58 Facts About Scott Kazmir

Scott Edward Kazmir is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent.

Scott Kazmir moved quickly through the Mets' minor league system and was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball when he was sent to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at the 2004 trade deadline in a trade that has been consistently listed as one of the most lopsided deals in modern major league history.

Scott Kazmir quickly became a mainstay in Tampa Bay's starting rotation, winning at least 10 games in each of his four complete seasons with the club at a time when the team lost at least 90 games per year.

Scott Kazmir was named to his first All Star team in 2006, led the American League with 239 strikeouts in 2007, and is still among Tampa Bay's all-time leaders in many pitching categories, including strikeouts, earned run average, wins, and games started.

Scott Kazmir missed time due to injury in 2008 and early 2009, and the Rays dealt him to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the 2009 trade deadline.

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Scott Kazmir did not pitch in the majors for the next season and a half as he sought to regain his form.

Scott Kazmir signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians before the 2013 season, won 10 games, and placed third in voting for American League Comeback Player of the Year.

Scott Kazmir signed a two-year contract with the Oakland Athletics for 2014 and continued his resurgence, playing in the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and earning a career high 15 wins.

Scott Kazmir began another comeback attempt in 2020 with an independent minor league team, and he returned to the major leagues in 2021 with the San Francisco Giants, for whom he appeared in four games.

Also in 2021, Scott Kazmir was selected as a member of the United States national baseball team for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he started and won the quarterfinal game.

Scott Kazmir attended Cypress Falls High School in Harris County, Texas.

Scott Kazmir played both varsity baseball and junior varsity football at the school until his junior year, when he decided to focus on baseball to great success.

Scott Kazmir was recruited by several major college baseball programs and verbally committed to play for the Texas Longhorns baseball team.

Scott Kazmir led the minor leagues in strikeouts per nine innings in 2003 and was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Class AA Eastern League in July 2004 during his second full season of pro baseball.

Scott Kazmir made his major-league debut on August 23,2004, pitching five shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners.

Scott Kazmir started the 2006 season opener April 3 at Baltimore.

At 22 years, 2 months and 10 days Scott Kazmir was the youngest opening day starter since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1986.

Scott Kazmir often pitched best when facing the opponent's ace starter; he won decisions against Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, two-time 20 game winner Jamie Moyer, two-time All-Star and 20 game winner Dontrelle Willis, 2001 World Series co-MVP and 3-time 20 game winner Curt Schilling, and 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett.

On June 22,2006, Scott Kazmir passed Sandy Koufax and put himself in the 22nd spot in MLB history for most strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher before his 23rd birthday.

Scott Kazmir picked up his team leading ninth victory in the process.

On July 2,2006, Scott Kazmir was elected by the players to appear in the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, his first all-star appearance.

Scott Kazmir became the first pitcher in Tampa Bay history to total over 200 strikeouts in a season, and to date, he is the only pitcher in team history to lead the league in strikeouts.

Scott Kazmir was one of the MLB's most unhittable pitchers in 2007, with hitters only making contact 74.

The inference was that when Scott Kazmir was pitching, there was a much higher chance of a free pizza for fans.

Scott Kazmir strained his elbow at the beginning of Spring training in 2008.

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Scott Kazmir was named to the American League squad for the 2008 MLB All-Star Game.

Scott Kazmir threw a scoreless frame and the AL all-stars scored the winning run in the bottom of the 15th, making Kazmir the winning pitcher.

Scott Kazmir again started the 2009 season on the disabled list with elbow issues and was activated on April 8.

Scott Kazmir made his home debut with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on September 8,2009 pitching against the Seattle Mariners, going seven innings and giving up only one run in a no-decision.

In spring training 2010, Scott Kazmir noted that he was not in best shape in the 2009 season.

Scott Kazmir struggled again in spring training, giving up 19 runs in 23+ innings, and was touched for 5 runs in 2+ innings in his first regular season start.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said that Scott Kazmir's struggles were "baffling" and that, despite a rigorous off-season training regimen, the former all-star pitcher had lost his velocity, command, and confidence.

Scott Kazmir was placed on the DL and sent to extended spring training to "sort things out".

In December 2011, Scott Kazmir tried to regain his form pitching winter ball for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican League.

Scott Kazmir's only start with the club did not go well, as he gave up 2 hits, 2 walks, and 4 earned runs in one third of an inning.

Scott Kazmir sought help from several athletic trainers as he sought to regain his pitching, and he eventually began training with Ron Wolforth, an independent pitching expert in the Houston area.

Scott Kazmir slowly rebuilt his pitching mechanics for several months, and though he held bullpen sessions for scouts from several major league teams in the spring of 2012, he did not sign with a major league organization.

On July 7,2012, Scott Kazmir signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League, who play near his hometown of Houston.

In November 2012, Scott Kazmir signed with Gigantes de Carolina of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League.

Scott Kazmir signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on December 21,2012, and received an invitation to spring training.

Scott Kazmir pitched 190 innings for the A's in 2014, the second-highest total of his career, and finished the season with a 3.

Scott Kazmir was less effective in the second half, and his ERA rose over a full run from the All-Star break until the end of the season.

In 2015, Scott Kazmir began the season as the A's third starter and enjoyed one of the most effective extended stretches of his major league career.

Scott Kazmir was consistent, only once giving up more than three earned runs in a start during that span.

A's were not in serious contention for a playoff spot as the trade deadline approached, and Scott Kazmir was rumored to be a potential acquisition target for several teams seeking to improve their starting pitching.

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Houston made the playoffs as a wildcard team, and Scott Kazmir started game two of the 2015 American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals.

On December 30,2015, Scott Kazmir signed a 3-year, $48 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scott Kazmir continued to tinker with his mechanics in attempt to recover his fastball velocity, but it still topped out in the low-to-mid 80s.

Scott Kazmir continued to work out and began a throwing program soon after his release by the Braves but commented that "it just didn't turn out too well physically" and paused the workouts.

In January 2020, Scott Kazmir expressed his desire to resume his baseball career and signed with the Eastern Reyes del Tigre, one of four teams in the Constellation Energy League, a Sugar Land Skeeters-developed summer league that played a limited schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On February 23,2021, Scott Kazmir signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants and was invited to Major League Spring Training.

Scott Kazmir pitched four innings, taking the loss after allowing one run on two hits while striking out two batters.

In July 2021 while pitching in the Giants' minor league system, Scott Kazmir was selected to play on the United States national baseball team at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which were held in 2021 in Tokyo.

Scott Kazmir appeared in one game at the Olympics, starting against the Dominican Republic in the quarterfinals and pitching five scoreless innings to earn the win.

When Scott Kazmir was enjoying success during his first several seasons, his best pitches were a four-seam fastball and a slider.

Scott Kazmir's fastball was regularly clocked in the mid to high 90s with excellent command, and his preferred strike-out pitch was his slider, which many scouts and other observers compared to that of Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.

In 2013, Scott Kazmir returned to the major leagues with a modified slider that was thrown with less velocity than his pre-injury pitch, registering in the mid-80s.

Scott Kazmir continued to throw a change-up in the low 80s and an occasional curve ball.