Brett Tomko
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|
|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals — No. 25 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: April 7, 1973 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 27, 1997 for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
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| Win-Loss | 93-92 |
| Earned run average | 4.62 |
| Strikeouts | 1113 |
| Teams | |
Brett Daniel Tomko[1] (born April 7, 1973 in Euclid, Ohio)[2] is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, who previously played for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers.
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[edit] High School Years
Tomko attended El Dorado High School (Placentia, CA) and was a letter winner in basketball and baseball.
[edit] College Years
Tomko attended Florida Southern College for one season in 1995, leading the team to the NCAA Division II National Championship. He went 15-2 with a 1.35 ERA and struck out 154 batters in 126.3 innings that season, with opponents hitting just .180 against him. He pitched two complete game shutouts in the Championship Series, including one in the final game, earning him the Tournament's "outstanding player" award. In addition, he won both the NCAA Division II Pitcher and Player of the Year Awards by the American Baseball Coaches Association.[3]
[edit] Draft & Minor League Years
Tomko had been drafted out of High School by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th round of the 1994 draft, but chose to attend college at [Mt. San Antonio College][1] (Walnut, CA) for a year. In 1995, he was drafted in the 2nd round by the Cincinnati Reds. He signed with the Reds on June 28, 1995.
He pitched for three years in the Reds Minor League System, making stops at Charleston in 1995, Chattanooga in 1996 (where he was named the Reds' top prospect by Baseball America[4] and Indianapolis in 1997 before getting called up to the Major Leagues during the 1997 season.
[edit] Major League Baseball
Tomko made his first major league appearance, and first major league start, against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 27, 1997. He pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 runs while taking the loss in the Reds 2-1 defeat.
He got his first victory in his next start on June 6, against the New York Mets. He pitched 6 innings, gave up one run and struck out seven in the Reds 5-2 victory.
He remained in the Reds starting rotation for three seasons until he was traded on February 10, 2000, to the Seattle Mariners, along with Antonio Pérez, Jake Meyer, and Mike Cameron for Ken Griffey, Jr.. Seattle used him primarily as a reliever and spot starter during the next two seasons. He also spent some time with Seattle's "AAA" team in Tacoma in both 2000 & 2001.
On December 11, 2001, the Mariners traded Tomko (along with Ramon Vazquez, Tom Lampkin and cash) to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Wascar Serrano, Alex Arias and Ben Davis. He returned to the starting rotation with San Diego, making 32 starts, his most since 1998 with the Reds.
He was traded again, almost exactly a year later (December 15, 2002) to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Wodnicki and Luther Hackman. Tomko won 13 games in his only season in St. Louis.
He signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent prior to the 2004 season and pitched with them for two seasons. Tomko's tenure with the Giants effectively ended when the team declined to offer him salary arbitration before the 2006 season.
On December 21, 2005, he agreed to a two-year contract worth a reported $8.7 million with the arch-rival Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched both as a starter and a reliever during his two seasons in Los Angeles. During his time with the Dodgers, Tomko's poor pitching and propensity to give up home runs led to Dodger fans giving him the nickname Bombko.[5]
He was designated for assignment on August 24, 2007 after a poor season with the Dodgers in which he went 2-11 with a 5.80 ERA in 33 games (15 starts). After being designated for assignment by the Dodgers, he was signed by the San Diego Padres. On January 20, 2008 he signed with the Kansas City Royals.
[edit] Personal life
Tomko married Playboy Playmate Julia Schultz (February 1998) in November 2003.
Living in the Cleveland area, Tomko's father coined the term "Cavaliers" for the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team. He wrote them a letter and his submission was selected to name them the Cavaliers.
[edit] References
- ^ Brett Tomko Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- ^ ESPN - Brett Tomko Stats, News, Photos - San Diego Padres - MLB Baseball. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- ^ Brett Tomko Jersey Retirement. Florida Southern College. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- ^ The Official Site of The San Diego Padres: Team: Player Information: Biography and Career Highlights. MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
- ^ Blue Notes - A Dodgers Blog : Los Angeles Times : It's not how you start, it's how you finish... unless how you start basically screws everything up
