Derrick Turnbow
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| Milwaukee Brewers — No. 59 | |
| Relief Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| April 17, 2000 for the Anaheim Angels | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through August 2,2006) |
|
| Saves | 63 |
| ERA | 3.30 |
| Strikeouts | 159 |
| Teams | |
Derrick Turnbow (born January 25, 1978 in Union City, Tennessee) is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Turnbow played baseball at Franklin High School and compiled a 30-4 record over four years. His senior year he posted a Franklin High single-season best 0.77 ERA. The school retired Turnbow's number (20) in 2001 and he is currently the only baseball player to have been awarded said honor. He was drafted in 1998 by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 5th round of the MLB Draft. He was then acquired by the Anaheim Angels in the 1999 rule 5 draft. In October 2003, Turnbow became the first major league player to test positive for a banned steroid. The positive test came during tryouts for USA Baseball's Olympic qualifying team. He did not face sanctions from Major League Baseball, because they did not begin testing for or penalizing steroid use until the 2004 season. He was banned for two years from international competition.
Claimed off waivers by Milwaukee following the 2004 season, Turnbow worked with Brewers pitching coach Mike Maddux before the 2005 season to help control his blazing fastball, which routinely clocks at 97-98 mph. Turnbow became the Brewers closer in April, 2005 and finished the 2005 season with 39 saves, matching the team record set previously by Dan Kolb in 2004, setting personal bests with a 1.74 ERA and 7-1 record in 67.1 innings pitched. Turnbow was rewarded with a three-year $6.5 million contract, which runs through 2008 and "buys out" his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility.
In April 2006, Turnbow made Major League History by earning a save in each of the first 4 games of the season. In 2006 Turnbow was selected to his first All-Star team. Turnbow struggled with his command through the 2006 season, however, converting only 1 of 5 save opportunities and posting a 21.32 ERA in July 2006, and causing manager Ned Yost to remove Turnbow from the closer role in favor of Francisco Cordero. [1]
His current entrance music is "Fuel" by Metallica.
[edit] External link
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
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