Kenny Rogers (baseball player)
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Scott Rogers is a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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...

 (MLB) left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...

 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...

. During a 20-year baseball career, he pitched from 1989-2008 for six different teams. In addition to being known for his fielding (winning five Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...

s), he pitched the fourteenth perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

 in major league baseball history. In 2008, he was the oldest baseball player in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

.

Rogers is sometimes nicknamed "The Gambler", after a song
The Gambler (song)
"The Gambler" is the title of a song written by Don Schlitz and recorded by American country music artist Kenny Rogers. It was released in November 1978 as the title track from his album The Gambler which won him the Grammy award for best male country vocal performance in 1980. Bobby Bare had...

 made famous by a singer who shares his name
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...

.

Biography

Rogers grew up on a 15 acres (6.1 ha) farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

 in Dover, Florida
Dover, Florida
Dover is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,702 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Dover is located at ....

. His personal goal was to play in the majors for three years, and be able to qualify for a pension.

He, his wife Rebecca Lewis, and children Jessica and Trevor Rogers reside in Westlake, Texas
Westlake, Texas
Westlake is a town in Denton and Tarrant Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population is 702 as of the 2010 United States Census.The area known as Westlake was originally settled in 1847 by Charles and Matilda Medlin with about 20 other families. In the mid-twentieth century, now-Westlake...

. He enjoys golf, fishing, and building houses for Habitat for Humanity.

Baseball career

Rogers was assigned to 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...

 farm team
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...

 after being drafted in the 39th round for $1,000 when he was 17 years old. He graduated from Plant City High School
Plant City High School
The Plant City High School is a historic school in Plant City, Florida, United States. Built in 1914 on a design by Tampa based architect Willis R. Biggers, the current facility was established in 1972 on Maki Road and later designated with the address of 1 Raider Place.The original school site at...

 in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 in 1982, where he played baseball only during his senior season, hitting .375 as a right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

 (he played shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

 in his senior league). He was converted into a pitcher on the strength of his throwing arm and left-handedness. Rogers spent seven years in the minor leagues before making it to the Rangers in 1989 as a reliever. He became a starting pitcher for the club in 1993.

During his career, he played for 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...

 (1989–95, 2000–02, 2004–05), 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...

 (1996–97), 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....

 (1998–99), the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 (1999), the 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...

 (2003), and the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 (2006–08).

During the 1999 National League Championship Series
1999 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 12, 1999 at Turner Field in Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Braves began their eighth consecutive NLCS with a 4–2 victory over the Mets, defeating a team they left for dead two weeks earlier...

 while pitching for the Mets against the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, Rogers entered in relief in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game Six, with the Mets down three games to two. After surrendering a double and the baserunner advancing to third base on a sacrifice fly and two subsequent intentional walks issued to Chipper Jones
Chipper Jones
Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. is a Major League baseball player for the National League's Atlanta Braves. Although initially a shortstop, he has spent most of his career as the starting third baseman for the Braves...

 and Brian Jordan
Brian Jordan
Brian O'Neal Jordan is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder and National Football League safety. In the NFL, he played for the Atlanta Falcons, while he played in the MLB for the St...

, Rogers ended New York's season by walking Andruw Jones
Andruw Jones
Andruw Rudolf Jones is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is a free agent.Jones made his debut during the 1996 season. In the 1996 World Series, Jones became the youngest player to ever homered in the postseason...

 on five pitches with the bases loaded.

With the Detroit Tigers in 2006
2006 Detroit Tigers season
The 2006 Detroit Tigers won the American League Pennant. They represented the AL in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901.- Regular season :...

, Rogers won 17 regular season games, and excelled in the post-season with 23 straight scoreless innings over his three starts.

He is one of only three pitchers in Rangers history through 2009 to win at least 17 games in 31 starts or fewer (17 wins in 31 starts in 1995), along with Scott Feldman
Scott Feldman
Scott Feldman was a news anchor for News 12 Long Island for 22 years.-Early life:Feldman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, graduated from the University of Denver in 1971. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard....

 (17 wins in 31 starts in 2009) and Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...

 (18 wins in 30 starts in 1978).

Perfect game

Rogers pitched the fourteenth perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

 in baseball history on July 28, 1994 with the Rangers against the California Angels (the last no-hitter in Rangers history to date http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/12/26/index.htm and the only perfect game in franchise history). Soon after his feat, he appeared on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

on July 29, 1994, and on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

's Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

on August 1, 1994. He also met and appeared with musician Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...

 at a function in Arlington, Texas
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas within the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to the 2010 census results, the city had a population of 365,438, making it the third largest municipality in the Metroplex...

 on August 13, 1994. Rogers' 1994 perfect game was caught by Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez Torres , nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Major League Baseball catcher...

, who in June 2007 caught the no-hitter of Detroit Tiger Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball....

, both of whom were teammates of Rogers at the time. The game took place exactly three years to the day of the last perfect game, pitched by Dennis Martinez
Dennis Martínez
José Dennis Martínez Emilia , nicknamed "El Presidente" , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher...

 of the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 on July 28, 1991.

Gold Gloves

Known as one of the finest fielding pitchers in baseball, Rogers won five Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...

s at pitcher, including four with the Rangers and one with the Tigers. He was honored with a Fielding Bible Award
Fielding Bible Award
A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each fielding position in Major League Baseball based on statistical analysis. John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct the annual selection process...

 in 2008 as the top fielding pitcher in MLB. 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....

 general manager Billy Beane
Billy Beane
William Lamar "Billy" Beane III is a former Major League Baseball player and the current general manager and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics...

 stated that Rogers "was the best fielding pitcher" he ever saw. "It's like having an extra infielder".

200 career wins

On June 18, 2006 Rogers won his 200th game (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 Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

), during which Detroit set a club record with eight home runs.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=260618116

Pickoffs

Rogers is second all-time in pickoff
Pickoff
In baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher or a catcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base....

s with 93 in his career. On May 9, 2008 against 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...

, Rogers picked off Wilson Betemit
Wilson Betemit
Wilson Betemit is a Dominican professional baseball infielder. He is 6'2" and weighs 220 pounds...

 in the second inning for his 92nd pick-off, passing Mark Langston
Mark Langston
Mark Edward Langston is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners , Montreal Expos , California and Anaheim Angels , San Diego Padres , and Cleveland Indians...

.

Oakland A's years

Rogers was acquired by the Oakland Athletics from the Yankees for third baseman Scott Brosius
Scott Brosius
Scott David Brosius is a former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees . Brosius is currently the head baseball coach at Linfield College, his alma mater....

 in Billy Beane
Billy Beane
William Lamar "Billy" Beane III is a former Major League Baseball player and the current general manager and minority owner of the Oakland Athletics...

's first trade as general manager. Rogers led the Oakland pitching staff in his first season in innings (238.7) and wins (16). The next season, he started 19 games, winning only 5 with a 4.30 ERA. He was traded at the deadline to the New York Mets for Terrence Long
Terrence Long
Terrence Deon Long is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball. Long batted and threw left-handed....

 and a minor league player.

In the news

Rogers refused to talk to local media during the 2005 season after they published a report saying Rogers was having trouble trying to get the Rangers to give him a contract extension, and that he would retire if he didn't get one.

On June 29, 2005, after walking out onto Ameriquest Field for a pre-game warmup against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...

, Rogers shoved two cameramen, knocking a camera to the ground. One of the reporters then resumed filming and Rogers shoved him again, this time kicking the camera after it had been knocked to the ground a second time. He had to be restrained and was sent home. Larry Rodriguez of Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...

' Fox Network affiliate KDFW
KDFW
KDFW, virtual channel 4 , is the Fox owned-and-operated television station in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex designated market area....

 was taken to a local hospital, complaining of shoulder, arm and leg pain. While in the hospital, Rodriguez made an official complaint of assault against Rogers.

On July 1, 2005, Commissioner Bud Selig
Bud Selig
Allan Huber "Bud" Selig is the ninth and current Commissioner of Major League Baseball, having served in that capacity since 1992 as the acting commissioner, and as the official commissioner since 1998...

 suspended Rogers for 20 games and fined him $50,000. While an appeal of his suspension was pending, Rogers appeared at the 2005 All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 in Detroit. Rogers appealed the suspension, which was upheld by Selig. The commissioner was later overruled by independent arbitor
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...

 Shyam Das, allowing Rogers to return to play after sitting out 13 games.

On July 18, 2005, Rogers was charged with a Class A misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

 assault charge with regard to Rodriguez and a Class C misdemeanor assault charge with regard to FSN Southwest cameraman David Mammeli. Rogers was cited and released on $1,500 bond. The Class A charge was later reduced to Class C following Rogers' completion of an anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...

 course.

On August 11, 2005, Rogers returned to the mound 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"...

 in Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...

. Rogers allowed five runs and seven hits in five innings, on the way to a 16–5 Boston victory. He finished 2005 with a 3.46 ERA in 195 1/3 innings. Shortly after the regular season ended, the Rangers announced Rogers would not return to the team.

On October 5, 2005, Rodriguez filed a civil suit against Rogers and the Rangers, seeking an unspecified amount of monetary damages.

Signing with Detroit

On December 8, 2005, Rogers signed a two-year, $16 million contract with the Detroit Tigers. Rogers ended the 2006 regular season with a record of 17–8 and a 3.84 ERA. "We've needed a guy like that for a long time. I'm glad we went out and got him. ... He means a lot to our team and to guys like me," said Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Allen Bonderman is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who currently is a free agent. Bonderman is six feet and two inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed...

 on Rogers.

Rogers, on his first year in Detroit: "There's a lot of benefits here, by far, that you wouldn't know as a visiting player, and for me, I've been around quite a while, but I appreciate the town, the city, the people. The travel for a baseball player is very hard, but here it's not that difficult. It lends itself to being able to relax on certain days that you could get off. There's just more benefits, especially when you have the quality of people here like Dombrowski
Dave Dombrowski
David Dombrowski is the current president, CEO, and general manager of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.-Chicago White Sox:...

 and like we have in Mr. Ilitch
Mike Ilitch
Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. is an American entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise...

, those things that you can't take for granted. You add in Jim Leyland
Jim Leyland
James Richard "Jim" Leyland is a Major League Baseball manager, currently with the Detroit Tigers.He led the Florida Marlins to a World Series championship in 1997, and previously won three straight division titles with the Pittsburgh Pirates...

 and the coaching staff here, and I just got lucky to choose this place... Right when I went in the door and met them, I knew. I knew where I was going to end up." http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/7EDCEA272D32871F8625720D00781877?OpenDocument

On March 30, 2007, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

 reported that Rogers would miss three months after undergoing surgery for a blood clot in his pitching shoulder. He made his return on June 22 against the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

, pitching 6 scoreless innings and allowing two hits while earning his first win of the season.

2006 postseason

On October 6, 2006, Rogers won his first postseason game, pitching 7 2/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in a 6–0 Tigers victory against the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series
American League Division Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series...

. At 41 years and 330 days old, he became the oldest starting pitcher to earn his first career postseason win.

A week later on October 13, Rogers retired nine batters in a row, in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series
American League Championship Series
In Major League Baseball, the American League Championship Series , played in October, is a round in the postseason that determines the winner of the American League pennant...

 against 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....

, allowing only two hits and two walks in 7 1/3 scoreless innings, while striking out six and pacing the Tigers to a 3–0 victory, leaving the Tigers one win away from their first World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

 appearance since 1984.

Rogers started Game 2 of the 2006 World Series
2006 World Series
The 2006 World Series, the 102nd edition of Major League Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 27, and matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals won the Series in five games, taking...

 on October 22, 2006. "We wanted Kenny to pitch two games at home," Leyland said. He left the game with the Tigers in the lead 3–0, pitching 8 shutout innings, retiring 10 straight batters, striking out five, allowing only two hits, with three walks, making him the oldest starting pitcher to win a World Series game, and one of only two pitchers over the age of 40 to do so (Curt Schilling
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...

 would become the second in 2007).

During the first inning, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 cameras caught a smudge on Rogers' pitching hand. Rogers said it was dirt mixed with rosin
Rosin
.Rosin, also called colophony or Greek pitch , is a solid form of resin obtained from pines and some other plants, mostly conifers, produced by heating fresh liquid resin to vaporize the volatile liquid terpene components. It is semi-transparent and varies in color from yellow to black...

 from the rosin bag and wiped it off. Major League Baseball spokesperson Rich Levin said the incident was investigated, and the substance was described as dirt. Since it was not ruled a foreign substance, per Rule 8.02, Rogers remained in the game. In the process, Rogers extended his streak to 23 shutout innings. Examination of images from previous games revealed similar smudges in two other games.

Retirement

After injuries shortened his 2007 and 2008 seasons, Rogers ceased playing at the end of 2008. With 219 career victories, he became the seventh 200-game winner who never won 20 games in any one season, joining Milt Pappas
Milt Pappas
Milton Steven "Milt" Pappas is a former professional baseball pitcher...

, Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss
Jerry Reuss -- pronounced "royce" -- is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the United States, who had a 22-year career from to ....

, Frank Tanana
Frank Tanana
Frank Daryl Tanana is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was the California Angels' 1st round draft pick in 1971....

, Charlie Hough
Charlie Hough
Charles Oliver Hough is a former Major League Baseball knuckleball pitcher. He is currently a senior adviser of player development for the Los Angeles Dodgers.-Playing career:...

, Dennis Martínez
Dennis Martínez
José Dennis Martínez Emilia , nicknamed "El Presidente" , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher...

 and Chuck Finley
Chuck Finley
Charles Edward "Chuck" Finley is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1986-2002 for three different teams, but pitched primarily with the California Angels...

. Mike Mussina
Mike Mussina
Michael Cole Mussina , nicknamed Moose, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees ....

 reached 200 wins without having a 20-win season, but recorded a 20-win season afterward. On August 6th, 2011, Rogers was enshrined into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame.

In 2010, Rogers served as a pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers during spring training. According to remarks by Justin Verlander and Jim Leyland, his ability to coach pitchers on fielding would be particularly of interest to the team.

In 2011, Rogers threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Comerica Park in game three of the ALDS.

Rogers reportedly never formally retired from Major League Baseball.

See also

  • Pitchers who have thrown a perfect game
    Perfect game
    A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...

  • List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
  • List of Texas Rangers Opening Day starting pitchers
  • MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
    MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
    This is a list of top 100 Major League Baseball pitchers who have the most hit batsmen of all time. There is an of hitters who have been hit by pitch the most times.Active players are denoted in bold text.-The List:* Bold denotes active player...

  • Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
    Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
    In baseball, a strikeout occurs when the batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. Strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher and failure on the part of the batter....


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