Brad Lidge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Houston Astros — No. 54 | |
| Relief Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 26, 2002 for the Houston Astros | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
|
| Saves | 103 |
| Innings pitched | 327.2 |
| Strikeouts | 487 |
Bradley Thomas Lidge (born December 23, 1976 in Sacramento, California) is an American Major League Baseball closer for the Houston Astros.
Lidge attended Notre Dame and was a 1998 first-round draft pick by the Houston Astros, taken 17th overall. He won the Big East player of the year award during his junior season under coach Paul Maineri, leading the conference with an 8-2 record and 93 strikeouts in 80.1 innings. He missed parts of his first four professional seasons (at Quad Cities, Round Rock, and New Orleans) with injuries, including a torn rotator cuff and a broken forearm that threatened his career.
Lidge debuted in the major-leagues on April 26, 2002 against the Atlanta Braves, serving as a middle relief pitcher in the Astros' bullpen. He started the only game of his career in September of that year against the Milwaukee Brewers. Lidge went 2-for-2 with a double and 2 RBIs at the plate, but was pulled when he tore an intercostal muscle in his ribcage after pitching three scoreless innings with four striketouts, two walks and a hit batsman.
He was the winning pitcher in the Astros historic six-pitcher tandem which no-hit the New York Yankees on June 11, 2003. That year, Lidge was voted Astros Rookie of the Year by the Houston Chapter of the BBWAA.
Following the trades of Billy Wagner in the 2003 off-season and Octavio Dotel in the summer of 2004, the Astros moved Lidge from setup man to closer. He set a new National League record for strikeouts by a reliever with 157, passing Goose Gossage's total of 151 set in 1977. (The mark is third all-time for relievers, behind Dick Radatz's 181 in 1964, and Mark Eichhorn's 166 in 1986.)
In his first All-Star Game appearance in 2005, Lidge pitched the bottom of the seventh, striking out all three batters he faced. He threw 11 pitches (2 balls) to Melvin Mora, Mike Sweeney, and Garret Anderson, who did not make contact with any of Lidge's pitches. Lidge became the first pitcher to strike out the side in his first All-Star appearance since Bill Caudill and Dwight Gooden in 1984.
Later in 2005, Lidge helped lead the Astros to their first franchise pennant with a 2.29 ERA and a career-high 42 saves. That year, Lidge ranked third in the National League in saves and became the second Houston Astros pitcher ever to record at least 40 saves in one season alongside Billy Wagner. In 2006, Lidge became the third pitcher in Astros history to record 100 saves with the club, after Wagner and Dave Smith.
Lidge pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic in March of 2006. He threw two scoreless innings.
[edit] 2005 Postseason Collapse
In 2005, for the second time in as many years the Houston Astros advanced to the National League Championship Series, largely in part to Lidge's success in closing games. The St. Louis Cardinals had had a recent history of futility against Lidge, that continued into the series. Lidge closed out Games 2, 3, and 4 with relative ease, allowing only one run in the three games.
In Game 5 at Minute Maid Park, the Astros were one strike away from reaching their first World Series in franchise history. With two strikes, two outs, no runners on, and a two-run lead, Lidge allowed a single to David Eckstein. Jim Edmonds followed with a walk. Then with two runners on, Albert Pujols hit a booming home run over left field to give St. Louis the win.
Houston was able to close out the series in game 6, but Lidge's troubles did not end there.
In Game 2 of the World Series, the Astros had come from behind to tie the game in the 9th with two runs against White Sox closer Bobby Jenks. Then in the bottom half of the 9th, Lidge lost the game by allowing a walk-off home run by Scott Podsednik, who had not hit a home run all season.
In Game 4, with the Astros down 3-0 in the series, Lidge allowed the only run in the game, a game-winning RBI single by Jermaine Dye in the 8th. Jenks would close out the game to clinch the Series victory for the White Sox.
[edit] Aftermath
In 2006, seemingly still haunted by his postseason failures, Lidge was unable to regain much of his old form. In the first 18 games of the season, Lidge had walked 16 batters in 16 2/3 innings, and had an ERA of 6.48. On May 12, 2006 manager Phil Garner removed Lidge from the closer role, splitting the responsibility between set-up men Chad Qualls and Dan Wheeler. Lidge would regain the closer role shortly after, but would battle injuries and poor performance all season long.
On August 16, Lidge would lose the closer role for good, but Phil Garner has stated that he fully expects Lidge to be the closer again in 2007. Lidge would finish the season 1-5, with 32 saves, 6 blown saves, and an ERA of 5.28.
[edit] Trivia
- Lidge is the all-time leader in strikeouts-per-nine-innings (12.98) among pitchers with at least 200 appearances in their career.
- Lidge throws a four-seam fastball that consistently reaches 97-98 mph, as well as a hard slider that ranges from 87-90. His fastest recorded pitch was a 101 mph fastball against the Cincinnati Reds in August 2004.
- In home games at Minute Maid Park, he is introduced as Brad "Lights Out" Lidge, complete with entrance music (Drowning Pool's "The Game") and his own entrance video.
- Lidge's favorite TV shows include "Cheers," "Late Night with David Letterman," and "Anything on the history channel."[citation needed]
- He resides in Englewood, Colorado in the off-season.[citation needed]
