Buddy Groom #27

Graduated from Red Oak (Texas) HS in suburban Dallas, where he was an all-district selection as an outfielder his senior year...Also played football, basketball and golf...Attended the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX and majored in management...Originally drafted by the White Sox and signed by Lou Snipp...Works with elementary school students on drug prevention and also works with homeless shelters...Married to Angela (2/3/90) and they have five children: daughter Brenna (10/15/93), sons Evan (5/11/95), Aaron (3/20/97) and Wyatt (2/10/00), and daughter Lexi (2/21/02)...They reside in Red Oak, TX during the off season...In ceremonies on May 20, 2000, while the Orioles were playing at Texas, Red Oak HS, his alma mater, dedicated its baseball field as Buddy Groom Field.

2005

Veteran helped solidify the D-Backs bullpen when he was acquired from the Yankees on July 31. ... Had a 1.23 ERA in his last 19 outings. ... Got his first save since Aug. 22, 2003 against Pirates on Sept. 6. ...With D-Backs, he held opponents to a .100 mark with RISP.

2004

Served as a left-handed specialist and middle reliever in his fifth season with Baltimore ... Earned all of his decisions away from Camden Yards, going 4-1 with a 3.71 ERA on the road compared to 0-0 with a 5.88 ERA at home ... Left-handed hitters batted .333 against Groom, who allowed just one earned run in September.

2003

After recording seven straight seasons of at least 70 appearances, Groom pitched in 60 games in 2003 ... Got off to a rough start, but settled down to produce a respectable 3.86 ERA in the second half of the season ... Held left-handers to a .270 average ... Picked up his lone save of the season in a 4-3 victory over the Yankees on Aug. 22.

2002

Led American League relievers with a career-best 1.60 ERA (62.0 IP, 11 ER)...Led Orioles staff for the 2nd straight season and tied for 8th in AL with 70 relief appearances...Became the first Orioles pitcher ever to have three 70-game seasons...Became the first pitcher in major league history to appear in 70 or more games in 7 straight seasons with his last outing on September 28 vs. New York...Had been tied with Arizona's Mike Myers with 70 games in 6 straight years; Myers made 69 appearances in '02...Allowed only 8.4 runners per 9.0 IP (62.0 IP, 58 runners), the 2nd best in the American League behind Seattle's Arthur Rhodes (7.5)...Ranked 2nd among relievers in batting average allowed (.196)...First batters hit only .127 (8-63), 2nd lowest average among AL relievers...Overall, he retired the first batter faced in 54 of 70 outings...Held lead 35 of 37 times he entered in that situation and 11 of 15 times he entered with a tie...Was 8th in AL with 19 "holds"...Stranded 29 of 41 inherited runners...Did not allow an inherited run to score until May 22 at Oakland...Allowed only 2 runs in his last 24 appearances (22.2 IP)...Allowed runs in only 8 of 70 outings...Allowed only 25 hits in his last 39 games (35.0 IP) and was charged with 5 runs in his last 45 games (41.1 IP)...Walked only 2 batters in 28.2 IP after the All-Star break...Walked his first batter in 13 outings on August 7 vs. Minnesota, then went 16 games (16.1 IP) before issuing a free pass on September 23 vs. Boston...Retired all 5 batters faced and stranded the go-ahead runner in the 8th inning on April 26 at Kansas City, then earned the win when the O's scored 5 runs in the 10th...Was his first victory since April 5, 2001, when he earned a win in relief against Boston...Did not allow a run in his first 9 appearances (7.1 IP)...Allowed his first run of the season on May 2 vs. Kansas City, giving up 2 hits in 0.2 IP...Took the loss on May 6 at Cleveland, yielding a 2-run home run to Russell Branyan in the 8th inning...Earned a save on May 25 at Seattle, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings...Earned the win after being charged with a blown save on June 10 vs. San Diego when the tie run scored on Tony Batista's 8th inning error...Suffered the 10th-inning loss on June 15 at Philadelphia...Was pitching in his 3rd consecutive game for the 2nd and final time of the season...Pitched a season-high 2.0 innings on June 22 at San Francisco, earning a hold in the Orioles' 4-2 victory...Retired one batter for the final out in the 9th and earned the win in the O's comeback victory on August 20 vs. Tampa Bay...Retired only batter faced on game-ending GIDP with the bases loaded to earn his 2nd save in 2-1 win on August 21 vs. Devil Rays...Entered with 2 on and allowed a 3-run home run to Adam Kennedy in 1/3 IP on September 1 at Anaheim, the first run he allowed in 16 outings starting July 24...Struck out a season-high 4 batters while matching his season-high with 2.0 scoreless innings on September 11 at New York...On February 25, he signed a two-year contract extension with an option for 2005.

2001

Was the Orioles' most durable and flexible reliever...Led the club in both saves (11) and appearances (70)...Had 5 "tough saves" -- earned when entering with the tying run on base -- to tie Anaheim's Troy Percival for American League lead in that category...Orioles' bullpen led majors with 8 tough saves...Appeared in his 70th game on the final day of season, October 6, to join Arizonab

2000

Became the first American Leaguer and 2nd major leaguer to appear in 70 or more games in 5 straight seasons with his appearance on the final day of the season, October 1 vs. New York...Colorado's Mike Myers made his 70th appearance on September 12 at San Diego to become first to do it 5 straight years; ironically, they were traded for each other on August 8, 1995, the year before their streaks began, with Detroit sending Groom to Florida for Myers...Was 2nd among Orioles pitchers to Mike Trombley (75) in appearances and became the 10th Orioles reliever ever to appear in at least 70 games...Only one other time have the Orioles had two relievers appear in 70+ games in a single season, when Armando Benitez and Jesse Orosco each had 71 outings in 1997...Was 2nd among American League relievers with 27 holds, one behind Cleveland's Paul Shuey...Led O's bullpen and finished tied for 10th in the AL with 6 relief wins...Finished 7th in AL allowing only 22.0% of inherited runners to score (13 of 59)...Allowed only 6 of 33 inherited runners to score from June 8 through the end of the year...Allowed 4 earned runs in consecutive outings September 15 & 18 vs. Seattle and Oakland, respectively...Also allowed 4 earned runs on June 22 at Seattle...Minus those 3 outings, his ERA for season was 3.18 (56.2IP, 20ER)...Yielded runs in 20 of 70 games but more than one run in a game only 9 times...Struck out all 3 batters faced July 20 vs. Boston and recorded saves June 27 & 28 at Boston...Had 7 blown saves on season, tied for most on the team with Trombley and tied for 8th highest in AL...Earned Orioles' first save of season on April 6 vs. Cleveland with 3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief...Was his first save since 7/27/97...His alma matter, Red Oak High School, in suburban Dallas, dedicated its baseball field as Buddy Groom Field when the Orioles were in Texas on May 20.

1999

Tied with Minnesota's Bob Wells for the American League lead with 76 games pitched, his fourth consecutive season with 70 or more games pitched...Became only seventh pitcher in major league history to appear in 70 games in four consecutive seasons and one of four with an active streak...No pitcher has ever had five straight seasons with 70 or more games pitched...The 76 games pitched tied for second most in Oakland history to his club record 78 in 1997...With 301 games pitched in four seasons with A's, ranks fifth on Oakland's career games pitched list...Tossed just 46.0 innings for an average of 0.61 innings per outing, the lowest ratio in Oakland history...Faced just one batter in 28 of his outings and tossed 1.0 innings or fewer in 68 of his 76 outings...Did not allow a run over his first eight outings (6.0 IP, 4H, 7BB) and allowed two of his first nine inherited runners to score...Struggled over his next 29 outings from April 23-July 2, yielding at least one run 13 times (14.1IP, 20 ER) while allowing 12 of 26 (46.2%) inherited runners to score...His ERA peaked at 7.97 on July...Rebounded to post a 2.81 ERA (8ER in 25.2IP) over his final 39 appearances...Allowed only 6 of his final 34 (17.6%) inherited runners to score...Pitched in the final game before the All-Star break on July 11 at Arizona and the first five games after the break through July 19 to tie an Oakland record by pitching in six consecutive games...Paul Lindblad and Bob Locker set the record from August 21-27, 1970 and Darold Knowles tied it from August 7-12, 1972...Allowed his only home run of the season on July 30 against Tampa Bay to Terrell Lowery after 30.0 innings and 130 batters faced...It snapped a streak of 41.0 innings and 181 batters dating back to August 17, 1998 against Toronto (Shawn Green)...Appeared in 17 of the A's 26 games in July and then posted a 1.93 ERA in 13 August outings...Did not allow a run in his first 12 outings in August to extend his scoreless streak to 10.0 innings...Allowed a .274 opponents batting average, .245 (25-102) against left handers and .315 (23-73) against right handers...Opponents hit .227 (5-22) with runners in scoring position and two outs...Allowed 20 of 69 (29.0%) inherited runners to score and first hitters faced hit .268 (19-71) with four walks and a hit by pitch.

1998

Ranked 7th in the American League in games pitched and became second pitcher in Athletics history to pitch in 70 games in three consecutive seasons, appearing in 75 games after pitching in an Oakland record 78 games in 1997 and 72 games in 1996...His 225 games pitched over a three-year span are the most ever by an A's pitcher, topping Rollie Fingers' 221 from 1974-1976...He also tied for 5th in the league with six blown saves...Pitched mostly in short relief, tossing 1.0 innings or fewer in 63 of his 75 outings...Tossed 3.1 scoreless innings on 4/14 at Boston, matching his personal best with the A's (fourth time)...Finished April with a 1.42 ERA and had a nine-game scoreless streak (6.0 IP) through 5/4 which had his season ERA at 1.26 before allowing four runs on 5/6 vs. Detroit, getting charged with his first loss and second blown save of the season...That began a 23-game stretch through the end of June that saw him allow 19 runs in 19.0 innings...Worked in each game of series vs. Anaheim right before the break, 7/3-5, and did not allow a run, starting a stretch in which he posted a 2.25 ERA (24.0IP, 6 ER) over his final 37 games...First batters faced hit .235 (8-34) over that span with a sacrifice fly and two walks...Appeared in his 300th career game on 7/9 vs. Texas and posted a 1.80 ERA in July...For the season, first batters hit .288 (19-66) with seven walks and two sacrifice flies...Three of the four home runs he allowed came against the first hitter he faced...Allowed 24 of his 74 (32.4%) inherited runners to score after leading the league with a mark of 20.8% in 1997...Allowed a .274 (62-226) opponents batting average, .243 (27-111) against left handers and .304 (35-115) against right handers.

1997

Set an Oakland record by pitching in 78 games, breaking Rollie Fingers record of 76 set in 1974...Was second in the American League to Detroit's Mike Myers (88)...Used mostly in short relief to start the season, with 29 of his first 32 outings going one inning or less...Faced two batters or fewer in 18 of those 32 outings...Made his 200th career appearance on 5/15 vs. Milwaukee...Allowed 20.8% (15 of 72) of his inherited runners to score, tied for the AL lead with New York's Jeff Nelson...Picked up his first save on 6/18 at San Diego and recorded all of his career-high three saves in seven outings starting 6/18 through 7/2...Finished season with a 5.15 ERA, fourth highest among AL relievers...Was 3 for 5 in save opportunities and first batters hit .257 (18-70) with six walks...Opponents hit .292, including .231 (28-121) by left handers and .346 (47-136) by right handers...Opponents average dropped to .208 (16-77) with runners in scoring position, including .111 (4-36) with RISP and two outs.

1996

Made the A's as a non-roster invitee and spent his first full season in the major leagues...Used exclusively in relief except for a start on 5/23 at New York...Tied Mohler for team lead with 72 games pitched and struck out a career-high 57...Had an A's season-long 17.2 innings scoreless streak 6/2-7/4...Allowed just one of 19 inherited runners to score over that span and first batters faced were 2-for-15 with a walk...Recorded all five wins and both saves on the road, pitching to a 2.27 ERA away from Oakland (39.2IP, 10 ER)...Opponents hit .281 overall (85-302) but only .247 (37-150) on the road.

1995

Began the season with Detroit but was traded to the Florida Marlins on 8/8 for a player to be named later (LHP Mike Myers)...Was 1-3 with a save and a 7.52 ERA in 23 games at the time of the trade...Struck out a career-high five batters 5/26 vs. Chicago...Needed 77 appearances to pick up his first major league win (5/12 at Texas) but won his first National League outing on 8/8 vs. Colorado after tossing a scoreless 13th inning...Was tagged with the loss in both games of a doubleheader at Pittsburgh on 8/18...Combined at both Detroit and Florida he was 1-1 with a 6.62 ERA (17.2 IP, 13ER) in four starts and 1-4 with a 7.82 ERA (38.0 IP, 33 ER) in 32 relief outings...Between his two stints in Detroit he was 2-3 with a 1.91 ERA in six games, five starts at Triple-A Toledo.

1994

Started the season at Toledo but was recalled by Detroit on 4/19 after five relief appearances and finished the season with the Tigers...Pitched in 40 games which was second on the club to Joe Boever...Except for a stint of 4.0 innings on July 17 at Kansas City, did not make an appearance longer than 2.0 innings...Picked up his only save on 8/2 at Cleveland with one scoreless inning...Stranded 21 of 27 inherited runners...Was unscored upon in 31 of his 40 appearances.

1993

Had three separate stints with the Tigers in 1993...Was up from 5/24 to 7/19, 8/8-13, and 9/3 through the end of the season...Made 19 appearances including three starts...Was 0-2, losing once in relief and once as a starter...Spent most of the season pitching to only a couple of batters...Longest outing was 4.0 innings on June 28 at New York...Was 9-3 with a 2.74 ERA at Toledo in 16 games, 15 starts.

1992

Began the season at Toledo but earned a call-up to Detroit after posting a 6-4 mark and a 2.16 ERA in 12 starts...Made his major league debut at Chicago vs. Kirk McCaskill on 6/20...Pitched 6.2 innings but lost, 3-1...Was 0-5 with a 5.82 ERA in seven starts and 0-0 with a save and a 5.40 ERA in five relief appearances...Lone save came 7/18 at Oakland as he struck out Randy Ready with the bases loaded to end the game...Optioned back to Toledo on 8/11 and finished the season with the Mud Hens...Walked just 23 in 109.1 innings at Toledo.

1991

Selected by the Detroit Tigers organization in the Rule 5 Minor League draft and opened the season at Double-A London...Posted a 7-1 mark and a 3.48 ERA in 11 games, including seven starts, and was promoted to Triple-A Toledo...Still finished second on the London club in wins...Was used mostly in relief with the Mud Hens, going 2-5 with a save and a 4.32 ERA in 24 games, six starts..Was a combined 9-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 35 games, 13 starts.

1990

Spent his second consecutive season at Double-A Birmingham...Was 6-8 with a 5.07 ERA in 20 games, all starts.

1989

Promoted to Double-A Birmingham and posted his second consecutive 13-win season...Led the Southern League Champion Barons in wins and tossed one of three Birmingham shutouts.

1988

Spent the entire season at Tampa and led the Florida State League with 195.0 innings pitched...Was 10th with a 2.54 ERA...Led the club in strikeouts with 118 and was second with 13 wins and eight complete games...Was 7-3 with a 1.35 ERA over his last 11 starts.

1987

Began his career with Sarasota but was promoted to Daytona Beach after compiling a 0.75 ERA in four games with a win and a save...Used mostly as a starter at Daytona Beach and posted two complete games...Combined at both levels to go 8-2 with a save and a 3.16 ERA in 15 games, 11 starts.