Grant Balfour
Encyclopedia
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) is a relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
who plays for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. He has previously played for 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...
, Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
and Milwaukee Brewers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
.
Early life
Balfour spent his first years at school attending Kings Langley Public School and high school years at William Clarke College in Kellyville, New South WalesKellyville, New South Wales
Kellyville is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kellyville is located 36 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire, part of the Hills District region.-History:...
.
Early career
Balfour made his major league debut with the Minnesota Twins in and played with them until . After missing with an injury, in he played in the Cincinnati RedsCincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
organization. After a three-year absence, Balfour made his return to the major leagues on 18 July, , in the 8th inning with the Milwaukee Brewers. He relieved Chris Capuano
Chris Capuano
Christopher "Chris" Frank Capuano is an American professional baseball player.-Early life:Capuano graduated from St. Thomas School in West Springfield in 8th grade...
in a 2-2 tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
, striking out Chris Young, the first hitter he faced. With two outs in the 8th, he hit
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
a batter and walked
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
another before giving up a three-run home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
to Mark Reynolds
Mark Reynolds (baseball)
Mark Andrew Reynolds is a third baseman/first baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Baltimore Orioles. He is known both for his power-hitting abilities and for his record-breaking strike out totals...
, giving the Diamondbacks a 5-2 lead. Balfour would finish the 8th and 9th inning and take the loss in relief, having given up three earned run
Earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run...
s in the 5-2 defeat.
Tampa Bay Rays
On the same day that he was designated for assignmentDesignated for assignment
Designated for assignment is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball. When a player is designated for assignment, he is immediately removed from the club's 40-man roster. This gives the club 10 days to decide what to do with the player while freeing up a roster spot for another...
, Balfour was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays on 27 July, , for Seth McClung
Seth McClung
Michael Seth McClung , nicknamed Big Red, is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. In his career, he has pitched as a starting pitcher and as a relief pitcher....
. Balfour finished the season in the Rays bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
and was re-signed to a one-year deal.
Balfour came into spring training as a long-shot to make the Rays bullpen. Despite a solid spring training, eventually he lost out on the final spot and was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Durham on 3 April 2008.
Balfour was recalled from Triple-A Durham on 29 May 2008. He recorded the save on 31 May against the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
retiring Brian Anderson
Brian Anderson (outfielder)
Brian Nikola Anderson is an American professional baseball player who is currently a free agent. He has played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox as an outfielder, a position he played professionally until before the 2010 season...
to end the game in a Rays 2–0 win. In the series sweep against the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
at Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field
Tropicana Field is a domed stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, when they were the Devil Rays. It has also served as the host stadium for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl, an NCAA-sanctioned college...
, Balfour was credited with two of the three wins
Win (baseball)
In professional baseball, there are two types of decisions: a win and a loss . In each game, one pitcher on the winning team is awarded a win and one pitcher on the losing team is given a loss in their respective statistics. These pitchers are collectively known as the pitchers of record. Only...
- the first on 16 June, relieving Scott Kazmir
Scott Kazmir
Scott Edward Kazmir is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Kazmir made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004 when he was only 20 years old and at one time held many of the franchise's career pitching records...
with the score 1-1 and bases loaded, pitching one and one-third perfect innings in a 3-2 win; the second on 18 June, entering the game trailing 1–2, and pitching one and two-thirds innings, recording three strikeout
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....
s, in a game the Rays won 8-3.
Balfour finished 2008 with a 1.54 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, a 6-2 record, 4 saves out of 5 opportunities, 14 holds
Hold (baseball)
A hold is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions:Unlike saves, wins, and losses, more than one pitcher per team can earn a hold for a game, though it is not possible for a pitcher to receive more than one hold in a given game...
, and 82 strikeouts over 58 1/3 IP in 51 appearances.
In 2009, Balfour chose to skip the 2009 World Baseball Classic
2009 World Baseball Classic
The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
due to the club asking him not to play for Australia while he was still under contract. Balfour had a less successful season with the Rays who finished 84-78, 19 games behind the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. Although he pitched considerably more innings and games pitched, Balfour finished 5-4 and 4 saves with a 4.81 ERA for the season with 69 strikeouts compared to the previous season's 82.
Balfour is known to shout at himself while on the mound and use profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
to fire himself up. On 2 October 2008, during Game 1 of the ALDS, Balfour was involved in an exchange of words with Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
shortstop Orlando Cabrera
Orlando Cabrera
Orlando Luis Cabrera, nicknamed "O-Cab" and "The OC", is a Colombian-American baseball infielder.He won a World Series championship in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox. He has played for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins,...
. With the bases loaded and two outs, Balfour's first pitch to Cabrera was outside for a ball. Cabrera then kicked the dirt in front of the batter's box in the direction of the pitcher's mound and according to Balfour, Cabrera told him to "throw it over the plate." Unaware of Balfour's behavior while pitching, Cabrera was under the impression that he was the one being yelled at. The at-bat continued and ended with Cabrera striking out. Balfour stormed off the mound, yelling at Cabrera as he walked to the dugout. Balfour stated after the game that he told Cabrera to "go sit down" and that he "might have mixed one or two words in with it." Deemed a misunderstanding between the two, there were no further incidents in the series, with Balfour getting the final out.
In December 2009, Balfour signed a new contract with Tampa Bay, worth $2.05 million over one year.
Oakland Athletics
On 18 January, Balfour signed a 2-year contract with the Oakland AthleticsOakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
.