Jeffrey Scott Ballard (born August 13, 1963) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 1994 for the Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates.
| Jeff Ballard | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ballard with the Baltimore Orioles in 1988 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: August 13, 1963 Billings, Montana, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||
| May 9, 1987, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||
| July 8, 1994, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 41–53 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.71 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 244 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Playing career
editBallard played college baseball for Stanford University, and in 1984 played collegiate summer baseball with the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1] He earned a degree in geophysics from Stanford,[2] and in 1998 was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame as one of Stanford's top pitchers, holding the all-time record in wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched for more than 20 years, as well as earning First Team All-Pac-10 twice.[3]
In 1989, he finished in a tie with Dennis Eckersley and Gregg Olson for sixth place in American League Cy Young Award voting.[4] In 1995, Ballard's car collided with a semi truck on a highway in Idaho, breaking his neck and several ribs. The accident ended his career.[5]
In 2004, Baltimore Orioles fans voted Ballard one of their 50 best loved Orioles.[5]
Personal life
editFollowing his career, Ballard returned to his hometown of Billings, Montana. In January 1996, he began working for his father and with his brother at Ballard Petroleum Holdings.[2]
Ballard married the former Kristen Callison in 2008. Together, they had a son, Kyren, and a daughter, Kennley, as of 2014.[2]
Filmography
editTelevision
edit| 1991 | Seinfeld | Baseball Player on TV | 1 episode |
| 2008 | The Office | Baseball Player on TV | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Breaking Bad | Baseball Player on TV | 1 episode |
References
edit- ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c Bighaus, Bill (September 7, 2014). "Billings native has great memories of 'career year' pitching for '89 Orioles". The Billings Gazette. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ "Stanford Sports News : New to the Hall of Fame 1998". Stanford University. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- ^ "1989 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- ^ a b Klingaman, Mike (July 21, 2011). "Catching up with Orioles pitcher Jeff Ballard". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)