Ted Lilly

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Ted Lilly

Chicago Cubs — No. 31
Pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
May 14, 1999 for the Montreal Expos
Selected MLB statistics
(through 2006)
Wins-losses     59-58
ERA     4.60
Strikeouts     799
Teams

    Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Lilly (born January 4, 1976 in Torrance, California), is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. Previously, Lilly played with the Montreal Expos (1999), New York Yankees (2000-02), Oakland Athletics (2002-03) and Toronto Blue Jays (2004-2006). He bats and throws left-handed. The 6'1" Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College.

    Lilly is a flyball pitcher. His fastball is usually in the range of 87-91 MPH, although it can reach 94 at times. It feels faster from the hitter's perspective because Lilly's pitching motion hides the ball well. He also throws a slider and a useful change-up. His favoured out pitch is a slow, looping curveball; however, his command of this pitch is very inconsistent, and hanging curveballs tend to account for many of his hits allowed. He can also tend to take too many pitches to get through innings and thus often fails to last beyond the sixth inning despite his ability to pitch well late into his starts. On days when Lilly does spot his curveball and challenges opposing hitters with strikes, he is a formidable adversary for any lineup and can be downright unhittable (see Red Sox, below).

    Since making his major-league debut with the Montreal Expos of the NL in 1999, Lilly has compiled a 59-58 record with 799 strikeouts and a 4.60 ERA in 936 innings. He made the American League All-Star team in 2004 (as the Jays' lone representative that year) and twice led the league in shutouts (in 2002 and 2004).

    The highlight of his career as a Blue Jay was a start on August 23, 2004 against the Boston Red Sox. He pitched a complete-game shutout and struck out 13 batters in a three-hit 3-0 victory. Interestingly, of Lilly's seven career 10-plus-strikeout games, four have come against Boston. One possible explanation is that until 2006, the Red Sox featured a decidedly left-leaning lineup (and one of their offensive mainstays is left-batting designated hitter David Ortiz).

    Lilly was 15-13 with a 4.31 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 2006, exceeding his previous career high for wins (12). He also equalled a career high for starts (32) and nearly matched his career highs in strikeouts and innings pitched. This season, he ranked first among the Jays' pitching staff in strikeouts and second only to Roy Halladay in wins (Halladay had a 16-5 record before a recurring elbow injury ended his season in late September).

    When Ted warms up on the mound at the Rogers Centre before a Toronto home game, "Just Because" by Jane's Addiction plays over the speakers.

    It is well known that Ted Lilly has not always seen eye to eye with Blue Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, where the term "un-coachable" has (reportedly) been used by Arnsberg. There was also speculation that Ted Lilly and Josh Towers were the two pitchers who had called J.P. Ricciardi to sign free agent catcher Bengie Molina during the off-season prior to the 2006 campaign. The signing of Bengie Molina created a platoon situation in the catcher role with Gregg Zaun. Lilly and catcher Gregg Zaun have since shown signs of differences as teammates on the Blue Jays, to the point that John Gibbons makes an effort to ensure that catcher Bengie Molina is lined up to play with him. [verification needed] Interestingly, Zaun had previously done a fine job of catching with Lilly during the 2004/2005 seasons, such that Zaun would consistently start September games at catcher in place of prospect Guillermo Quiroz when Lilly was on the mound.

    On August 21, 2006, in a game against the Oakland Athletics, Lilly had a public dispute with Jays manager John Gibbons. When Gibbons came out to the mound to take out Lilly after he gave up 5 runs in one inning (he was later charged with a total of seven after two inherited runners scored), the pitcher verbally challenged Gibbons' decision. When Lilly entered the dugout, he collected his equipment and headed for the clubhouse. According to eye-witnesses, Gibbons followed Lilly into the clubhouse tunnel and pushed him. A scuffle apparently ensued and Gibbons was seen on camera afterwards with a bloodied nose. [1] After the game, both Gibbons and Lilly claimed the situation had been resolved. Lilly himself was able to shrug off the incident. During Lilly's next start, against the Kansas City Royals on August 27 (an eventual 10-6 Jays' win), there was no sign of animosity between the pitcher and his manager.

    Interestingly, since the confrontation, Lilly had gone 5-2 and his ERA has dropped from 4.63 to 4.31 in improving from 10-11 to 15-13.

    Ted Lilly declared for free agency at the end of the 2006 season, and after Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt, is one of the most sought-after free agent pitchers. In the morning of December 6, 2006, Ted informed the Blue Jays that he would not be returning to the club, thus rejecting a 4 Year/$40 million deal. He cited a "change in scenery" as his reasoning. Later on in the day, Ted agreed to a 4 Year/$40 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, officially ending his succesful tenure with the Blue Jays.

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