Ross Ohlendorf

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**Ross Ohlendorf**

New York Yankees — No. 39
Relief Pitcher
Born: August 8, 1982 (1982-08-08) (age 25) Austin, Texas
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 11, 2007 for the New York Yankees
Selected MLB statistics (through June 8, 2008)
Win-Loss	1-1
Earned run average	5.22
Strikeouts	41
Teams
New York Yankees (2007-present)

Curtis Ross Ohlendorf (born August 8, 1982, in Austin, Texas) is an American 6' 4" right-handed pitcher who is in Major League Baseball and plays for the New York Yankees. He is known for his hard-biting sinker. He can hit 97 mph with a two-seam sinking fastball, and he's working to improve his developing change-up, slider, and breaking ball.

1 Playing career
2 Miscellaneous
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Playing career

[edit] College

In 2001, Ohlendorf graduated St. Stephen's Episcopal High School in Austin, Texas where he was a two-sport athlete, playing basketball and baseball.^[1]^[2] Ohlendorf attended Princeton University when in 2002, as a freshman pitcher, he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Ohlendorf, a second-team All-Ivy selection, was 3rd in the League with a 3.02 ERA. He finished with a 6-2 record.^[3]

In the 2004 draft, Ohlendorf was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round.

[edit] Minor leagues

In 2004, he was chosen by Baseball America as one of the Northwest League’s Top 20 prospects.

In 2005, he was named to the Midwest League All-Star team. He finished the season tied for the team lead with 11 victories, and second in the legue with 144 strikeouts.

In 2006, playing for the Diamondbacks AA affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, Ohlendorf went 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA, and led the Southern League with four complete games, earning a promotion to Triple-A Tucson for one playoff start.^[4]

He was traded to the Yankees as the key prospect in the Randy Johnson deal.^[5]^[6]

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman has said of Ohlendorf: "He's big, physical, eats innings and he's competitive. He's a workhorse."^[7]

Ohlendorf pitched mostly for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (AAA) in 2007. Ohlendorf struggled with injuries and inconsistency as a starter with Scranton and was moved to the bullpen. Ohlendorf embraced his new role and pitched extremely effectively, able to maintain a higher velocity and precision on his pitches due to shorter outings. On September 9th, when Scranton was eliminated from the playoffs Ohlendorf was promoted to the Major Leagues.

[edit] Major league

On September 11, 2007, he pitched in his first Major League game against the Toronto Blue Jays for the Yankees. He pitched one inning without allowing a baserunner while striking out one. On September 15 he pitched 1 1/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox, allowing a walk and a home run, but recording all four outs on strikeouts. Ohlendorf impressed the Yankees enough in September to earn a spot on the ALDS roster, but struggled in his lone appearance in the series, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk in one inning.

[edit] Miscellaneous

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Ohlendorf returned to the Princeton campus following the ‘04 and ‘05 seasons, continuing his pursuit of a degree. There, he was a member of the Cottage Club and was a frequent visitor to Dillon Gym.

Ohlendorf, an operations research and financial engineering major, received Princeton's 2006 George Mueller Award, which honors the graduating senior who has most combined high scholarly achievement in the study of engineering with quality performance in intercollegiate athletics. His thesis, highly praised by his advisor, Prof. Rene Carmona, examined the rationale of the baseball draft and the actual value of signing bonuses.^[8]

Ross has a younger brother, Chad, currently a freshman at Princeton. He also is a baseball player and pursuing a degree in operations research and financial engineering.^[9]