2008-07-13 A's Game SP Justin Duchscherer
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2008-07-13 A's Game SP Justin Duchscherer
Justin Craig Duchscherer [duke-SHUR] (born November 19, 1977 in Aberdeen, South Dakota) is a right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics (since 2003). Previously, he played with the Texas Rangers (2001). Duchscherer (nickname "The Duke Of Hurl") was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 8th round (241st overall) of the 1996 MLB Draft out of Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas. His high-80's fastball made him one of the hardest throwers in the area, but his velocity soon ranked as only average as he entered the minor leagues. In 1998, he went 7-12 with a 4.79 ERA in 30 appearances (26 starts) for Single-A Michigan. As Duchscherer continued to struggle in the low levels of the minor leagues, he was beginning to look more like a roster filler than a big-league prospect. But in 2001, he turned his career around. He went 6-3 with a 2.44 ERA in 12 starts for Class AA Trenton before being traded to the Texas Rangers for catcher Doug Mirabelli. He finished the year pitching well with the Texas organization, going 4-0 for Class AA Tulsa and sporting a 2.84 ERA after his call-up to Triple-A Oklahoma. He received his first major-league call-up in 2001, a very forgettable one. He went 1-1 with a 12.27 ERA for the Rangers. In Spring Training 2002, Duchscherer was traded to the Oakland Athletics for flame-throwing right-hander Luis Vizcaino. In the Oakland organization, his lack of velocity was much-less frowned upon than by Boston and Texas. After suffering a lower back injury in 2002, Duchscherer bounced back in 2003, going 14-2 with a 3.25 ERA for Triple-A Sacramento. On September 9, 2003, he made a start for the A's in place of ace Mark Mulder against the Anaheim Angels in the heat of a tight division race. He pitched 7 scoreless innings to earn his first win. That same day, his wife gave birth to their first son, Evan Duchscherer. In the spring of 2004, the A's had a decision to make for the last man in their bullpen. It was between soft-tossing Duchscherer and hard-throwing Chad Harville. They went with Duchscherer, and traded Harville to the Houston Astros for Kirk Saarloos. The move paid off, as Duchscherer appeared in 53 games out of the bullpen, sporting an ERA of 3.27 (by contrast, Harville had a 4.75 ERA in 56 games with the Astros). But 2005 was Duchscherer's breakout year. He was selected to the American League All-Star team, the A's lone representative, but did not pitch in the game. He finished the year with 7 wins out of the bullpen and a 2.21 ERA as the top setup man for rookie phenom closer Huston Street. During the 2007 season, Duchscherer spent most of the season on the disabled list with an injured right hip that required season-ending surgury. For the 2008 season, Duchscherer returned to the starting rotation for the A's. Duchscherer spent about three weeks on the disabled list with inflamed biceps in April. Since returning to the rotation, Duchscherer has pitched well and is currently leading the major leagues in ERA. He was selected to the 2008 MLB All Star Game at Yankee Stadium in New York. Duchscherer was a member of the Sacramento Rivercats at the same time as Rich Harden. In his last year of AAA, he started the All-Star game even though the chosen starting pitcher was Harden. A few hours before the game, Harden got called up to the major leagues, clearing the way for Justin Duchscherer to start the game.
YouTube | July 14, 2008
