...

was added to the 60-day

injured 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 ...

. On August 12, Drake recorded his first career hit, an RBI single at

Petco Park Petco Park is a baseball stadium in Downtown San Diego, California. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, and has also been used as a venue for concerts, soccer, golf, and rugby. The ballpark is located between ...

against the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. Drake saw insignificant playing time in 2020 due to injuries. The Rays designated him for assignment on October 11. On October 14, 2020, Drake was outrighted, but rejected the outright assignment and elected free agency. On February 17, 2021, Drake re-signed with the Rays on a $775K major league contract. On February 22, 2021, Drake was placed on the 60-day injured list due to a flexor strain in his elbow. On November 5, 2021, Drake was outrighted off the 40-man roster and elected free agency.

References

External links

Navy Midshipmen player bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, Oliver 1987 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Cleveland Indians players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Minnesota Twins players Navy Midshipmen baseball players Norfolk Tides players Northfield Mount Hermon School alumni Salt Lake Bees players Scottsdale Scorpions players Tampa Bay Rays players Toronto Blue Jays players People from Gardner, Massachusetts