Scott Schoeneweis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| New York Mets — No. 60 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 7, 1999 for the Anaheim Angels | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| Win-Loss | 43-47 |
| Saves | 6 |
| ERA | 5.01 |
| Strikeouts | 466 |
| Former teams | |
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Scott David Schoeneweis [SHOW-en-WEISS] (born October 2, 1973, in Long Branch, New Jersey) is an American left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He plays for the New York Mets.
In the four seasons from 2003-06, Schoeneweis allowed only one home run to a lefthanded batter. Lefthanded hitters batted .209, with a .264 slugging percentage and .293 on base percentage, in 227 plate appearances against him in 2005-06.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Early life
[edit] High school
Schoeneweis attended Lenape High School in Medford, New Jersey, where he lettered in baseball and basketball.
[edit] Duke
He was an All-American as a freshman, with 12 wins at Duke University (2nd best in the school's history) in 1993.
[edit] Testicular cancer
Then, at age 19, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer while playing the summer league in Cape Cod. The cancer that had already spread to his lymph nodes. To get back on the field by January, he requested an aggressive course of chemotherapy consisting of 3 weeklong sessions. He took "6 months of chemotherapy in 3 months," as he put it, adding of that experience that "it puts things in perspective." Schoeneweis overcame the cancer, losing 20 pounds in the process, and returned to the team the following season.
But he was unable to win a single game in his weakened condition.
[edit] Tommy John surgery
Then he blew out his pitching elbow, perhaps as a result of his loss in strength, and required Tommy John surgery. He lost his slider, and was only throwing an 80 mph fastball after reconstructive surgery.[2]
He worked harder than ever, spending another summer of rehabilitation and lifting weights, and returned to pitch his senior year at Duke University, enjoying a sensational season with 10 wins, and graduating -- at the same time as the rest of his class -- with a history degree.
Schoeneweis finished as Duke's career leader with 30 wins and 51 games started, and is second on the school's all-time strikeouts list (315).
[edit] USA National Team
He played for the USA National Team in 1996.
[edit] Draft
He was drafted by the California Angels in the 3rd round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft.
[edit] Minor league career
From 1996-2000, in the minor leagues Schoeneweis was 28-20.
In the 1997 Arizona Fall League he went 3-2 with a 1.98 ERA for the Scottsdale Scorpions, finishing second in ERA behind Rolando Arrojo.
[edit] Major league career
[edit] Anaheim Angels (1999-2003)
Schoeneweis started his MLB career with the Anaheim Angels (now Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), where in 1999 he appeared in 31 games and finishing the year with a 1-1 record. His season was cut short by a torn medial collateral ligament in his left elbow.[1]
The next season he was used as a starting pitcher, pitching in 27 games, all starts, as he went 7-10 with a 5.45 ERA.
In 2001, during which the Angels continued using him as a starter (beginning with opening day, he won a career-high 10 games and finished with a 5.08 ERA. He hit 14 batters (3rd in the American League).
In 2002 Schoeneweis was used primarily as a reliever, though he did make 15 starts. He lowered his ERA to 4.88, and left-handed batters batted only .202 against him. He also won 9 games, while losing 8. At the conclusion of the season, the Angels captured the American League Wild Card and qualified for the postseason.
Schoeneweis appeared in 3 games versus the defending American League Champion New York Yankees, giving up 1 earned run. Anaheim took the series 3 games to 1 over the heavily favored New York team, and battled past the Minnesota Twins in the American League Championship Series in 5 games. Scott appeared in 1 of those games, and did not surrender a run in 0.2 innings pitched. In the World Series, Schoeneweis pitched in 2 games and held the San Francisco Giants off the scoreboard in the 2 innings he pitched. The Angels captured the World Series title in 7 games.
He started the 2003 season with the Angels.
[edit] Chicago White Sox (2003-04)
During the season he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox after appearing in 39 games, all in relief, for Anaheim. He was traded with Doug Nickle for Gary Glover, Scott Dunn, and Tim Bittner. He finished the year with a combined 3-2 record between the Angels and White Sox, to go along with his 4.18 ERA in 59 games.
The next season he was used mainly as a starting pitcher by Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen, going 6-9. He held batters to a .111 batting average in games that were late and close.
[edit] Toronto Blue Jays (2005-06)
He was signed as a free agent by the Blue Jays on January 11, 2005, for $2,500,000, which was just under what he made the two previous seasons combined.
He ended his first season in Canada with a 3-4 mark, and picked up his second career save. Schoeneweis’s ERA improved to 3.32. He also saw action in a career-high 80 games (2nd in the American League). The lefty was also among the league leaders in holds, with 35. Left-handed hitters batted a meager .188 against him.
In 2006 he went 2-2 for Toronto with a high ERA of 6.51 in 55 games.
[edit] Cincinnati Reds (2006)
On August 16, Schoeneweis was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for cash. In 16 games for the Reds he was 2-0, with 3 saves and an 0.63 ERA.
[edit] New York Mets (2007-current)
In January 2007 Schoeneweis agreed to a 3-year deal with the New York Mets worth $10.8 million.[2]
He is likely to displace Pedro Feliciano as the team's primary left-handed specialist.[3]
[edit] Pitching
Schoeneweis has three solid pitches: a sinking fastball, slider, and changeup. He is a ground-ball pitcher.[3]
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Married, with three children.
- Actively involved in the Office of the White House National Drug Control Policy encouraging students to say no to drugs.
- Recipient of a 2003 Gene Autry Courage Award.
- He is 7th all-time, directly behind Sandy Koufax, of all Jewish major leaguer pitchers in games played, 10th in strikeouts, and 11th in wins, trailing only Koufax, Ken Holtzman, Larry Sherry, and David Roberts in all three categories.[4]
