Mike Maroth

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Mike Maroth bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Mike Maroth : biography

August 17, 1977 –

Michael Warren Maroth (born August 17, 1977) is a former American Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Born in Orlando, Florida, and after attending the University of Central Florida, the left-handed Maroth made his Major League debut in for the Detroit Tigers. He is currently a coach in the Tigers minor league system.

Career

Early career

A third-round pick in the draft, Maroth spent his first two years of professional baseball playing for the Single-A Sarasota Red Sox in the Boston Red Sox organization. He led Sarasota’s starting pitchers with 11 wins in .

Detroit Tigers

Before the 2000 season, Maroth was traded to the Tigers organization for relief pitcher Bryce Florie and worked his way up from Single-A Lakeland to the Triple-A Mud Hens by . Maroth had a 4.65 ERA with Toledo. At the time of his promotion to the Tigers, he was also tied for second place in wins for the entire International League. Maroth was made a starter for the Tigers on June 8, 2002.

In , Maroth lost 21 games for the Tigers—the first pitcher to lose 20 or more games in a season since Brian Kingman lost 20 for the Oakland Athletics in . However, he led the Tigers in wins (9) and win-loss percentage (.300) while the team set the American League record of 119 games lost (43-119).

Maroth rebounded to a decent campaign, going 11-13 with a 4.31 ERA and 108 strikeouts. 2004 also saw Maroth pitch a one-hit complete game shutout against a surging New York Yankees team that July—he lost his no-hit bid in the fourth-inning http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/5454647 due to future teammate Gary Sheffield. In light of the Tigers’ continually struggling offense, Maroth’s performance was similarly solid, as he managed to rack up 14 wins from 28 starts – the second best record on the team, and just one loss behind their young ace, Jeremy Bonderman.

In , Maroth assumed the #3 role in the starter rotation, behind the veteran Kenny Rogers and Bonderman, and ahead of rookie Justin Verlander and Nate Robertson. Maroth credited Rogers with suggested changes to his pitching strategy, and—after the season’s first month—it appeared that he was experiencing a breakout year, though digging a little deeper reveals that his controllable skills were actually about the same as they had been in the previous two seasons and that his sparkling ERA was due in large part to an exorbitant and unsustainable rate of stranding baserunners. After a disastrous start against the Kansas City Royals on May 24, Maroth was placed on the disabled list in early May with bone chips in his left elbow. Late in the 2006 season, Maroth made 4 relief appearances, posting a 9.53 ERA over 5.2 innings of work, giving up three home runs. Maroth was left off the postseason roster, allowing him more time to recover.

He returned to the starting rotation in the season. He missed only one start due to illness. With Kenny Rogers on the DL, the rotation consisted of Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Verlander, Chad Durbin, and Nate Robertson.

St Louis Cardinals

Maroth was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later. Minor league pitcher Chris Lambert, a former first-round pick for the Cardinals in 2004, was sent to the Tigers on August 31, 2007, to complete the deal. In his first career National League start on June 25 against the New York Mets, Maroth surrendered just one run and two hits in 7 innings, but did not figure in the decision. However, Maroth was unable to succeed in any role with St. Louis during the rest of the year, going 0-4 with an ERA above 10. He was given his release from the team on October 25, 2007.

Later career

On February 8, , the Kansas City Royals signed Maroth to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Maroth was released on May 2, 2008.

Maroth underwent shoulder surgery in May 2008, expecting to be able to pitch by spring training 2009.

On December 30, 2008, Maroth signed a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Maroth pitched two innings of an exhibition game on March 3, , the first time he had thrown in a major league game since 2007. Maroth commented "My arm felt great…Probably felt too great. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get out there. Got that adrenaline." After not making the team out of camp, Maroth was released.

On January 8, 2010, Maroth signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins with an invite to spring training. Maroth did not make the team out of spring training and was sent down to triple A Rochester. In late May, Maroth had surgery to remove a bone spur from his elbow causing him to be out four to five weeks.

Maroth retired on January 25, 2011.

Scouting report

Maroth was not an overpowering pitcher, rarely touching 88 MPH on his two-seam fastball. He also threw an 80 MPH cutter with a curveball and a changeup.http://brooksbaseball.net/player_cards/player_card.php?player=400077

Coaching

In September 2011, Maroth was named pitching coach of the Lakeland Flying Tigers of the advanced-A Florida State League.