Sterling Hitchcock #41

Sterling Alex Hitchcock...makes his off-season home in Tampa, FL with his wife Carrey and daughters Calyn and Camdyn...graduated from Armwood (FL) High School in 1989, where he earned all-conference and all-league honors as a senior...posted a 1.32 ERA in 3 seasons, fanning 209 in 143.0 innings, all school records.

2003

IN PINSTRIPES: Went 1-3 with a 5.44 ERA (30 ER/49.2 IP) in 27 games (one start) with the Yankees...had a 2.29 ERA through the end of May but allowed 25 earned runs in 31.0 IP in his final 16 games with New York... traded from the Yankees to the St. Louis Cardinals on August 22. OUT OF THE BULLPEN: Pitched 3.2 innings of scoreless relief July 24 against Baltimore and did not appear again until August 8 vs. Seattle, a span of 12 games...worked 3.0 or more innings in five of his relief outings with New York, including 4.1 IP on May 22 vs. Toronto...went 3-1 with a 4.18 ERA during August. MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS: in eight games (six starts) with St. Louis, posted a mark of 5-1 with a 3.79 ERA (16 ER/38.0 IP)...went 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA as a starter for the Cardinals and was the winner in each of his last three starts... made his St. Louis debut on August 23 vs. Philadelphia and was credited with his first Cardinal win after working a scoreless sixth inning of relief in a 5-3 win...tossed a career-high 5.0 IP of relief on August 26 vs. Chicago (NL), allowing one run on three hits...logged a season-high 15.1 scoreless innings beginning with a relief outing on August 26 and continuing through a start on September 5.

2002

Was 1-2 with a 5.49 ERA (24 ER/39.1 IP) in 20 games (two starts) for the Yankees...in 18 appearances out of the bullpen...made two starts and went 0-0 with a 7.56 ERA (7 ER/8.1 IP)...missed the season's first 34 games with a lower back strain...was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 1 (retroactive to March 22)...made three rehab starts before being reinstated from the DL on May 9...made his first appearance of the season on May 15 vs. Tampa Bay in relief, allowing one earned run and five hits in 4.1 IP...was placed on the 15-day DL from June 28-July 18 with a sprained lower back (retroactive to June 18)...his final 11 appearances of the season all came in relief when he went 0-1 with a 3.06 ERA (6 ER/17.2 IP).

2001

Began the season on the 60-day disabled list with the Padres ...made a combined nine rehab starts between Single-A Lake Elsinore and Triple-A Portland, going 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA (19 ER/43.1 IP)...made three starts with the Padres after being activated from the DL on July 4...originally placed on the DL on May 30 after undergoing "Tommy John" elbow ligament replacement surgery...was 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA (7 ER/19.0 IP) with San Diego before being re-acquired by the Yankees on July 31 for minor league outfielder Darren Blakely and right-handed pitcher Brett Jodie...went 4-4 with a 6.49 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) with the Yankees... won his first game of the season with New York on August 1 vs. Texas despite allowing five earned runs over 5.0 IP...recorded his first complete game since the 1999 season (with San Diego at Pittsburgh September 7) after tossing 9.0 frames October 1 vs. Chicago (AL)...made three relief appearances in the postseason, allowing two earned runs over 7.0 IP...had two scoreless appearances in the World Series and was the Game 5 winner with one shutout inning of relief.

2000

SUMMARY: San Diego's Opening Day starter, Hitchcock made only 11 starts before being placed on the D.L. for the remainder of the season on May 30 (retroactive to May 27)...underwent "Tommy John" ligament transplant surgery on his left elbow June 6...underwent a 2nd surgical procedure on his left ankle performed by Dr. Phillip Kwong at HealthSouth Kerlan-Jobe Surgical Center in Los Angeles August 2...had made at least 27 starts and worked at least 161 innings in each of the previous 5 years.

MEDICAL REPORT: After being removed from his May 26 start vs. Montreal 2 batters into the 5th inning, Hitchcock underwent "Tommy John" surgery on his left elbow on June 6...the outpatient procedure was performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, CA...during the full ligament transplant, the palmaris longus tendon from Hitchcock's right arm was transplanted into his left elbow...a significant bone chip was removed from behind Hitchcock's left elbow, and mild arthritis was found.

FOR OPENERS: Made his first career Opening Day start and was saddled with a tough-luck no-decision in San Diego's 2-1 loss at New York...gave up just one run on 3 hits in 6.1 innings, walking 2 and fanning 4...Derek Bell's 2-out solo homer in the 8th off Donne Wall snapped a 1-1 tie.

2000 HIGHLIGHTS: Went 0-5 with a 4.99 ERA in his first 8 starts before earning his first 2000 win May 16 at Florida...allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in 7.0 innings in the 7-3 victory, walking none and striking out 4...the win was Hitch's 2nd in 19 starts dating to August, 1999...received no decision in an 11-inning 4-3 loss in Pittsburgh April 25...yielded just one unearned run on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5 in 6.0 innings...left the game with a 2-1 lead but saw the bullpen give up the tying run in the 7th...struck out 10 in 7.1 innings in a 7-4 loss to the Braves, April 30 at The Q...the 10-K effort was the 2nd regular season double-figure strikeout game of Hitchcock's career...he fanned 15, August 29, 1998 vs. Montreal...with a 4th-inning strikeout of Randy Johnson May 5 at Arizona, Hitchcock became the 10th pitcher to log 500 strikeouts in a Padres uniform.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: San Diego went 2-9 in Hitchcock's 11 starts with losses in each of his first 8...the Padres lost each of his first 5 starts by one run...4 of his 11 starts were quality starts...fanned 61 in 65.2 innings, an average of 8.4 strikeouts per 9 innings...at the time of his injury, ranked 7th in the league in strikeouts and 8th in strikeouts per 9 innings...was tied for the league lead in starts...worked at least 6 innings in 8 of his 11 starts...walked 2 or fewer in 7 starts, including each of his final 5...limited lefthanders to a .220 average (11-for-50) and 3 homers, while righties batted .279 (58-for-208) with 9 long balls...went 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA (9 ER/12.0 IP) in 2 starts against Arizona...dating to 1998, has dropped 7 consecutive starts against the D-Backs and is 0-7 with a 5.48 ERA (29 ER/47.2 IP) in 9 career appearances (8 starts) against the N.L. West rival...as a hitter, went hitless in 22 at-bats with one RBI, one sacrifice bunt and 12 strikeouts.

1999

SUMMARY: Led the club with 33 starts and ranked among N.L. leaders in strikeouts (6th with a team-best 194) and strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (2nd to Randy Johnson with 8.5)...established career highs in innings pitched (205.2) and strikeouts (194)...with 12 wins, came up one shy of matching his personal best, established with the Mariners in 1996...his 33 starts were 2 shy of his career high, set in 1996 with the Mariners...also set a personal high with 14 losses...placed 11th in the league with a .254 opponents average allowed...finished tied with Shawn Estes for the N.L. lead with a club record-tying 15 wild pitches...the Padres went 14-19 in Hitchcock's 33 starts, with losses in 8 of the last 10...made 18 quality starts (55 percent).

K KING: Ranked 6th in the N.L. with 194 strikeouts in only 205.2 innings of work, the 3rd-highest K total in a season by a Padres pitcher behind only Kevin Brown's club record total of 257 set in 1998 and Clay Kirby's total of 231 in 1971...Hitchcock's average of 8.5 strikeouts per 9 innings trailed only Randy Johnson (12.1) in the N.L. and was the 3rd-best ratio in a season in Padres history behind only Andy Benes' 9.9 in 1994 and Kevin Brown's 9.0 in 1998...averaged at least a strikeout per inning pitched in 20 of his 33 starts, fanning at least 7 on 14 occasions...struck out a season-high 9 on September 1 vs. Chicago after fanning 8 on 8 previous occasions.

LACK OF SUPPORT: The Padres averaged 4.4 runs per game for Hitch (146 runs in 33 starts), scoring only 33 runs in his 14 losses (2.4 per game), including 3 shutouts and 7 games in which they scored less than 2 runs.

STREAKING FRIAR: Won 5 consecutive starts in a single season for the first time in his career and posted a 1.96 ERA (8 ER/36.2 IP), June 22-July 16...Hitchcock won 6 consecutive starts from September 20, 1995-April 12, 1996 (3 to end 1995 and 3 more to begin 1996).

A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER...AND FORGET: Posted a 3.12 ERA (14 ER/40.1 IP) and limited opponents to a .243 average (36-for-148) in 6 September starts yet went 1-5...the Padres scored a total of 9 runs in Hitch's 5 September losses, including a shutout and a pair of one-run efforts...allowed 3 earned runs or less and worked at least 6.0 innings in 5 of his 6 starts.

HOME, SWEET HOME: Finished 7-6 with a 3.16 ERA (38 ER/108.1 IP) in 17 starts at home and 5-8 with a 5.18 ERA (56 ER/97.1 IP) in 16 starts on the road...opponents hit just .229 (92-for-401) with 13 homers at The Q and .278 (110-for-395) with 16 homers on the road.

SNAKEBIT: Went 0-4 with a 5.33 ERA (15 ER/25.1 IP) in 4 starts against the Diamondbacks and 12-10 with a 3.94 ERA (79 ER/180.2 IP) against all other opponents...dropped a pair of decisions to N.L. Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson, games in which the Padres scored a total of 3 runs.

LEFTY-RIGHTY: Lefties hit .253 (40-for-158) with 7 home runs, while righthanders batted .254 (162-for-638) with 22 long balls...allowed 29 home runs for the 2nd consecutive season, the 4th-most allowed by a Padres pitcher in a single season.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...: Opponents batted just .228 (37-for-162) with runners in scoring position, just .161 (14-for-87) with runners in scoring position and 2 outs and .136 (3-for-22) with the bases loaded...induced 7 double plays.

NUMBERS, PLEASE: Threw 3,486 pitches, 16.95 per inning and 105.6 per start...averaged 6.1 innings per start...worked at least 6.0 innings 22 times, at least 7.0 innings on 12 occasions and at least 8.0 innings 5 times...in addition to his 194 K's, induced 223 groundball outs and 249 flyball outs, a 0.9 groundball to flyball ratio...beginning June 4, was touched for 3 runs or fewer in 16 of his last 22 starts, going 9-10 with a 3.45 ERA (55 ER/143.2 IP)...lowered his ERA to 4.11 from 5.34 in that 22-game stretch...prior to the hot stretch, had been 2-5 with a 5.68 ERA (37 ER/58.2 IP) in his previous 10 starts...walked only 19 and struck out 62 in his last 11 starts (68.0 IP)...finished 1-6 in his final 10 starts beginning August 11 despite a 3.87 ERA (28 ER/65.0 IP)...was 8-6 with a 4.15 ERA and a .245 average allowed in 18 starts before the All-Star break and 4-8 with a 4.07 ERA and a .264 average allowed in 15 starts after the break...allowed 21 steals in 28 attempts...picked off 4...having spent 5 seasons in the A.L. with the Yankees (1992-95) and Mariners (1996), went 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA (3 ER/19.0 IP) in 3 interleague starts...beat the A's once and the Mariners twice.

AT THE PLATE: Batted .082 (5-for-61) with 5 singles, 7 sacrifice hits (tied with Andy Ashby for the team lead), 3 walks and 34 strikeouts...is a career .106 hitter (17-for-161) with 3 RBI.

MORE `99 HIGHLIGHTS: Tossed 8.0 scoreless innings, allowing 4 hits and a walk and striking out 8 in a 5-0 win over Greg Maddux and the Braves, May 9 at The Q...July 16 at Seattle, hurled 7.0 innings of 6-hit shutout ball to beat the Mariners, 2-1...walked none and struck out 7 to beat his former club in the 2nd game ever played at Safeco Field...threw his 9th career complete game, an 8.0-inning effort, in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh on September 7...allowed 3 earned runs on 7 hits, walked 4 and fanned 7...the complete game was the only one thrown by a Padre other than Andy Ashby in 1999...reached 1000.0 career major league innings pitched when he completed the 4th inning in his final start of the season September 30 at Arizona...signed a 3-year contract to remain a Padre through the 2001 season on January 25, 1999.

1998

SUMMARY: Prior to turning in a spectacular post-season performance, posted a career-best 3.93 ERA in 39 games (27 starts)...made 26 consecutive starts after opening the season by making 12 of his first 13 appearances in relief...went 9-7 with a 3.90 ERA as a starter, joining the rotation for good on May 4 at Milwaukee...recorded a save and a 4.50 ERA from the pen...did not allow a run in his final 9 bullpen outings (8.1 IP)...struck out 158 in 176.1 innings, 8.06 K's per 9 innings...posted a 3.20 ERA (14 ER/39.1 IP) in his final 6 starts...the Padres went 18-9 in his starts, 16 of which were quality starts...they scored 11 runs in his 7 losses.

MR. OCTOBER: Was the Padres' most effective post-season hurler and earned Most Valuable Player honors in San Diego's National League Championship Series victory over the Braves...faced 4 former Cy Young Award winners in his 4 post-season starts (Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and David Cone) and went 3-0 with a 1.23 ERA (3 ER/22.0 IP)...allowed only 15 hits and 9 walks, while striking out 32.

DIVISION SERIES: Was 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in one start...in his first career post-season start, was the starter and winner in Game 4, as the Padres closed out the Astros, 3 games to 1...out-dueled Randy Johnson for a 6-1 win, allowing one run on 3 hits over 6.0 innings...he walked none and struck out 11.

NLCS: Was 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in 2 starts...started and won both Games 3 and 6, topping Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine...in Game 3 at The Q, allowed a run on 3 hits over 5.0 innings, walking 5 and fanning 6 in a 4-1 Padres win...also went 1-for-2 with a run scored...in the pennant-clinching Game 6 at Turner Field, threw 5.0 innings of 2-hit shutout ball, walking 3 and striking out 8...delivered the game-breaking blow at the plate, lifting a liner to left that was booted by Danny Bautista scoring 2 runs to break open a 2-0 game with 2 outs in the 6th...the Padres went on to score 5 times in the inning to wrap up a 5-0 win and their first pennant since 1984.

WORLD SERIES: Was 0-0 with a 1.50 ERA in one start...got a no-decision in a Game 3 duel with David Cone at The Q...allowed 2 runs (one earned) on 7 hits in 6.0 innings...walked one and fanned 7...led off the 6th with a single, ending Cone's no-hit bid...came around to score the Padres' first run of the game in a 5-4 loss.

CONTROL FREAK: Walked 2 or fewer in 21 of his 27 starts and 3 or less in 25 of 27...walked 21 and fanned 90 over 83.1 innings in his last 12 starts, an average of 2.3 walks and 9.7 strikeouts per 9 innings.

15-K PERFORMANCE: In a 3-1 loss to the Expos on August 29 at The Q, Hitchcock became the 3rd Padre ever to strike out 15 batters in a game, only the 2nd to turn the trick in a 9-inning contest...Fred Norman struck out 15 on September 15, 1972 vs. Cincinnati...Clay Kirby fanned 15 in a 15-inning complete game in game one of a September 24, 1971 doubleheader vs. Houston...including 2 strikeouts by Scott Sanders, who worked the 9th, the Padres fanned 17 in a 9-inning game for the first time in club history...the previous team best was 15 K's in the Norman contest in 1972 and October 3, 1993 vs. Chicago...the Padres had struck out as many as 17 in an extra-inning game twice, most recently April 21, 1996 in a 15-inning game at Atlanta...Hitchcock did not walk a single hitter in the 15-K effort...he allowed 3 runs on 6 hits over 8.0 innings, surrendering solo home runs to opposing starter Dustin Hermanson and Vladimir Guerrero in the 3-1 loss...incredibly, this performance marked the first time in his career he had struck out more than 9 in a regular season game.

CLOSE CALL: Became the 8th Padre in club history to take a no-hitter into the 8th inning, but was touched for a home run on the first pitch of the 8th by Phil Nevin, June 27 vs. Anaheim...nonetheless, recorded his first complete game of the season, the 7th of his career, allowing only a run on 2 hits in the 5-1 win.

NUMBERS, PLEASE: Went 6-2 with a 2.63 ERA in 17 appearances at Qualcomm Stadium and 3-5 with a 5.26 ERA on the road...opponents batted just .202 (65-for-322) at the Q, while hitting .294 (104-for-353) on the road...limited right-handed hitters to a .249 average, while lefties batted .256...served up 25 homers to righthanders and only 4 to lefties...batted .140 (7-for-50) with 2 RBI and 5 sacrifices during the regular season before adding 2 more hits in 9 at-bats in the post-season.

MORE '98 HIGHLIGHTS: Tossed his first shutout since May 21, 1995 as the Padres topped the Brewers, 7-0, on August 14 at The Q...limited Milwaukee to 5 hits, did not walk a batter and fanned 9...combined with Kevin Brown, who pitched the following game, to become the first Padres hurlers to toss back-to-back complete game shutouts since Andy Hawkins (a one-hit, 3-0 win over the Astros) and Eric Show (a 10-hit, 1-0 win over the Cardinals) turned the trick, April 24 and April 26, 1988....earned the 3rd save of his career, June 28 vs. Chicago...tossed 2.0 scoreless innings in the Padres' 7-3 win, allowing only a hit and a walk.

1997

SUMMARY: In his first N.L. campaign, ranked among Padres leaders in wins (2nd), starts (3rd), innings pitched (3rd) and strikeouts (4th)...the Padres went 13-15 in his 28 starts, scoring 21 runs in his 11 losses (1.9 per game) while plating 74 runs in his 10 wins (7.4 per game)...worked at least 6.0 innings in each of his first 5 starts and in 16 of 28 starts overall, although he failed to complete 6.0 innings in his final 4 starts...opposing righthanders batted .267 with 20 home runs (506 at-bats), while lefties hit .316 with 4 long balls (117 at-bats).

FOR OPENERS...: Started the season 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA (4 ER/15.2 IP) in his first 4 appearances (2 starts), and finished the month of April with a 2.92 ERA in 7 games (5 starts)...worked 1.0 inning of perfect relief in his Padres debut in a 6-5, 12-inning win over the Mets, April 2 at The Q...was masterful in his first Padres start, combining with Trevor Hoffman on the 18th one-hitter in Padres history, April 5 vs. Philadelphia...tossed 8.0 innings of one-hit, one-run ball, walking one and fanning 5...retired the Phillies in order in 7 of his 8 innings...was perfect through 4.0 innings before allowing a walk to Danny Tartabull and a double by Rico Brogna to open the 5th...faced only 2 batters over the minimum, throwing 90 pitches, including 62 strikes.

MORE HITCHCOCK CLASSICS: Pitched a gem May 20 against the Dodgers, earning a 7-3 win over Ismael Valdes...allowed only one run on 5 hits over 8.0 innings, walking none and fanning 4...the only run scored on a solo home run by Billy Ashley in the 7th...Sterling thew only 90 pitches (63 strikes)...threw a 90-pitch, complete game masterpiece in a 5-1 win over the Cubs, August 15 at The Q...allowed 4 hits, walked none and struck out 4 in his 6th career complete game, his first as a Padre...went the distance for the first time since September 20, 1995 against Toronto, while with the Yankees.

WHAT A RELIEF!: Made 4 appearances out of the bullpen, including his Padres debut, April 2 vs. New York...worked 1.0 inning of perfect relief in San Diego's 6-5, 12-inning win...the relief appearance was his first since June 30, 1994 (with the Yankees at Boston), and broke a string of 67 consecutive starts...faced 2 batters in relief, April 15 at Pittsburgh, hitting Tony Womack with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th to force in the winning run in a 3-2 Pirates victory...threw one pitch and induced a rally-killing double play from Jim Eisenreich to escape an 8th-inning jam in a 13-inning, 7-6 win vs. the Marlins on September 9...September 10, faced only one batter, fanning pinch hitter Jeff Conine with 2 outs in the 8th with the go-ahead run on 2nd in a 4-3 win over the eventual World Series champion Marlins...overall, in 2.0 innings of relief work, allowed one hit, no runs, hit one and struck out one.

D.L. TIME: On the disabled list with a left elbow strain, June 6-July 3...was 2-2 with a 4.35 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) prior to his D.L. stint...went 8-9 with a 6.05 ERA in 18 games (16 starts) after returning from the D.L.

AT THE PLATE: Batted .100 (5-for-50) with an RBI and 8 sacrifice bunts, 2nd-most among Padres pitchers and only one behind team leaders Joey Hamilton and Quilvio Veras...picked up his first M.L. hits and his lone RBI in a 2-for-3 effort in a 9-6 win over Cincinnati, May 10 at The Q...drove home Chris Gomez with his first career hit, a 2-out single to left in the 2nd inning off Mike Morgan...reached Dave Burba for an infield single in the 5th...also collected singles off Colorado's Kevin Ritz on June 5, Texas' John Burkett on August 31 and San Francisco's Wilson Alvarez on September 21.

MORE `97 HIGHLIGHTS: Dropped a tough-luck 1-0 decision to the Cardinals in the opener of the Padres Paradise Series in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 19...allowed an unearned run on 6 hits over 8.0 innings...walked 3 (one intentionally) and punched out 6...St. Louis' lone run scored on a 2-out throwing error in the 6th...was a 15-3 loser at Houston on September 16 in the shortest start of his M.L. career...allowed 7 runs (6 earned) in 1.1 innings, walking 4 and striking out one...allowed 4 runs in the first inning and 3 more in the 2nd...shortest previous start had been 1.2 innings (September 13, 1996 at Minnesota and September 23, 1996 at California).

1996

Led the Mariners and established new personal bests in victories (13), starts (35), innings pitched (196.2) and strikeouts (132)...in the A.L., only Baltimore's Mike Mussina (36) started more games than Hitchcock, who tied for 2nd with 10 others...allowed 3 or fewer earned runs in 20 of 35 starts and worked 7.0 innings or more 11 times...limited lefthanders to a .229 (38-for-166) average...righthies batted .330 (207-for-628)...won his first 3 starts April 2-12, posting a 2.08 ERA (5 ER/21.2 IP), but went 0-2 with a 6.69 ERA (28 ER, 37.2 IP) in his next 7 starts through May 19...won 4 of his next 5 to carry an 8-3 mark into the All-Star break...after losing his next start, he earned victories in 3 straight outings July 21-31, compiling a 4-1 July mark...lost 3 of his 4 August decisions...posted his final win September 18 at Texas, allowing 2 earned runs in 5.2 innings.

1995

Finished strong in his first full M.L. season, his last in Yankees pinstripes...won 5 of his last 6 starts, including his last 3 in a row...beat Toronto 6-1 in the season finale September 30 to clinch the A.L. Wild Card...threw back-to-back complete games May 21 at Baltimore and May 26 at Oakland...blanked the Orioles 5-0 on May 21 for his first career shutout...allowed 4 hits and fanned 8...righthanders hit .235...lefties batted .294...made 2 relief appearances in the Division Series vs. Seattle, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits in 1.2 innings.

1994

Enjoyed 3 stints with the Yankees...opened the season in New York, making 3 appearances (0-1, 16.21) before being optioned to Columbus April 16...recalled on May 3 and earned his first pro save that night at California, retiring the only 2 hitters he faced to preserve a 6-5 win...the save came in his 115th pro game...next time out, notched another save with 1.2 perfect innings to close out an 8-4 win vs. Boston May 8...appeared in 15 games (1-0 with 2 saves and a 5.29 ERA) before being optioned to Triple-A July 3...made 2 appearances for the Clippers and one in Double-A before being recalled by the Yanks July 18...was 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 5 starts, all Yankees wins, July 18-August 9 after making his first 18 appearances out of the pen (1-1, 6.27).