Ted Lilly

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Ted Lilly bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Ted Lilly : biography

January 4, 1976 –

Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Lilly III (born January 4, 1976) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws left-handed. Lilly attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College.

Personal life

Lilly’s wife, Natasha (Tasha), is a veterinarian. They are active advocates for animal humane societies, and reside in Oakhurst, California. Their son, Theodore Roosevelt Lilly IV, was born on March 14, 2010.

Pitching style

Lilly is a finesse pitcher, as he lacks elite velocity with his pitches but relies on above-average control and movement, as well as the ability to throw a variety of pitches. He throws two fastballs—a four-seamer and a two-seamer in the 86-90 mph range—and two breaking balls, a slider and a big, slow curveball. He also features a changeup. He uses the slider more against left-handed batters and his other off-speed pitches more against right-handed batters. His pitching motion uses a straight-over-the-top delivery.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Lilly was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. After two seasons in the Dodgers farm system, he was traded (along with Peter Bergeron, Wilton Guerrero and Jonathan Tucker) to the Montreal Expos for Hiram Bocachica, Mark Grudzielanek and Carlos Pérez.

Montreal Expos

Lilly made his Major League debut for the Expos on May 14, 1999 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching one inning in relief. He made his first start on September 19 against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched in nine games for the Expos, with three starts.

New York Yankees

Lilly was traded to the New York Yankees on March 17, 2000 as part of a trade involving Hideki Irabu., baseball-reference.com, Retrieved on June 6, 2007.

Oakland Athletics

Lilly played for more than two years for the Yankees before being dealt to the Oakland Athletics in a three-team deal that included pitchers Jeff Weaver heading to New York and Jeremy Bonderman going to the Detroit Tigers. Lilly was in the starting rotation for Oakland, and pitched in the American League Division Series in both 2002 and 2003.

Toronto Blue Jays

Lilly was traded from the Athletics to the Toronto Blue Jays for Bobby Kielty. He made the American League All-Star team in 2004 as the Jays’ lone representative that year.

The highlight of his career as a Blue Jay was a start on August 23, 2004 against the Boston Red Sox. He pitched a complete-game shutout and struck out 13 batters in a three-hit 3–0 victory.

Lilly was 15–13 with a 4.31 ERA and 160 strikeouts in 2006, exceeding his previous career-high for wins (12). He also equaled a career high for starts (32) and nearly matched his career highs in strikeouts and innings pitched. This season, he ranked first among the Jays’ pitching staff in strikeouts and second only to Roy Halladay in wins (Halladay had a 16–5 record before a recurring elbow injury ended his season in late September).

On August 21, 2006, in a game against the Oakland Athletics, Lilly was surrendering an early 8-0 lead in the 3rd inning when manager John Gibbons took him out of the game. With the score 8-5 and runners on 1st and 3rd, Lilly refused to give him the ball. Eventually, he reluctantly left the mound and later feuded with Gibbons in the locker room, though Gibbons maintained no punches were thrown.

Lilly filed for free agency at the end of the 2006 season, and alongside Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt and Jeff Suppan, was one of the most sought-after free agent pitchers, partially due to the thin market for starting pitching. On the morning of December 6, 2006, he informed the Blue Jays that he would not be returning to the club, thus rejecting a four-year, $40 million deal. He cited a "change in scenery" as his reasoning. Later on that day, Lilly agreed to an identical four-year, $40 million deal with the Chicago Cubs, officially ending his tenure with the Blue Jays.