Michael Joseph Jerzembeck (born May 18, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Yankees in 1998.

Mike Jerzembeck
Pitcher
Born: (1972-05-18) May 18, 1972 (age 52)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 8, 1998, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 23, 1998, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Win–loss record0–1
Earned run average12.79
Strikeouts1
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Amateur career

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A native of Queens, New York, Jerzembeck attended the University of North Carolina, and in 1993 he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1] He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 5th round of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft, and was signed June 17, 1993.

Professional career

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During spring training in 1998, Jerzembeck was hit with a throw from Jorge Posada and suffered a bruised pitching elbow in what Buster Olney described as "a freakish play."[2][3] He spent the majority of the season in the International League with the Columbus Clippers and suffered a loss of velocity on his fastball and inconsistency with his curveball.[3] He made his Major League debut on August 8, 1998, striking out Dean Palmer in one inning in relief of Orlando Hernández.[4] He appeared in two more games that season, putting up a 12.79 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance.[5] Following the season, James Andrews performed surgery on his injured elbow.[3]

Jerzembeck missed the entirety of the 1999 and 2000 seasons due to elbow and shoulder surgeries.[6][7] The Yankees released Jerzembeck on June 13, 2001, after ten appearances with the Norwich Navigators of the Eastern League. He signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on March 13, 2002.[6] He missed the beginning of the season due to continuing elbow problems.[8] The 2002 season was the last in which he played; he pitched parts of the season with the GCL Twins, New Britain Rock Cats and Edmonton Trappers.[7]

In September 2005, James Andrews performed an arthroscopic surgery on Jerzembeck's elbow.[9]

Personal life

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Jerzembeck's son, Satchel, was named after Satchel Paige and committed to play baseball at North Carolina.[10] His son, Eli, also plays baseball.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. ^ Olney, Buster (March 9, 1998). "BASEBALL; Yankees Proceed With Few Openings". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Rocca, Lawrence (March 7, 2000). "YANKEES SPRING TRAINING / Jerzembeck Gets Another Chance". Newsday. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  4. ^ "Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees Box Score, August 8, 1998". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  5. ^ "Mike Jerzembeck Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Gonzalez, Roberto (May 5, 2002). "Jerzembeck on the Mend". Hartford Courant. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Mike Jerzembeck Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  8. ^ Lipshez, Ken (April 4, 2002). "Cats near sellout for opener". The Middletown Press. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. ^ Page, Rodney; Putnam, Bob (September 28, 2005). "Jays cut Fielder loose". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "Satchel Jerzembeck - Baseball". University of North Carolina Athletics. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  11. ^ "Check out the famous names in this year's Draft class". MLB.com.
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