Noah Lowry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| San Francisco Giants — No. 51 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Born: October 10, 1980 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 5, 2003 for the San Francisco Giants | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
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| Win | 40-31 |
| Earned Run Average | 4.03 |
| Strikeouts | 420 |
| Teams | |
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Noah Ryan Lowry (born October 10, 1980 in Ventura, California) is a left-handed starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.
With only average velocity on his fastball, Lowry was not widely regarded as a top prospect, and did not make Baseball America's list of the team's 10 best prospects in either 2003 or 2004. However, he has found quick success in the Major Leagues, largely thanks to his changeup, which has been ranked among the National League's best. He also throws a curveball and a slider.
Lowry, who bats right-handed, is also known as one of the better hitting pitchers in the National League, with a career batting average of .170. When he was called up in September 2003, he hit a double in his first career at bat. In 2005, he hit .271, drove in seven runs, and had six extra base hits in 59 at bats. He is occasionally used as a pinch hitter when the team is out of position players. He is also occasionally used as a pinch runner.
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[edit] College and the MLB Draft
Lowry was first drafted out of high school by the Texas Rangers in the 19th round of the 1999 MLB Draft, but instead opted to attend Pepperdine University, where he roomed with Dan Haren. At Pepperdine, Lowry went 14-2 with a 1.71 ERA as a junior. After his college career, he was drafted by the Giants in the first round (30th overall) of the 2001 draft.
[edit] Major league career
Following a September call-up in 2003, Lowry enjoyed a very successful partial rookie year for the Giants in 2004, going 7-0, and finishing with a 3.82 ERA in 14 starts. He was named the National League's Player of the Week for the week of August 9. With an early victory to start off the 2005 season, Lowry began his career with a 7-0 record, the longest winning streak for any pitcher in San Francisco Giants history (and the second longest in Giants franchise history, behind Hooks Wiltse's 12-0 start in 1904)[1].
In 18 starts before the 2005 All-Star break, Lowry posted an ERA of 5.07. He had an 8-4 record and a 2.43 ERA after the break. Lowry's best month came in August, when he went 5-0 with a 0.69 ERA, which earned him Pitcher of the Month honors. He finished the season with a 13-13 record, 3.78 ERA, and 172 strikeouts in 204⅔ innings.
Prior to the 2006 season, the Giants signed Lowry to a four-year deal with an option for a fifth year, valued at $9.25 million. At the time, it was the second largest contract for a pitcher with only one full season of big league service. Lowry received a $1 million signing bonus and $385,000 salary for 2006. The contract guarantees him totals of $1.115 million for 2007, $2.25 million for 2008, and $4.5 million for 2009. The contract includes a 2010 option for $6.25 million that will be activated automatically if a certain number of starts, innings and Cy Young Award vote placement is achieved. The 2010 option also includes another $1.5 million in incentives.[2]
Injuries hampered his performance right from the beginning of the 2006 season. In his first start of 2006, Lowry was removed from the game in the second inning due to an oblique strain[3], forcing him to miss the first month of the season. Lowry also suffered from an elbow injury in September. On an April 19, 2007 telecast, Giants announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper told viewers that Lowry explained his problems in 2006 as being caused by bad habits and bad mechanics that were initially caused by the injuries. Lowry hit his first career home run off of Derek Lowe on July 8, helping his own team's cause in an 11-6 victory over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Despite a losing season for the Giants in 2007, and a season cut short by a forearm injury, Lowry managed to win a career high 14 games, the most for any pitcher on the Giants staff. He finished the season with a 14-8 record and a 3.92 ERA. On June 8, Lowry played right field in an extra-inning game against the Oakland A's, after backup catcher Eliézer Alfonzo was injured in the 10th inning and no other position players were available off the bench. He became the first pitcher to play in the field since Jason Simontacchi in 2004.
Lowry was slated as the number three starter for the Giants in 2008, but the forearm injury that shut him down in 2007 will force him to start the season on the disabled list and remain sidelined until, at least, late April. After having trouble throwing strikes early on in spring training, Lowry was diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome and had surgery on his left forearm.[4]
[edit] Statistics
| Year | Ag | Tm | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | GF | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | HBP | WP | BFP | BK | ERA | WHIP | OBA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 22 | SF | NL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6⅓ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.474 | .048 |
| 2004 | 23 | SF | NL | 6 | 0 | 16 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 91 | 41 | 39 | 10 | 28 | 72 | 0 | 2 | 383 | 0 | 3.82 | 1.293 | .259 |
| 2005 | 24 | SF | NL | 13 | 13 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 204⅔ | 193 | 92 | 86 | 21 | 76 | 172 | 7 | 2 | 875 | 0 | 3.78 | 1.314 | .249 |
| 2006 | 25 | SF | NL | 7 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 159⅓ | 166 | 89 | 84 | 21 | 56 | 84 | 6 | 2 | 689 | 1 | 4.74 | 1.393 | .273 |
| 2007 | 26 | SF | NL | 14 | 8 | 26 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 156 | 155 | 76 | 68 | 12 | 87 | 87 | 5 | 5 | 693 | 0 | 3.92 | 1.551 | .265 |
| Totals: | 40 | 31 | 106 | 100 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 618⅓ | 606 | 298 | 277 | 64 | 249 | 420 | 19 | 11 | 2,664 | 1 | 4.03 | 1.383 | .259 | |||
| Roll over stat abbreviations for definitions. Stats through 2007 season.[5][6] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] References
- ^ SI Kids MLB Recap - Ranger vs. Giants, June 28, 2006
- ^ Shea, John (2006-04-03). Giants Notebook: Lowry soaks up his latest deal. San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ In Lowry, Giants are looking out for No. 3
- ^ Schulman, Henry (2008-03-07). Giants' Lowry needs surgery. San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Noah Lowry Statistics. Baseball-Reference. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Noah Lowry Stats. MLB.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
