Richard Orion Kerkering ( ; born April 4, 2001) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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

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). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Career

Kerkering attended Venice High School and the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the South Florida Bulls for three seasons. He began his junior season 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 ...

before becoming the Bulls' closer. Kerkering made 19 appearances with 10 starts and went 5–7 with three saves and a 5.72 ERA while striking out 91 batters over innings pitched. In 2021, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. The

selected Kerkering in the fifth round of the

2022 Major League Baseball draft The 2022 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft took place on July 17–19, 2022, in Los Angeles. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. The draft order was based on the reverse order of the 2021 ...

. After signing with the team, he was assigned to the Rookie-level

Florida Complex League Phillies The Florida Complex League Phillies are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Phillies. The team plays ...

and was later promoted to the Single-A

Clearwater Threshers The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at BayCare Ballpark since 2 ...

. Kerkering was returned to Clearwater at the beginning of the 2023 season and was promoted to the

High-A 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 ...

Jersey Shore BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locati ...

after pitching scoreless innings with 18 strikeouts over nine relief appearances to begin the season. Kerkering was later promoted to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, and then to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In 49 combined appearances with Clearwater, Jersey Shore, Reading, and Lehigh Valley, Kerkering accumulated a 4–1 record and 1.51 ERA with 79 strikeouts and 14 saves in innings pitched. Kerkering was named the winner of the organization's

Paul Owens Award This is a list of award winners and league leaders for the Philadelphia Phillies professional baseball team. Award winners Most Valuable Player (NL) :Note: This award was known as the Kenesaw Mountain Landis Memorial Baseball Award 1944-2019. : ...

for pitcher for the 2023 season. On September 22, 2023, Kerkering was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut two days later pitching a 1-2-3 8th inning, including two strikeouts, against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. On September 27, he picked up his first Major League win, after pitching a scoreless inning in a 7–6 victory over the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Kerkering would be named to the team's

Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

roster, and in Game 2 facing 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 franc ...

he pitched another 1-2-3 inning, again occurring in the 8th inning.

Personal life

Kerkering shares his given first name, Richard, with his father and paternal grandfather, but they all go by their middle names, all of which are different.

References

External links

South Florida Bulls bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerkering, Orion 2001 births Living people Baseball players from Huntington Beach, California Clearwater Threshers players Florida Complex League Phillies players Jersey Shore BlueClaws players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Orleans Firebirds players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Fightin Phils players South Florida Bulls baseball players