Tanyon James Sturtze (born October 12, 1970) is a former

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), ...

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 ...

Early life and education

He attended Saint Peter-Marian High School then

Quinsigamond Community College Quinsigamond Community College ()('' colloq:'' QCC, Quinsig) is a public community college in Worcester, Massachusetts. It has an enrollment of over 7,000 students. Many students are enrolled in the college's transfer program, MassTransfer, with ...

and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the

1990 Major League Baseball Draft The 1990 Major League Baseball ( MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...

MLB career

In , he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He pitched two innings, allowing two runs, with the major league team that year. He spent the next two seasons alternating between the Triple-A Iowa Cubs and the Chicago Cubs, and in , he signed with the Texas Rangers, again alternating between the major and minor league squads. In , he did not play major league ball, and in , he became a member of 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 ...

, becoming a permanent major league reliever. He was dealt to the

Tampa Bay Devil 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 ve ...

in exchange for

Tony Graffanino Anthony Joseph Graffanino (; born Graffagnino, June 6, 1972) is a former American Major League Baseball second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop. Career Graffanino was primarily a contact hitter (just 481 strikeouts in 2787 big-league at ...

in the season, and became a key starter for the perennially last-place Devil Rays. However, the season was a dismal one for Sturtze, as he recorded the lowest winning percentage among all qualified starters (.182) and led the majors in losses (18), earned runs allowed (129), hits allowed (271), walks allowed (89) and batters faced (1008). Although he was the team’s workhorse, ranking seventh in innings pitched (224.0), which was then a Devil Rays record, games started (33), and third in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s allowed (33). The 2002 Devil Rays had the worst pitching staff in the major leagues (5.29 ERA), and surrendered the most runs (918). In , he joined the

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 ...

. In April 2004, Sturtze signed with 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 ...

and on May 15, , he was traded to 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 ...

for

Brian Myrow Brian Shawn Myrow (born September 4, 1976) is former American baseball player. Early and personal life Myrow was born on September 4, 1976, in Fort Worth, Texas. He attended Louisiana Tech University.Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. After a fight broke out between

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded ...

and

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, Sturtze tangled with

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, and current manager of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th-round draft pick (1,487th ove ...

, David Ortiz, and Trot Nixon, and he emerged from the fight with a cut below his ear and blood smeared on his jersey. He missed most of the season after having season-ending surgery to repair a slight tear in his right rotator cuff. On December 3, 2006, Sturtze signed a one-year $750,000 contract with 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. The contract paid him an additional $350,000 if he spent one day on the active 25 man roster. However, in March , Sturtze was placed on the 15-day DL, he was transferred to the 60-day DL in May 2007 and given his unconditional release on August 21. Sturtze was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training by the

on December 12, 2007. He was assigned to the Dodgers Double-A affiliate, the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

and was later promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. He was called up to the majors on August 14, , but was designated for assignment on August 28, and was sent outright to the minors a few days later. Sturtze requested to stay with the team in some capacity, so he was made a bullpen catcher for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs. In January , Sturtze re-signed with the Dodgers to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He did not make the Major League roster 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 ...

. The Dodgers released Sturtze on May 1.

Personal life

Tanyon is the Advisory Board Chairman for The Pinstripes Sports Dreams Foundation. The foundation gives youth travel baseball players that cannot afford professional coaching, equipment and team fees the opportunity to play elite travel baseball. PinstripesSportsDreamsFoundation.Org After retiring, Sturtze began a second career as an insurance salesman with the Hotaling Group in New York.

References

External links

* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturtze, Tanyon 1970 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona League Athletics players Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Gulf Coast Braves players Gulf Coast Rangers players Huntsville Stars players Iowa Cubs players Jacksonville Suns players Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Dodgers players Madison Muskies players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players Modesto A's players New York Yankees players Oklahoma RedHawks players Richmond Braves players Rome Braves players Tacoma Tigers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tampa Yankees players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Tulsa Drillers players