Franklyn Germán

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Franklyn German

Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 18
Relief pitcher
Born: January 20, 1980 (1980-01-20) (age 28)
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
Major League Baseball debut
September 7, 2002 for the Detroit Tigers
Selected MLB statistics
(through June 4, 2008)
Win-Loss     9-7
Earned run average     4.25
Strikeouts     114
Teams

Franklyn Miguel Germán Madé (born January 20, 1980 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic) is a right-handed relief pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He is a particularly large man for a pitcher, standing 6 ft 7 in (2.04 m) tall and weighing 298 lb, which lends him a degree of batter intimidation, like most taller-than-average pitchers possess.

His pitch arsenal includes a blazing, 100+ mph fastball, and a very effective offspeed pitch due to his large stature. He works mostly in middle relief and sometimes as a set-up man for the team's closer, although many baseball pundits expect that he'll become a closer himself within the next few seasons.

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[edit] Early career

Germán was acquired by the Detroit Tigers on July 5, 2002, in a three-team trade between the Tigers, Oakland Athletics, and New York Yankees. Germán, first baseman Carlos Peña, and pitcher Jeremy Bonderman), were traded by Oakland to Detroit in exchange for pitcher Jeff Weaver, whom Oakland then traded to New York for pitcher Ted Lilly, outfielder John-Ford Griffin, and minor league pitcher Jason Arnold. Germán never played for Oakland, though he did spend 1997-2002 in their rookie league, A, and AA minor league affiliates before being traded.

During his rookie season (2003), he was known for his questionable ability to get batters out and as a result was generally unpopular with Detroit Tigers fans. Accordingly, he was subject to large amounts of criticism from the long-suffering Tigers fans, who at the time hadn't seen their team finish with a winning record since 1993.

[edit] Current career

Germán's inconsistency on the mound was in contrast to the Tigers' two primary starters at the time, Bonderman and lefty Mike Maroth, who were regarded to possess Major League talent, but frequently suffered from insufficient run support on a team in the midst of having the worst season in American League history—that year, the Tigers set a new record for total losses (119), eclipsing the previous record (117) held by the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics. After spending much of the 2004 season on the Tigers' Triple-A minor league team, the Toledo Mud Hens, his form on the mound improved greatly, and he made the Tigers' 2005 opening day roster.

After a mediocre spring training in 2006, the Tigers left Germán unprotected on the waiver wire by designating him for another assignment to Toledo. He didn't clear waivers, however, and on April 4, 2006, he was claimed off waivers by the Florida Marlins, and earned a spot on their opening day roster.

Germán became a free agent after the 2006 season, and on November 17, 2006, signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers.

Germán pitched in the Rangers 2008 season opener against the Seattle Mariners on March 31, 2008. It was the first time Germán had pitched outside the minors since 2006. He was designated for assignment by the Rangers on May 21, 2008, and on May 30 declined a minor-league assignment and became a free agent.

On June 4, 2008, Germán signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

[edit] Personal life

Germán is married and has one child with his wife, Luisa. The spend their off-seasons residing in Palenque, Dominican Republic

Germán usually plays for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter Baseball League, and played for the World Team during the 2002 All-Star Futures Game, which was won, 5-1, by the World Team.

Germán is pronounced using the soft Spanish G, making his surname sound like Hairmon when spoken. His Marlins uniform did not include the accent mark over the a, so many spectators unaware of the mechanics of the Spanish language refer to him as German, as if referring to someone from Germany.

[edit] External links