Dustin McGowan
Encyclopedia
Dustin Michael McGowan is an American professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 with the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Long County High School
Long County High School
Long County High School is a public high school located in Ludowici, Georgia, USA. The school is part of the Long County School District which serves Long County, Georgia.- External links :*...

 in Ludowici, Georgia
Ludowici, Georgia
Ludowici is a city in Long County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Long County...

 in the 1st round with 33rd pick of the draft on June 4, 2000. He made his major-league debut on July 30, 2005 against the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

 and received a no decision, having pitched 5 innings and allowing 1 run. He struck out
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

 six batters, the most by a Toronto starter in a Major League debut at the time. Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Rzepczynski
Marc Walter Rzepczynski is an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.The Toronto Blue Jays blogosphere gave Rzepczynski the nickname "Scrabble".-Amateur career:...

 had seven in his debut on 7 July 2009 versus the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

. He was born in Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

2005–2006 seasons

McGowan bounced between the bullpen and the starting rotation during his first 2 seasons with the Blue Jays. He struggled in his rookie season following his impressive Major League debut, posting a 6.35 ERA in 13 games including 7 starts. At the beginning of the 2006 season, McGowan was recalled by the Blue Jays from the Syracuse SkyChiefs
Syracuse SkyChiefs
The Syracuse Chiefs are a minor league baseball team based in Syracuse, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals...

 to take the place of the struggling reliever Jason Frasor
Jason Frasor
Jason Andrew Frasor is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball. He made his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in , and he had a 4.08 ERA in 63 games....

. In his second stint with the team McGowan struggled once again and was optioned back to Triple-A Syracuse on May 11 to work as a starter.

In 2005 Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...

 named him the #1 prospect in the Blue Jays' farm system
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...

 and he was considered one of the cornerstones of the Blue Jays' future. However, his slow development, and in particular his lack of control, stirred up trade rumors during the 2006 off-season, while he had previously been off-limits to potential trades.

2007 season

McGowan would have been eligible to be claimed off waivers had he not made the 2007 Blue Jays 25-man roster out of Spring Training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

, but the Blue Jays were granted another minor-league option year for him. This enabled the team to send McGowan back to the minors, if necessary, without exposing to waivers during the 2007 season.

McGowan started the 2007 season impressively for the Syracuse Chiefs. Despite an 0–2 record at the end of April, he had a 1.64 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 22 innings. This led to a call-up to the Blue Jays rotation in early May after an injury to Gustavo Chacin
Gustavo Chacín
Gustavo Adolfo Chacín is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.-Toronto Blue Jays:In 2004, Chacín led all minor leaguers with 18 wins, and was the 24th pitcher used by the Blue Jays, tying the team record set in the 2002 season...

. On June 19, 2007, he was rocked for six runs on 8 hits over one and two-thirds innings in a 10–1 Jays defeat, and took the loss. He would redeem himself in his next start on June 24, 2007, as he had a no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...

 in the first 8 innings
Innings
An inning, or innings, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably cricket and baseball during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. In cricket, the term innings is both singular and plural and is...

 against the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

 at Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

, allowing only an 0–1 single to the first batter he faced in the ninth, designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...

 Jeff Baker, making him just the 6th pitcher in franchise history to carry a no-hitter into the 9th inning. He went on to record a shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

, the first of his career as well as his first complete game
Complete game
In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

. On September 7, 2007 McGowan recorded a career high 12 strikeouts against Tampa Bay Devil Rays, while giving up just 2 runs in 8 innings of work.

"That was fun to watch. All along, ever since they drafted this kid, they've been expecting stuff like this from him, and he's certainly capable. Today was one of the better games I've seen him throw. He had everything going." said catcher Gregg Zaun
Gregg Zaun
Gregory Owen "Gregg" Zaun is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He is the nephew of former MLB catcher Rick Dempsey. Zaun was a high school teammate of Mark Loretta...

, who caught McGowan's complete game shutout.

McGowan finished the 2007 season with a 12–10 record and a respectable 4.08 ERA. Of his 27 games, 18 of them were quality starts, and he ranked second on the team with 169.2 innings pitched and 144 strikeouts to solidify his place as the number three starter in Toronto's rotation behind ace Roy Halladay
Roy Halladay
Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III , nicknamed "Doc", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies...

 and AJ Burnett, where he began the 2008 campaign.

Because of diabetes, McGowan now wears prescription lenses to improve his vision in low-light conditions.

2008-2011

McGowan had compiled a 6–7 record with an ERA of 4.37 and 85 strikeouts prior to the 2008 All-Star break. But on July 8, he was forced to leave the game early with pain in his shoulder. On July 10, he was put on the 15 day disabled list. Then on July 26, it was announced that McGowan would undergo season-ending surgery to repair fraying of the labrum in his shoulder. He was expected to return during the 2009 season, but his recovery was slower than initially anticipated. McGowan began throwing from level ground in early May 2009. However, further injury befell him and on July 9, 2009, McGowan had knee surgery to repair articular cartilage damage
Articular cartilage damage
Cartilage structures and functions can be damaged. Such damage can result from a variety of causes, such as a bad fall or traumatic sport-accident, previous knee injuries or wear and tear over time...

, requiring six weeks of recovery before continuing his rehabilition programme.

McGowan was expected to pitch sometime in June 2010, but he experienced shoulder pain during early June and it was found that he has a torn rotator cuff
Rotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...

 and had season ending surgery, he was expected to have to wait 4–6 months before he could resume throwing. It was hoped that McGowan can recover and be ready for the 2011 season, of the second surgery GM Alex Anthopoulos
Alex Anthopoulos
Alex Anthopoulos is currently the Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays. He was appointed to this position from his former position of Assistant General Manager, on October 3, after previous G.M. J. P. Ricciardi was fired...

 said that "We're optimistic that he'll be able to come back and we'll continue to work with him once he starts throwing."

On August 2, 2011, Manager John Farrell said he expects to add McGowan to the Jays rotation sometime in September. He is expected to join the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a minor league baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major-league club....

 after one more start with the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays
Dunedin Blue Jays
The Dunedin Blue Jays are a minor league baseball team based in Dunedin, Florida. They play in the Florida State League, and are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club...

.

On September 5, 2011, McGowan was activated from the 60-day disabled list. The following day, McGowan made his first appearance in over 3 years, against the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

. McGowan pitched 4 innings, and gave up 3 earned runs while striking out 5 and walking 3

External links

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