Stephen LeCharles Randolph (born May 1, 1974) is an American left-handed

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 ...

formerly 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), ...

and

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 ...

Career

Randolph was selected by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in the 18th round of the 1995

MLB Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

out of the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. He spent three seasons in the Yankees farm system, never getting above "A" ball. In late 1997 he was selected 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 ...

in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft and joined the Diamondbacks farm system, where he would remain through 2003, primarily with the

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. He made his Major League debut on March 31, 2003 for the Diamondbacks against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, working 1/3 of an inning in relief. He became a regular contributor to the Arizona bullpen in both 2003 and 2004, pitching in 50 games in 2003 and 45 in 2004. In January, 2005, Arizona traded him to the Chicago Cubs but the Cubs released him at the end of spring training and he spent the 2005 season with minor league affiliates of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

and the 2006 season with the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

organization. On January 4, 2007, he signed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros and was called up to Houston from Triple-A

Round Rock Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County, Texas, Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County, Texas, Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of ...

April 25 when

reliever 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 weather ...

Rick White was placed on the disabled list (DL) with an oblique strain. He made only two appearances before he 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 pla ...

on April 27 to make room for top

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

prospect

Hunter Pence Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983), nicknamed "The Reverend", is an American former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, San F ...

. He was recalled from Round Rock June 19 when

Brad Lidge Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976) nicknamed "Lights Out" is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Lidge played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 2002–2012. He played for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phi ...

went on the DL with an oblique strain, but was again designated for assignment June 28. On December 13, 2007, he was among 89 players named in the

Mitchell Report The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...

on performance-enhancing drug use in baseball. On May 8, 2008, Randolph was traded by the Astros to the Philadelphia Phillies. He was assigned to the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

and became a free agent at the end of the season. He signed a minor league contract with the

in January and was assigned to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

. On July 3, the Dodgers traded him to the Kansas City Royals. On July 25, 2009 Randolph was sold to the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randolph, Stephen 1974 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Charlotte Knights players El Paso Diablos players Fresno Grizzlies players Galveston Whitecaps baseball players Greensboro Bats players Gulf Coast Yankees players High Desert Mavericks players Houston Astros players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Japan New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Omaha Royals players Oneonta Yankees players Sportspeople from Okinawa Prefecture Round Rock Express players Tampa Yankees players Texas Longhorns baseball players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tigres de Aragua players Tucson Sidewinders players Yokohama BayStars players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople

Career

See also

References

External links