Gregory Winston McMichael (born December 1, 1966) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player who was 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 ...

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 (A ...

(MLB) from 1993 to 2000.Major League Statistics and History
a
Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> Born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the stat ...

, McMichael graduated from

Webb School of Knoxville Webb School of Knoxville is a private coeducational day school in Knoxville, Tennessee, enrolling students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. It was founded in 1955 by Robert Webb (1919–2005), grandson of Webb School of Bell Buckle founde ...

in 1985 and played college ball at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th sta ...

before joining

. He was drafted by the

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) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

in June 1988 and played for that team's

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

affiliates during the 1988, 1989, and 1990 seasons. The Indians released him in April 1991, whereupon he signed with the Atlanta Braves organization. He played two seasons for Braves minor league teams before being called up to the major leagues for the 1993 season. In 1993, his first season 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 ...

, he became a closer at mid-season and went on to compile a record of 19 saves, with an earned-run average of 2.06. After that season, when the Braves won the National League West division title, he placed second in balloting for

National League Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

, a title that was won by Mike Piazza. McMichael played for the Braves through the 1996 season, including pitching in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

in both 1995 (when the Braves won) and 1996. However, he was traded to 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 lea ...

for the 1997 season. His career with the Mets was interrupted in 1998 when he was traded to 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) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

, but he returned to the Mets about one month later in a subsequent trade. He started the 1999 season as a member of the Mets organization, but was placed on the disabled list during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

due to tendinitis in his shoulder, then spent the some time in the

s before returning to the Mets roster. Later in the 1999 season he went to the Oakland Athletics in a trade. After that season he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder and was released from his contract, making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

. He rejoined the Braves in 2000, playing in 16 games before incurring a rotator cuff injury that forced him to retire.

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Atlanta Braves players New York Mets players Los Angeles Dodgers players Oakland Athletics players Major League Baseball pitchers 1966 births Living people Tennessee Volunteers baseball players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Kinston Indians players Canton-Akron Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players Richmond Braves players Binghamton Mets players Norfolk Tides players Baseball players from Knoxville, Tennessee {{US-baseball-bio-stub