Jarrod Washburn

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**Jarrod Washburn**
Major League Baseball debut
Seattle Mariners — No. 56
Starting Pitcher
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
June 2, 1998 for the Anaheim Angels
Selected MLB statistics (through Sep. 7, 2006)
Record	83-70
Strikeouts	795
Earned run average	4.01
Former teams
Anaheim Angels (1998-2004) Los Angeles Angels (2005) Seattle Mariners (2006-present)

Jarrod Michael Washburn (born August 13, 1974 in La Crosse, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. Drafted by the California Angels in the 2nd round of the 1995 amateur draft out of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Washburn won the final game of the 1994 NCAA Division III World Series.

Over his career, Washburn has been criticized for being inconsistent, but overall, his performance (3.99 earned run average in 1321 innings) is generally considered to be good. He had a particularly impressive 2005 season, his eighth with the Angels, posting a 3.20 earned run average. His success, however, combined with free agency ensured that he would not return to the team in 2006.

Washburn became a free agent after the 2005 season. As an eight-year Major League veteran who had just completed a very good season, he was clearly in-line for a lucrative multi-year contract. The Angels, however, were not interested in making such an expensive commitment to Washburn. The team felt it could get comparable performance to Washburn's, either from young pitchers in its organization who would be far cheaper, or from a free agent they could sign to a short-term contract. As a result, Washburn's departure was widely expected as the 2005 season drew to a close.

Washburn repeatedly expressed a desire to remain with the Angels. However, knowing that they would not be interested in matching the long-term offers Washburn would certainly draw from other teams, the Angels declined to attempt any contract negotiations with Washburn's agent. In fact, the team never even inqured as to what specific contract terms Washburn would request of them.

Washburn ultimately signed with the Mariners on December 19, 2005, for four years at $38 million (USD).

Washburn has expressed disappointment that the Angels made no attempt whatsoever to keep him, suggesting he might have been willing to take a shorter contract and/or less money to stay with the team. Team officials, however, have pointed to the contract that Washburn received from the Mariners (and an offer at similar terms that he received from the Washington Nationals) and said that what the Angels would have been willing to offer Washburn was so much less that there was no realistic chance of reaching an agreement, and thus any negotiations would have been a waste of both sides' time.

Washburn is known to work quickly on the mound, wasting little time between pitches.