Scott Feldman: Difference between revisions

Scott Feldman
Texas Rangers – No. 39
Starting pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Right
debut
August 31, 2005, for the Texas Rangers
Career statistics (through August 13, 2009)
Win-Loss	19–17
Earned run average	4.59
Strikeouts	198
Teams
Texas Rangers (2005–present)

Scott Wynne Feldman (born February 7, 1983, in Template:City-state) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

After going 25–2 in his first two years of college baseball, he was drafted in the 30th round by the Rangers in 2003. He had Tommy John surgery later that year, and followed it up with a minor league career in which he had a 2.70 ERA, and held batters to only 6.6 hits per 9 innings, pitching almost exclusively in relief.

After pitching in relief while bouncing back and forth between Texas and its Triple-A affiliate in 2005–07, Feldman converted to a starter in 2008. He established himself with a breakout season for the Rangers in 2009.

"The dream started off like any other kid," Feldman said. "You’d think about it as you were watching games in front of the TV, and you’d think about it playing in the neighborhood park with your friends. You always hope, but you just don’t know if it’s ever going to happen."^[1]

His father, Marshall, an FBI agent who grew up in a Pennsylvania coal mining town and played college baseball at Duquesne, coached Feldman in youth baseball in North California.^[2]

Feldman attended Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California, where he pitched a no-hitter.^[3] A left-handed hitter, Feldman led the Peninsula Athletic League in batting average as a junior, and nearly matched the feat as a senior.^[4] He was known more for his hitting than his pitching during high school, and was also overweight.^[1]

Feldman lost 40 pounds before the start of his freshman year at the College of San Mateo, and ended up walking on to the team without a college scholarship.^[1][5] There, in two seasons he went 25–2 (his only losses coming in the state "final four"), with a 1.30 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 8-to-1.^[1] "When Feldman pitched," said Bulldogs coach Doug Williams, "the game was 95 percent over."^[6] He earned Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year honors both as a freshman in 2002 and as a sophomore in 2003, and was also an All American both years.^[7]

Feldman was picked in the 41st round pick of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros, but did not sign. He was then drafted again, in the 30th round of the 2003 Draft by the Texas Rangers, and this time he signed with the Rangers after they offered him "6th-round money."^[1]

Feldman underwent reconstructive elbow surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament, also known as "Tommy John surgery",^[8] in October 2003.^[4] It limited him to four appearances in 2004 in the Arizona League, in which he pitched seven scoreless innings.^[9]

Feldman began the 2005 season with the Single-A Bakersfield Blaze, but after nine shutout innings in relief was quickly promoted to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders.^[9]

On July 28 Feldman and two teammates combined for a perfect game, as the RoughRiders defeated the Corpus Christi Hooks 3–0. It was only the third nine-inning perfect game in the Texas League's 117-year history, and the first combined one. Feldman was tasked with getting the last three outs, and with two outs in the ninth he let the count get to 3–1.^[10] "I was just telling myself, 'Don't walk him,'" Feldman said. "Once it got to 3-1, I threw it right down the middle. If they got a hit, they got a hit. But they're not going to break up a perfect game on a walk." The batter grounded out.^[11]

With the RoughRiders, he held opposing batters to a .202 batting average in 46 relief appearances, led the team with 14 saves, and had a 2.36 ERA.^[9] For the 2005 season, between the two teams he had a 2.06 ERA and 17 saves in 52 appearances, all in relief.^[9]

Prior to the 2006 season, MLB.com beat reporter T.R. Sullivan opined that Feldman was the Rangers' top minor league relief prospect.^[12] In 2006, in 23 relief appearances for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma RedHawks, he had a 1.98 ERA, and in 2007 in 21 relief appearances for the team he had a 4.50 ERA.^[9] Later in 2007, he pitched in the Arizona Fall League, to work on a new three-quarters delivery.^[13]

In 2008, as the Rangers decided to convert Feldman to a starter, he started and won a game for Double-A Frisco, taking a perfect game into the fifth and a no-hitter into the seventh ("For my first start, it was a lot of fun," he said), and started and won the two games that he pitched for Oklahoma.^{[3][14][9][15]}

Overall, through 2008 Feldman had a minor league career ERA of 2.70 in 153.1 innings in 105 games (all but 6 as a reliever), and gave up on average only 6.6 hits per every 9 innings.^[9]

Feldman was a late-season call-up in 2005. The first time he walked into the Rangers’ locker room was with a sense of awe: "The night before, I didn’t sleep a minute. I didn’t know what to expect, but when I walked in, I saw a lot of the guys I had seen on TV all these years, and was like, 'Holy cow, I’m in the big leagues.'"^[1]

He made his major league debut against the Chicago White Sox on August 31, 2005. In 8 relief appearances with the Rangers, he compiled a record of 0–1, with an ERA of 0.91 in 9.1 innings of work.

2006 saw Feldman bounce back and forth between the Rangers and Oklahoma.

Towards the end of the spring training, Feldman was feeling confident that he was going to make the parent club's 25-man roster. A week before opening day he was called into Manager Ron Washington's office. But instead of telling Feldman he had made the team, for the first 10 minutes Washington and the team's pitching coach spoke on and on about how Feldman had had a solid spring training — but needed to work on some things. Feldman couldn't believe it, but eventually thought, "Holy smoke, I’m going down [to the minors]." Suddenly, Washington burst out laughing, unable to continue the prank any longer. "Pack your bags rookie, you’re coming with us!" he said.^[16]

The national spotlight shone briefly on Feldman on August 16, 2006, when he sparked a bench-clearing brawl in the ninth inning of a game between the Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Tensions between the two division rivals were already high, as two Rangers starting pitchers — Adam Eaton and Vicente Padilla — had been ejected in previous games that month for throwing at Angels batters. Prior to Feldman taking the mound, two Angels hurlers (Kevin Gregg and Brendan Donnelly) had already been thrown out of the game for hitting Ragngers batters, and manager Mike Scioscia and bench coach Ron Roenicke had been ejected as well.

Feldman hit Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy in the buttocks with a fastball with only one out remaining in the game, and the Rangers up 9–3.^[17] Kennedy charged the mound, triggering a fight between the 6' 5" Feldman and the light-hitting 6' 1" Kennedy.^[18] As Kennedy charged him, Feldman stood on the mound and threw down his glove, and when Kennedy reached him Feldman hit Kennedy in the armpit with a punch.^[18] An announcer describing the fight said, '[Feldman] even punches like he throws — sidearm and under-hand.'"^[19] "I didn't charge him," Feldman said in his defense. "I couldn't just stand there."^[20] Feldman was suspended for six games.^[21]

In 36 relief appearances in 2006, he had an ERA of 3.92. In games that were late and close, Feldman did not give up any hits while facing 16 batters.

Feldman was in the Rangers' 2007 spring training camp, and won the final spot in the Texas bullpen.^[22] He picked up his first Major League victory on April 11 in his 47th big-league appearance. "I'll always remember it, no doubt about it," Feldman said.^[23]

He was sent down, however, on May 1. That began a trend, as he was called up and send down five more times during the season.^[24]

He made some changes in his delivery in September, by instead of throwing sidearm, raising his arm angle and throwing from a three-quarters delivery, which pitching coach Mark Connor said was giving him more sink on his fastball and downward movement on his breaking ball. "This has a chance to be pretty good," Connor said. "He was busting his fastball 94–95, the ball was sinking, and his four-seamer was cutting."^[25]

He was 1-2 with a 5.77 ERA in 29 games. He held the first batter he faced in each game to a .160 batting average.

In spring training in 2008, Feldman changed his release point, and used the three-quarter delivery that he had begun to use in late 2007. Manager Ron Washington observed: "It makes his ball heavier, and his movement a little more pronounced."^[26][24]

In late March, he was one of three pitchers vying for one long relief spot with the team, though the Rangers also began experimenting with converting him to be a starter.^[27] General Manager Jon Daniels noted: "Toward the end of spring training something clicked with his new [three-quarter] arm slot."^[28]

On March 22, 2008, despite Feldman's success with his new, higher arm angle, the Rangers optioned him to Oklahoma, where he was a starter.^[29] In April he bounced back and forth between Texas and AA Frisco.^[30]

In his first Major League start, on April 13, he allowed three runs in six innings and did not receive a decision. "Feldman was outstanding," Manager Washington said. "He hung in there and battled."^[31] Feldman recorded his first major league hit on June 13 against Óliver Pérez of the New York Mets.

On August 13, against the Boston Red Sox, he allowed a franchise-record 10 runs in the first inning. He also became the first major league pitcher in 90 years to give up at least 12 runs in a game and not take the loss (the prior one being Gene Packard of the St. Louis Cardinals on August 3, 1918).^[32][33]

T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com wrote towards the end of the season: "He's going to win the bronze medal for innings pitched on the Rangers this season.... He has exceeded all expectations, and his lack of history as a starter makes it difficult to figure where this great experiment is headed."^[34] General Manager Daniels noted: "Feldman has really saved our pen this year, and he wasn't a guy we were counting on in the beginning of the season."^[35] The Rangers kept trying to shut him down in the final month to limit his innings, but never did because other Texas pitchers kept getting hurt.^[36]

For the season, he was 6-8 in 25 starts and 3 relief appearances, over 151.1 innings — just two innings fewer than he had pitched in his entire minor league career. He also led the Rangers' pitching staff in quality starts.^[37]

Club president Nolan Ryan emphasised conditioning for the Rangers pitchers during the off-season. Feldman and nine other of the team's top young pitchers were brought to Arlington in November for a week-long conditioning camp. "It's different," Feldman said. "In the past, it was a little more of 'this is what you need to do, now go out and do it.' Most guys would do it, but this is their way of overseeing it and making sure everybody is ready."^[38]

As the Rangers' middle relief became a concern during spring training, it was decided that Feldman would begin 2009 in the bullpen, and Kris Benson would start for Texas. "Feldman makes us a better team in the bullpen," said Washington. "He goes down there with better stuff than he had before."^[39] Feldman, for his part, admitted to being disappointed about his move from the rotation to the bullpen.^[40]

Within a month Benson was injured, however, and Feldman took his place in the rotation on April 25. "I'm excited," said Feldman. "I love starting."^[41] He pitched well using a new full windmill windup, rather than the compact delivery he had used before, and remained in the rotation thereafter.^[42][43] In early May, Washington noted: "He has real life on his fastball, his slider is harder than it has been, his breaking ball is much crisper, and he's getting a good feel for his changeup. He's got four pitches he can throw over the plate."^[44]

Feldman began the 2009 season 5-0. He sported a different repertoire (a new and improved cut fastball), improved mechanics, threw 1–2 mph harder, and kept the ball down -- forcing more ground balls. "Scott Feldman has been great since we put him in the starting rotation," said Manager Washington. "He always does what you need him to do, keep you in the ballgame."^[45]

At the All Star break, despite not having moved into the starting rotation until nearly a month into the season, Feldman was 8-2, led the AL in won-lost percentage (.800), and was 9th in hits per 9 innings pitched (7.75) and walks + hits per inning pitched (1.18).^[46] On July 20, Nolan Ryan opinied that considering Feldman's age and the fact that he had changed his arm angle only two years prior, Ryan felt that Feldman has more upside, and "he's going to get better."^[47]

On July 25, Feldman outdueled Kansas City All Star and AL ERA leader Zack Greinke with eight innings of four-hit ball, leading the Rangers to a 2-0 victory. "Feldman matched the best pitcher in baseball," Manager Washington said. "I’m so happy for him. Two pitchers went at it pretty good, and our's won the battle."^[48] The eight innings were Feldman’s major-league high, as he mixed in a changeup, curveball, and slider with his fastball.

As of the end of July, opposing batters were hitting .228 against Feldman (and only .217 in his starts), the fourth-lowest batting average in the league (the only three better were Edwin Jackson (.216), Matt Garza (.222), and Jarrod Washburn (.224)).^[49] In his starts through the end of July he had a 3.04 ERA, and 12 of his 17 starts were quality starts.^[50]

As of mid-August, Feldman had the most effective cut fastball in all of baseball in 2009 — more effective even than those of Mariano Rivera and Roy Halladay. While he used his cutter 13.4% of the time in 2008, in 2009 he was throwing it 30.4% of the time. The only starting pitchers who were throwing cutters more often were Brian Bannister, Doug Davis, and Halladay.^[51]

Feldman is a sidearm/three-quarters sinkerball pitcher with a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a hard slider with extreme downward movement, a curve, and a changeup.^[52] He is more effective against right-handed hitters.^[1] Since September 2007, when he raised his arm angle to three-quarters, his sinker has had more bite, and he has also developed a cut fastball. Both pitches come in on the same level and at the same speed, but they have late break in different directions — the cutter goes in on lefties, while the sinker drops down and away on them.^[53]

As of March 2007, Feldman was one of 13 Jewish baseball players in the major leagues, along with teammate Ian Kinsler.^{[54][55][56][57]} He was also one of 32 players born in Hawaii to have made it to the majors.^[58]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
• Interview with Scott Feldman, Dallas Morning News, 2/26/08
• "Warming up for the Jewish Boys of Summer", 3/5/08

• List of major league baseball players who had Tommy John surgery