Timothy Floyd Spooneybarger (born October 21, 1979) is an American former

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 ...

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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He 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

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

and

Florida 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 batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Atlanta Braves

Spooneybarger was drafted by the

in the 29th round, with the 881st overall selection, of the

1998 Major League Baseball draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

. He spent three seasons in the minors (playing for the rookie–level

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

, Single–A

Macon Braves Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia * Macon, Illinois *Macon ...

, High–A

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

, Double–A

Greenville Braves The Greenville Braves were an American minor league baseball franchise, based in Greenville, South Carolina, that served as the Class AA farm team of the Atlanta Braves between 1984 and 2004. The Braves played in Greenville Municipal Stadium for ...

and Triple–A

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

) where he compiled an outstanding record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 16 saves with a 1.79 ERA. Spooneybarger made his major league debut with the Braves on September 5, . He finished his rookie campaign with a 2.25 ERA across 4 contests. He spent most of the season in the majors recording a 2.63

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

with 33 strikeouts and 1 save in innings pitched across 51 games for the Braves.

Miami Marlins

On November 18, 2002, Spooneybarger was traded to the

along with minor league pitcher Ryan Baker for

Mike Hampton Michael William Hampton, Jr. (born September 9, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. Hampton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1993 through 2010. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, New ...

. He started with the Marlins, appearing in 33 games before going on the

disabled 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 ...

with elbow tendinitis; the team went on to win the 2003 World Series. Before beginning a rehabilitation assignment, he was forced to have

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

and miss the entire season. On July 20, , while rehabilitating with the High–A

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

, he left the game due to pain and later learned he would have to undergo Tommy John surgery for a second time. On October 3, 2005, Marlins released Spooneybarger, and he would be out of professional baseball for the next two years.

Baltimore Orioles

On April 25, , Spooneybarger signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

organization. In 6 games for the Low–A

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, he posted a 3.68 ERA with 12 strikeouts in innings pitched. Spooneybarger elected free agency following the season on November 3.

Personal life

Spooneybarger plays in a rock band called Madder Ink with former Marlins teammate

A. J. Burnett Allan James Burnett (born January 3, 1977), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia ...

. The group is so named because Burnett and Spooneybarger both sport many tattoos.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spooneybarger, Tim 1979 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from San Diego Atlanta Braves players Florida Marlins players Danville Braves players Macon Braves players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Greenville Braves players Richmond Braves players Aberdeen IronBirds players