Pat Strange
Encyclopedia
Patrick Martin Strange is a former Major League Baseball
pitcher
for the New York Mets
(–).
. He is the only player who has twice been named the Gatorade
Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year, winning the award in 1997 and 1998.
. He signed with the Mets on July 29, 1998 and was assigned to the Gulf Coast Mets of the rookie Gulf Coast League
. Strange went 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in limited action. In 1999 Strange played the entire season with the Single A Capital City Bombers. He had a very successful season, going 12-5 with a 2.63 ERA in 21 games started.
By 2000, Strange started to establish himself as one of the most promising young pitchers in the Mets farm system. He split the season playing with the Single A St. Lucie Mets
and the Double A Binghamton Mets
. He pitched in a total of 29 games on the season for the two teams, with 23 games started. His record was a combined 14-4 with an ERA of 3.97, and he also struck out 113 batters in 143 innings pitched.
In 2001 Strange started the season at Double A Binghamton and again enjoyed success on the mound, going 12-6 in 27 games pitched with an ERA of 4.88. Strange ended the season with the Triple A Norfolk Tides
making one start, which he won and did not surrender a run in 6 innings pitched.
Strange started the 2002 season with Triple A Norfolk and was 10-10 with an ERA of 3.82 in 29 games pitched with the Tides. Strange was called up to the Mets and made his major league debut on September 13, 2002. He finished the season with the Mets, making five appearances with a 1.13 ERA in 8 innings pitched.
After not making the opening-day roster in 2003, Strange started the season with the Norfolk Tides. He was again called up to the majors and made six appearances in relief. His record was 0–0 in 6 games, with a total of 9 innings pitched and an ERA of 11.00. Strange finished the season with Norfolk, making his last appearance with the Mets on June 5, 2003.
Strange spent the entire 2004 season with the Norfolk Tides. He pitched in a total of 29 games with a 10-9 record and an ERA of 5.25; he also recorded 1 save. However, Strange started to develop arm problems. At the end of the season he was granted free agency and signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins
. Strange did not make it through spring training as arm issues that he developed continued to persist. He was released by the Twins and had season-ending surgery in order to have bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow. The surgery ended up being career ending as Strange was forced to retire after never fully rehabilitating from his arm issues.
standout prospect and close friend of Strange, Brian Cole. Cole was killed in an automobile accident in 2001.http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/25/sports/baseball-a-teammate-remembers.html
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...
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...
for 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...
(–).
High school career
Strange was a standout pitcher at Springfield Central High SchoolSpringfield Central High School
Springfield Central High School is a public high school located in Springfield, Massachusetts.[1] The high school is home to grades 9–12. Central High School is the most popular high school in Springfield its has about 2000 and higher students.-History:...
. He is the only player who has twice been named the Gatorade
Gatorade
Gatorade is a brand of sports-themed food and beverage products, built around its signature product: a line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo, distributed in over 80 countries...
Massachusetts Baseball Player of the Year, winning the award in 1997 and 1998.
Professional career
Strange was drafted in the second round of the 1998 MLB Amateur Draft on June 2, 1998 by the New York MetsNew 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...
. He signed with the Mets on July 29, 1998 and was assigned to the Gulf Coast Mets of the rookie Gulf Coast League
Gulf Coast League
The Gulf Coast League is a minor league baseball league which operates in Florida. It is a Rookie League, with a season running from mid-June to late August. The season is 60 games long and teams in the league are divided into three divisions, East, North and South...
. Strange went 1-1 with a 1.42 ERA in limited action. In 1999 Strange played the entire season with the Single A Capital City Bombers. He had a very successful season, going 12-5 with a 2.63 ERA in 21 games started.
By 2000, Strange started to establish himself as one of the most promising young pitchers in the Mets farm system. He split the season playing with the Single A St. Lucie Mets
St. Lucie Mets
The St. Lucie Mets are a minor league baseball team based in Port St. Lucie, Florida.The team, which plays in the Florida State League, is the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club.The team plays at Digital Domain Park...
and the Double A Binghamton Mets
Binghamton Mets
The Binghamton Mets are a U.S. minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club...
. He pitched in a total of 29 games on the season for the two teams, with 23 games started. His record was a combined 14-4 with an ERA of 3.97, and he also struck out 113 batters in 143 innings pitched.
In 2001 Strange started the season at Double A Binghamton and again enjoyed success on the mound, going 12-6 in 27 games pitched with an ERA of 4.88. Strange ended the season with the Triple A Norfolk Tides
Norfolk Tides
The Norfolk Tides are a minor league baseball team in the Triple-A International League. They play at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Virginia. Since 2007 they have been a farm team of the Baltimore Orioles; prior to that, they had a 38-year affiliation with the New York Mets.-Franchise history:The...
making one start, which he won and did not surrender a run in 6 innings pitched.
Strange started the 2002 season with Triple A Norfolk and was 10-10 with an ERA of 3.82 in 29 games pitched with the Tides. Strange was called up to the Mets and made his major league debut on September 13, 2002. He finished the season with the Mets, making five appearances with a 1.13 ERA in 8 innings pitched.
After not making the opening-day roster in 2003, Strange started the season with the Norfolk Tides. He was again called up to the majors and made six appearances in relief. His record was 0–0 in 6 games, with a total of 9 innings pitched and an ERA of 11.00. Strange finished the season with Norfolk, making his last appearance with the Mets on June 5, 2003.
Strange spent the entire 2004 season with the Norfolk Tides. He pitched in a total of 29 games with a 10-9 record and an ERA of 5.25; he also recorded 1 save. However, Strange started to develop arm problems. At the end of the season he was granted free agency and signed as a free agent with 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...
. Strange did not make it through spring training as arm issues that he developed continued to persist. He was released by the Twins and had season-ending surgery in order to have bone spurs removed from his pitching elbow. The surgery ended up being career ending as Strange was forced to retire after never fully rehabilitating from his arm issues.
Rememerance of Friend
Strange's wife gave birth to a baby boy in February 2003. They named the baby Brian Cole Strange in honor of former MetsMETS
The Metadata Encoding and Transmission Standard is a metadata standard for encoding descriptive, administrative, and structural metadata regarding objects within a digital library, expressed using the XML schema language of the World Wide Web Consortium...
standout prospect and close friend of Strange, Brian Cole. Cole was killed in an automobile accident in 2001.http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/25/sports/baseball-a-teammate-remembers.html