Juan Guzmán (pitcher)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Juan Andres Guzmán Correa (born October 28, 1966 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1985. Guzman spent much of his playing career with the Toronto Blue Jays throughout the 90's.

Guzman pitched for the Blue Jays from 1991-98 and briefly played for both the Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds. His career ERA was 4.08. Well known for his deceptive fork ball often called the "nullet" pitch. The nullet pitch utilized the fork ball grip and the ample application of Soul Glow from Guzman's hair which gave his strikeout pitch tremendous movement.

His first three seasons with the Blue Jays were excellent, as he went a combined 40-11 with a 3.28 ERA, and the team made the playoffs in all three years, including World Series wins in 1992 and 1993. Guzman won two games in both the 1992 and 1993 ALCS but was not able to secure a win in either World Series. His playoff record was 5-1 in 8 starts with a 2.44 ERA.

Guzman had an ERA of 2.93 in 1996, which was the lowest in the American League among qualified pitchers.

Guzman possessed an above average fastball and strikeout ability, striking out 7.5 batters per 9 innings during his career. On the mound, he worked very deliberately and was one of the slower working pitchers in the game. He threw a lot of wild pitches, leading the league in that category in 1993 and 1994.