Timothy Howard Worrell (born July 5, 1967) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

. A right-hander, he pitched all or parts of 14 seasons 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), ...

, primarily as a

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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. During his major league career, Worrell pitched for nine teams, including 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 penn ...

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 Fi ...

, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics,

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 ...

, Chicago Cubs,

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 ...

(twice), Philadelphia Phillies, and

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 ...

Playing career

Worrell's greatest success came in 2003 when he replaced the injured

Robb Nen Robb Allen Nen (born November 28, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He spent most of his career as a closer. He is the son of former major league first baseman Dick Nen. He currently works in the Giants' front ...

as the closer for San Francisco. After the season Worrell signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he returned to his previous role as a set-up pitcher, often pitching the eighth inning before Phillies closer

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Ph ...

entered the game. On May 6, 2005, Worrell stated that he was dealing with "personal psychological issues" that had to be resolved and was subsequently placed on the 15-day disabled list. Prior to this disclosure Worrell had struggled, posting a 9.82

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 ...

, by far the worst of his career. Seemingly back to his old self, Worrell returned to pitch a perfect ninth on July 4, 2005 and completed the season in Arizona with an exceptional 0.90 ERA over his last 18 games. On December 1, 2005, Worrell's return to the San Francisco Giants was confirmed, with a two-year contract valued at $4 million. On January 10, 2007, he announced his retirement due to a persistent nerve problem in his neck. Worrell stated that his major league career is not completely over as he wanted to get into coaching. He is currently the rehab pitching coach for the

Peoria Padres The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also the ...

Personal life

Worrell is the younger brother of former Major League pitcher

Todd Worrell Todd Roland Worrell (born September 28, 1959) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played all or part of eleven seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, serving as those team ...

, himself a former closer for 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 ha ...

and

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 ...

. On June 13, 1997, they both earned a save, becoming the second pair of brothers to do so on one day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worrell, Tim Major League Baseball pitchers San Diego Padres players Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Oakland Athletics players Baltimore Orioles players Chicago Cubs players San Francisco Giants players Philadelphia Phillies players Arizona Diamondbacks players Charleston Rainbows players Waterloo Diamonds players High Desert Mavericks players Wichita Wranglers players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Modesto A's players Iowa Cubs players Arizona League Giants players Lakewood BlueClaws players Reading Phillies players Biola University alumni Biola Eagles baseball players Baseball players from California 1967 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Australia Brisbane Bandits players