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Jake Peavy
Chicago White Sox — No. 44
Starting Pitcher
Born: May 31, 1981 (1981-05-31) (age 28) Mobile, Alabama
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 2002 for the San Diego Padres
Career statistics (through 2009)
Win-Loss	95-68
Earned run average	3.26
Strikeouts	1366
Walks	441
Shutouts	3
Teams
San Diego Padres (2002-2009) Chicago White Sox (2009-present)
Career highlights and awards
2x All-Star selection (2005, 2007) 2007 NL Cy Young Award 2007 NL TSN Pitcher of the Year Led NL in ERA in 2004, 2007 Led NL in Strikeouts in 2007 Pitching triple crown (2007)

Jacob Edward Peavy (pronounced /ˈpiːvi/) (born May 31, 1981 in Mobile, Alabama) is a Cy Young Award-winning starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago White Sox. He bats and throws right-handed. Peavy stands 6'1" tall (1.85 m) and weighs 182 pounds (83 kg).

Career in baseball

Minor leagues

Peavy was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 15th round (472nd overall) of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft out of high school (St. Paul's Episcopal School). He was named the high school player of the year in the state of Alabama. Peavy declined an offer to pitch for Auburn University in order to accept the Padres' contract offer.

Peavy pitched for the Arizona League Padres and the Idaho Falls Braves in 1999 and the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2000. In 2001, Peavy played with the Lake Elsinore Storm and the Mobile BayBears. He spent all of 2002 playing for the BayBears.

Major leagues

2002

Jake was called up from Double A, and made his Major League Debut on June 22nd, 2002 against the New York Yankees at Qualcomm Stadium. He lost the game, allowing one run on 3 hits in 6 innings while striking out 4. ^[1]

2004

During his third year of major league experience in 2004, Peavy emerged as the Padres' ace starting pitcher and one of the best pitchers in baseball. He compiled a 15-6 record, struck out 173 in 166 innings and led the Major Leagues with a 2.27 ERA. He became the youngest pitcher to win an ERA title since Dwight Gooden in 1985.^[2]

2005

On March 5, 2005 he signed a four-year 14.5 million contract and held a club option for 2009 extension with the Padres.^[3]

During the 2005 season, Peavy was selected for the National League All-Star team and ended the regular season leading the National League in strikeouts with 216 (in 203 innings). He was second in the majors to Minnesota's Johan Santana who had 238 strikeouts. In addition he finished the season with a 13–7 record, 2.88 ERA, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of over 4:1 and WHIP of 1.044.

After the Padres won the National League West in 2005, Peavy was widely considered the key to upsetting the St. Louis Cardinals, whom they faced in the National League Division Series. However, Peavy gave up eight runs in the first game, and afterwards it was announced that he would miss the rest of the season with a broken rib, which he apparently suffered while celebrating the Padres clinching the NL West Championship ^[4].

Peavy was the captain of Team USA in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He started the opening game for the U.S., a 2–0 win over Mexico, giving up just one hit and no runs over three innings. He did not factor in the decision in the second round game against Japan, as he gave up three runs in five innings in a game that the U.S. won, 4–3.

2006

In 2006, Peavy got off to a rocky start, in part due to mechanical adjustments brought on by various off-season injuries. Although Peavy would go only 11–14 with a 4.09 ERA, he still managed to finish second in the National League in strikeouts with 215, one shy of both his 2005 league-leading total and of the 2006 NL strikeout leader, Aaron Harang who logged 32 more innings than Peavy. In the playoffs, the Padres again faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round. As the game one starter, Peavy had a much stronger outing than his 2005 playoff game, but the Padres again lost to the Cardinals.

2007

On July 1, 2007, for the second time in his career, Peavy was named to the 2007 NL All-Star Team. On July 9, he was named as the starting pitcher for the NL.

On August 2, 2007 Peavy struck out Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jeff DaVanon, for his 1000th career strikeout.

Peavy won the pitching Triple Crown in 2007, leading the National League with 19 wins, 240 strikeouts, and a 2.54 ERA. Since the divisional play era started in 1969, Peavy is only the eighth player to accomplish this feat ^[5]. On October 23, Peavy won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding NL Pitcher.^[6] He added the NL Cy Young—as a unanimous choice—on November 15,^[7] becoming just the 10th National League player in history to win the Cy Young Award in a unanimous vote (Sandy Koufax was unanimously selected three times)^[8].

The completion of the 2007 campaign represented Peavy's sixth year in the league. Over that six-year period Peavy collected two strikeout champion awards, two major league ERA titles, and a unanimous, triple-crown Cy Young Award.

On December 12, 2007, he signed a 4 year extension, worth $52 million with the Padres.^[9] At the time the contract was the largest in Padres history. The contract includes a $22 million option for 2013.

2008

On April 5, 2008, Peavy pitched a two-hit complete game over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The following day, still-images from FOX sports video feed from the game showed a dirty, brown substance on the index and middle fingers, along with his thumb. Manager Bud Black defended Peavy saying that "it was a mixture of dirt and rosin". In the two games immediately following the report, Peavy posted a 1–0 record with a 1.92 ERA. In May he went on the DL with a sore throwing elbow. He returned on June 12 and pitched six shutout innings with four strikeouts. He ended 2008 with only a 10–11 record, but had one of the lowest run support per start of any pitcher in the league, and finished the season with a 2.85 ERA.

Peavy had been the subject of numerous trade rumors during the 2008 offseason,^[10] amidst reports that the Padres were looking to reduce salaries and build on young players for the future. In November 2008, Peavy added the New York Yankees to the list of teams he would accept a trade to. The list included several teams from the NL including the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Houston Astros. Peavy preferred to be in the NL, so the Yankees would not be involved. The Astros and Cardinals decided they wouldn't pursue Peavy after talking with GM Kevin Towers on what they would have to give up. However, there were in fact two teams who were in deep talks of acquiring Peavy: the Cubs and the Braves.

In November 2008, the Padres were working with the Braves on a Peavy trade, in which Peavy would be traded to Atlanta for SS Yunel Escobar, OF Gorkys Hernandez, P Blaine Boyer and one of P Charlie Morton or P Jo-Jo Reyes.^[11] The Padres also wanted the two top prospects in the organization as well: P Tommy Hanson and OF Jordan Schafer, but after a few weeks, the Braves decided to move on to bring in a few free agents.

2009

Peavy was almost perfect in spring training, pitching 14 total innings with no runs allowed, 10 strikeouts and no walks.^[12] Jake Peavy rejected a trade to the Chicago White Sox, which included Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard, saying that remaining in San Diego was best for him and his family.^[13] On May 22, Peavy hurt his ankle rounding third base against the Chicago Cubs in a start where he earned the win with 6 scoreless innings and 10 strikeouts a day after rejecting a trade to Chicago's AL team (White Sox). On June 12, Peavy learned he had a strained tendon in the back of his ankle, suffered in the May 22nd start. He was placed on the DL the same day. At the time of his injury, Peavy was 6-6 with 3.96 ERA and 92 strikeouts.

On July 31, Peavy agreed to a trade to the Chicago White Sox in a last minute trade deadline day deal for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter.^[14]

In his first start for the White Sox, Peavy pitched 5 innings, giving up 3 runs (all earned), and striking out 5, getting the win against the Kansas City Royals.

Scouting report

Peavy pitching on May 28, 2006

Peavy's repertoire includes the command of a cut fastball (94-97 mph) two-seam fastballs (88-90 mph) and a four-seam fastball (93-97 mph), a hard slider (83-88 mph), a changeup (80-84 mph), and sports an occasional curveball (74-76 mph).

In his most successful games, Peavy most comfortably uses his two-seam fastballs, throwing an occasional slider. With the idea of the two-seam fastball, Peavy can control and run his fastball to both sides of the plate, cut it in and away from hitters, and make the fastball sink or fade, all in the high 80s-low 90s and can keep the hitters honest by spotting a four-seam fastball at 95 mph.

Since 2004 Peavy has posted the lowest WHIP of any major leaguer ^[15]. Peavy's two-seam fastball acts primarily as a sinker and induces many ground balls ^[16]. This can allow Peavy to induce many double plays when runners are on base. Peavy likes to run his fastballs in on lefties and make the pitch break back into the zone, similar to a power version of Greg Maddux's technique.

The natural movement of Peavy's pitches creates a heavier ball which helps to limit the number of home runs Peavy gives up, having allowed only 13 in over 220 innings in 2007 ^[17].

Personal

Peavy and his wife Katie have three children. Jacob Edward II, born on June 20, 2001 Wyatt, born on May 24, 2004 and Judson born in 2009.^{[citation needed]} He is good friends with San Diego Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers, and Houston Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions
• List of Major League Baseball Cy Young Award winners
• Triple crown

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)