Jeremy Hellickson

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Jeremy Hellickson
Hellickson with the Washington Nationals in 2018
Pitcher
Born: (1987-04-08) April 8, 1987 (age 36)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 2, 2010, for the Tampa Bay Rays
Last MLB appearance
May 19, 2019, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
Win–loss record76–75
Earned run average4.13
Strikeouts929
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World Youth Baseball Championship
Gold medal – first place 2003 Kaohsiung Team

Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Nationals. Following the 2011 season, Hellickson was named American League Rookie of the Year. In Tampa Bay, Hellickson was nicknamed "Hellboy" by local fans and media.[1]

Early life

Hellickson was born in Des Moines, Iowa and attended Hoover High School.[2]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Hellickson was drafted by Tampa Bay in the fourth round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft. Baseball America rated him as the 18th best prospect in all of baseball going into the 2010 season.[3] He was selected to play in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game and was the starting pitcher for U.S. team.[4]

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 2, 2010, Hellickson made his major league debut against Minnesota Twins.[5] During his debut, he held the Twins to two runs over seven innings. He struck out six while walking two. He was optioned back to the Triple-A Durham Bulls after the start.[6] He was once again recalled to the majors on August 10 to take the spot of Wade Davis in the rotation. He made his second career start that day against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, earning his second career victory after pitching seven shutout innings with three hits, seven strikeouts and no walks as the Rays won 8–0.[7]

On August 21, 2010, Hellickson was optioned to the High-A Charlotte Stone Crabs to work on moving to the bullpen. He was recalled to Tampa Bay on September 1, and made his first appearance out of the bullpen on September 4, pitching 123 innings giving up 2 runs.

Hellickson pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011

Hellickson began the 2011 season as the Rays fifth starter. On May 13, he threw his first complete game, earning a 3–0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.[8] Following the season, Hellickson earned the 2011 American League MLB Rookie of the Year Award.[9] He was named the Rays third starter for the 2012 season and pitched 823 shutout innings against the New York Yankees on April 8, 2012.

Hellickson was the losing pitcher in Félix Hernández's perfect game on August 15, 2012. He still had a quality start in the game, allowing one run and five hits over seven innings to the Seattle Mariners.[10]

Hellickson was optioned to Charlotte on August 27. He was recalled from the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits on September 3 after the major league rosters expanded. He did not pitch for either minor league team.[11]

He was named co-winner with Jake Peavy, then with the Chicago White Sox, of the American League Rawlings Gold Glove for 2012.

Hellickson pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 14, 2014, the Rays traded Hellickson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Andrew Velazquez and Justin Williams.[12] He signed a one-year deal worth $4.275 million on January 16, 2015, and avoided arbitration.[13] In 27 starts, he finished 9–12 with an ERA of 4.62 in 146 innings.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 14, 2015, Hellickson was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league pitcher Sam McWilliams.[14] On January 15, 2016, Hellickson signed a one-year deal for $7 million avoiding arbitration.[15] Hellickson started for the Phillies on Opening Day.[16] The Phillies extended Hellickson a qualifying offer worth $17.2 million for the 2017 season, which he accepted.[17]

On April 3, 2017, Hellickson was the starting pitcher against the Cincinnati Reds on Opening Day. He hit his first-career triple, the first pitcher to hit a triple in the season opener since San Francisco Giants' Jack Sanford in 1963.[18] He pitched five innings earning the win, allowing one run and six hits. He left early because of running the triple.[19]

Baltimore Orioles

On July 28, 2017, the Phillies traded Hellickson to the Baltimore Orioles for Hyun-soo Kim and Garrett Cleavinger.[20]

In his first start as an Oriole, Hellickson threw seven shutout innings against the Royals, striking out three batters while earning the win in a 6–0 victory. Despite that hot start, Hellickson struggled down the stretch, posting a 5.43 ERA over 30 starts over the course of the season. For the 2017 season, between the two teams he led the majors in giving up the most home runs per nine innings (1.92).[21] He became a free agent following the conclusion of the season.[22]

Washington Nationals

Hellickson signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals that included an invitation to major league spring training on March 17, 2018.[23] His contract was selected on April 16 for a start against the New York Mets at Citi Field. In his Nationals debut, Hellickson worked into the fifth inning while giving up two runs, taking a no-decision as his team rallied in the eighth inning to win 8–6.[24] He earned his first Nationals win on May 8, 2018, at PETCO Park, taking a perfect game bid into the seventh inning and allowing no runs in the two-hit outing, striking out eight San Diego Padres in the process.[25] He began his tenure with Washington going 2–0 with a 2.28 ERA before landing on the disabled list with a hamstring strain.[26] He ended the season with a 5–3 record in 91+13 innings.

On February 8, 2019, Hellickson re-signed with the Nationals, inking a one-year, $1.3 million contract with up to $4 million in incentives.[27] In 9 appearances (8 starts) Hellickson went 2–3 with a 6.23 ERA before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. The Nationals finished the 2019 year with a 93–69 record, clinching a wild card spot, and eventually went on to win the 2019 World Series over the Houston Astros, their first championship in franchise history. Although Hellickson did not participate in any postseason action, he won his first World Series championship.[28]

Hellickson retired from baseball on February 14, 2020, after experiencing a shoulder setback prior to spring training.[29]

Achievements

Personal life

Hellickson and his wife Natalie reside in West Des Moines, Iowa.[31][32]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hellboy, Rays Down Boston 6-2". 620wdae.com. WDAE. June 19, 2013. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  2. ^ "Jeremy Hellickson wins major-league debut, heads back to minors". Desmoinesregister.com. Retrieved August 22, 2010.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Baseball America Top 100 Prospects". Baseballamerica.com. February 23, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  4. ^ Bollinger, Rhett (July 11, 2010). "Hellickson shines as Futures Game's winner". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  5. ^ Berry, Adam (July 31, 2010). "Hellickson to make debut on Monday". MLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  6. ^ Chastain, Bill (August 2, 2010). "Rays call up Johnson, option Hellickson". MLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  7. ^ Chastain, Bill (August 10, 2010). "Hellickson's seven scoreless tame Tigers". MLB.com. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  8. ^ Klemish, Dawn. "Hellickson wins battle of Jeremys". MLB.com.
  9. ^ a b Nowak, Joey. Kimbrel, Hellickson take top rookie awards, MLB.com. Published November 14, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  10. ^ "Tampa Bay Rays vs. Seattle Mariners – Box Score – August 15, 2012". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  11. ^ "Jeremy Hellickson: Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  12. ^ Gilbert, Steve (November 14, 2014). "D-backs land Hellickson for two prospects". Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  13. ^ "Hellickson, Diamondbacks agree at $4,275,000". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 16, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  14. ^ Zolecki, Todd (November 14, 2015). "Phillies land Hellickson in deal with D-backs". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  15. ^ Gelb, Matt (January 18, 2016). "Phillies avoid arbitration with Jeremy Hellickson, Jeanmar Gomez". Philly.com. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  16. ^ Narducci, Marc (April 3, 2016). "Phillies' Hellickson will make first opening-day start". Philly.com. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  17. ^ Zolecki, Todd (November 14, 2016). "Hellickson accepts Phils' qualifying offer". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  18. ^ Corcoran, Cliff (April 3, 2017). "The most interesting thing from each Opening Day game". Sports on Earth. Archived from the original on April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  19. ^ Kay, Joe (April 4, 2017). "Phillies top Reds 4-3 in '17 opener - Madison Courier". Madison Courier. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  20. ^ "Orioles acquire right-hander Jeremy Hellickson from Phillies for Hyun Soo Kim, more - Baltimore Sun". Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  21. ^ Major League Leaderboards » 2017 » Pitchers » Dashboard | FanGraphs Baseball
  22. ^ Hellickson, Jeremy (March 17, 2018). "Does Hellickson signing address Nationals' rotation need?". MASN Sports. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  23. ^ Collier, Jamal (March 17, 2018). "Nats, Hellickson agree to Minors deal". MLB.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  24. ^ Kerr, Byron (April 16, 2018). "Harper's broken bat homer one for the ages (Nats comeback win 8-6)". MASN Sports. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  25. ^ Collier, Jamal (May 8, 2018). "Hellickson's perfecto bid has Nats on 9-1 run". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  26. ^ Washington Nationals put Jeremy Hellickson on DL with hamstring strain
  27. ^ Collier, Jamal (February 8, 2019). "Hellickson heads back to Nationals". MLB.com. MLB. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  28. ^ "Washington Nationals win 2019 World Series". MLB. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
  29. ^ Birch, Tommy. "Des Moines' Jeremy Hellickson retires from Major League Baseball". The Des Moines Register.
  30. ^ a b Topkin, Marc. "Tampa Bay Rays' Jeremy Hellickson earns rare monthly awards double". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  31. ^ "What's next for des Moines native Jeremy Hellickson after retirement?". The Des Moines Register.
  32. ^ "Photos: Des Moines native and MLB veteran Jeremy Hellickson through the years". The Des Moines Register.

External links