Sidney Ponson #43

Sidney Alton Ponson...1993 graduate of Maria College High School where he also played basketball and volleyball...became third Aruban native to play in the Major Leagues.

2007

Had contract selected, March 31...pitched 6-plus innings in two of seven starts before being designated for assignment, May 13.

2006

Began the season with the Cardinals and made his first start April 9 at Chicago (NL)...won his first three decisions April 15-27 before being placed on the disabled list May 9 with a slight flexor strain in his right elbow...was activated May 27 and tossed 5.0 innings at San Diego and earned the win...lost his next four decisions from June 2-July 6...was designated for assignment on July 7 and was released on July 11... signed with the New York Yankees on July 14 and made his first start July 18 vs. Seattle, allowing four runs in 6.2 innings...made two appearances out of the bullpen (August 3 and August 11)...made his final start August 18 at Boston and allowed seven runs (six earned) in 3.0 innings...was designated for assignment the next day and was released August 21.

2005

Made 23 starts for the Orioles before being placed on the disabled list on August 9 with a strained right calf...was reactivated and released on September 1....began the season 5-1, but won just two games after May 11...his last win came on June 18, after which he went 0-7 with a 8.50 ERA in his final nine starts...the Orioles were 11-5 in his first 16 starts...his season-ending seven-game losing streak matched Seattle's Aaron Sele for the longest by an American League hurler...his .331 opponents batting average was highest among American League pitchers with 15 or more starts and his 6.21 ERA was fourth highest...went 3-7 with a 7.67 ERA and opponents hit .354 off him on the road...was 4-4 with a 4.84 ERA and opponents' batting average of .308 at home...righthanded batters hit .299 off him, 10th highest in the league...pitched at least 6.0 innings in 12 of his first 16 starts but lasted through 6.0 innings only once in his last seven starts, twice leaving with an injury...had 10 wild pitches, tied for the team lead (with Jorge Julio) and tied for seventh in the American League...had four starts in which he allowed seven or more runs, including a season-high nine earned runs on April 14 at Tampa Bay...pitched a complete game to win 7-1 at Toronto on April 24...was his 28th career complete game, the fourth most in the majors since the start of the 1999 season behind Randy Johnson (40), Curt Schilling and Livan Hernandez (33 each)...win at Toronto began a four-game stretch through May 11 in which he went 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA (31.0 ip, 8 er)...went 5-1 with a 4.93 ERA in his first seven starts through May 11, when he pitched 8.0 inning and allowed two earned runs in a 7-4 win vs. Minnesota... left his start on July 28 vs. Texas in the third inning of a scoreless game with a contusion of the right thumb after being hit on a comebacker by the Rangers' Sandy Alomar, but did not miss a turn in the rotation...made two more starts before leaving in the third inning of a game on August 7 at Texas with a strained right calf...was placed on the disabled list two days later.

2004

Was the Orioles' Opening Night starter on April 4 vs. Boston and earned the victory, 7-2...was only the second time in seven seasons he has won his first decision of the season...allowed a season-high nine runs on April 25 vs. Toronto, the most runs he had surrendered in a start since April 26, 2000 at Chicago (AL)...pitched his first complete game of the year on April 20 vs. Tampa Bay, throwing 88 pitches...only one other Oriole (Ben McDonald, 86 pitches, 7/21/90) threw fewer pitches in a 9-inning complete game since STATS, Inc. records started in 1988...shut out Anaheim on May 16 at Camden Yards, 4-0, for his third career shutout and first since June 28, 2001 at Toronto...following the shutout of Anaheim, lost a career-high nine straight starts and 12 of 13 decisions, to conclude the first half -- the Orioles did not score more than three runs while he was on the mound during the losing streak...it was the third longest losing streak in club history...was among the American League's top pitchers following the All-Star break...went 8-3 after the break, tied for fifth in the league in second half wins...tied for the American League lead with five complete games and two shutouts...tied for eighth in games started (33) and ninth in innings pitched (215.2), the fourth time in six years he had pitched at least 210 innings...pitched at least 6.0 innings in 26 of his 33 starts, including the last 16 starting July 4...led the league's pitchers in hits (265) and earned runs (127) allowed, was second in runs allowed (136), tied for third in losses (15), yielded the fourth highest batting-average-against (.305) and had the eighth highest ERA (5.30) among qualifying pitchers...he allowed seven or more runs in an outing seven times...had 12 first-half losses, the most in club history -- Mike Boddicker ('88), Dennis Martinez ('83), Ross Grimsley ('75) and Dave McNally ('73) lost 11 games before the All-Star game...went 0-6 with a 6.46 ERA in June, becoming the first Orioles pitcher to drop six games in a month since Robin Roberts in May 1965 (2-6)...the only other Orioles to lose six games in a month were Mike Fornieles (0-6) in May '57 and Joe Coleman (2-6) in July '54...won his first five decisions following the All-Star break, one shy of his career-best winning streak...in his 11 wins, he pitched to a 1.86 ERA (82.1 ip, 60 hits, 17er)...in his other 22 starts, he posted a 7.43 ERA (133.1 ip, 207 hits, 110 er).

2003

Was the Orioles' top pitcher through the first four months of the season before being traded to the Giants in exchange for RHP Kurt Ainsworth, LHP Damian Moss and LHP Ryan Hannaman on July 31...combined to go 17-12 with a 3.75 ERA in 31 starts between the Orioles and San Francisco...wins total and ERA were both career bests, topping 12 wins in 1999 and a 4.06 ERA in 2002...tied for seventh in the majors in wins and 14th in the majors in ERA...worked at least 6.0 innings in 28 of 31 outings (90.3%)...had four complete games and worked at least 7.0 innings in 18 starts...allowed three earned runs or fewer in 18 of 31 starts...had a decision in 29 of his 31 starts...worked 216.0 innings, the third time in his career he topped the 200-inning mark...at the time of his trade, he ranked among American League leaders in wins (T2nd, 14), winning pct. (8th, .700), innings (9th, 148.0) and complete games (3rd, 4)...won 13 of his last 17 starts for the Orioles, going 13-4 with a 3.75 ERA (124.2 ip, 125 hits, 52 er) over that time...his 12 victories in the first half were the most by an Orioles pitcher before the All-Star break since Jimmy Key's 12 wins in 1997...won a career-high five straight starts, May 21-June 13...the five-game winning streak was the second longest of his career, the best coming when he won six straight decisions in July-August 1998, his rookie year...had never been more than four games over .500 in his major league career but reached a season/career-best nine games over at 14-5 with his win at NYY on July 24...allowed three runs or fewer in 6 of 10 starts for the Giants...earned his first win of the season on April 10 at Tampa Bay, snapping a personal five-game losing streak... at the time of the trade, was the senior member of the Orioles team in terms of continuous service, despite being just 26 years old...won three straight starts, August 22-September 1, with a 1.25 ERA (21.2 ip, 3 er) for San Francisco...however, he went winless in his last four regular season starts, going 0-3 with a 5.63 ERA (24.0 ip, 15 er)...left with a 5-4 lead in Game 2 of the National League Division Series vs. Florida, but did not get a decision in the Giants' eventual 9-5 loss.

2002

Won only 7 games but the Orioles went 17-11 in his 28 starts, tied with Rodrigo Lopez for best team record among starters...Received the 4th lowest run support among American League starters, 4.09 runs per 9 IP...Pitched at least 6.0 innings in 22 of his 28 starts...Tied Scott Erickson for team lead and for 9th in AL with 3 complete games, but was on the losing end of all 3 outing...Earned his first win on April 27 vs. Kansas City to snap a career-high 7-game losing streak, dating to the previous season...Was his first win since a 2-hit shutout on June 28, 2001 at Toronto...Went winless in 6 starts in June, despite posting a 2.41 ERA and allowing 3 runs or less in each out-ing...went winless over 8 starts between May 23 and July 15, going 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA...Only decision in that stretch was a 2-1 loss on June 9 vs. Los Angeles, when he pitched a 5-hit complete game...Had a 4-0 lead in his start on June 18 at Arizona but left in the 4th inning after being hit on the right wrist by a ball off the bat of Steve Finley...Also left back-to-back starts, June 30 vs. Philadelphia and July 6 at Texas, with a blister on his right mid- dle finger...Left with a 2-0 lead vs. the Phillies and had a 4-0 lead after 4 innings vs. the Rangers before allowing 4 runs over his final 1.2 IP...Won consecutive starts on August 1 at Tampa Bay and August 6 vs. Minnesota, allowing 2 runs in 6.2 IP in each start...Was placed on the disabled list on August 9 with inflammation of his right shoulder...Was activated from the DL when rosters expanded on September 1...won his first start back on September 4 vs. Texas for his 3rd straight win, matching his career-best win-ning streak...Also won 3 straight starts 7/28-8/8/98 and 5/16-26/99...Allowed 2 earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts and pitched 2 complete games, but went 0-4 over that time...The Orioles scored a total of 5 runs in the 4 games, including a total of one run in the 2 complete games...In all, he made 5 starts in September, going 1-4 despite a 3.82 ERA (35.1 IP, 15 ER)...7 of the 16 runs he allowed came in one start on September 22 vs. Boston...Went 7-8 with a 3.71 ERA (160.0 IP, 66 ER) over his last 25 outings, with 16 "Quality Starts" (6 or more IP, 3 or fewer ER) in that span...Lost only 6 times in his last 20 starts...Won only 5 times in his last 22 outings, however...Was 10th in AL in GIDPs induced per 9 IP, getting 18 in 176 IP (.92)...Had a 1.48 ground ball/fly ball ratio (251GB/170FB), 7th highest among qualifying AL starters...Was one of only 10 AL pitchers who did not commit an error while pitching at least 162.0 innings...Had 4th highest total of chances (41) among pitchers who did not commit an error.

2001

Made 23 starts before being sidelined over the final five weeks of the season with tendinitis in his right forearm...Last victory came June 28, when he threw a complete-game, 2-hit shutout at Toronto...He was winless in his last 10 starts...His 3.42 ERA in day games was 8th best in the American League...Included was a 2-hit shutout at Toronto on June 28, his second career shutout...Led the O's staff and was tied for 9th in the AL with 3 complete games...Pitched 6.0 or more innings in 16 of 23 starts and allowed 2 ER or fewer 9 times...Despite missing at least 10 starts last season because of injuries, his 15 complete games over the last 3 seasons (1999-2001) are 4th among major league pitchers, behind Randy Johnson (23), Curt Schilling (22) and David Wells (17)...in his 9 starts after the All-Star Break, he went 0-5 with 4 no decisions and a 6.54 ERA (53.2 IP, 39 ER)...His 5-game losing streak is tied for the 2nd longest current streak among AL hurlers with 4 others including teammate Rick Bauer, one behind fellow teammate Jason Johnson...Lost his first 3 starts of season and had a 6.62 ERA (17.2 IP, 13 ER) before going on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow...Made one rehab start at AA Bowie (4.0 IP, 3 H, 1BB, 2K) before being activated on May 9 to start at Tampa Bay...After returning from the DL, he went 5-7 with a 4.70 ERA (120.2IP, 63ER) in 20 starts...Went 5-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 10 starts in May and June...Allowed 19 home runs in 134.1 innings, including a career-high 4 on July 12 at Atlanta...29 of the 77 runs he allowed came on homers, but he allowed just 4 home runs in his last 7 starts...Left with a lead 3 times and got no decision when the bullpen failed to hold the lead...He also left a start on July 4 vs. New York after 2 scoreless innings with a blister on his right middle finger...In his first start of the season, he was on the losing end of Boston's Hideo Nomo's 3-0 no-hitter on April 4 at Camden Yards...Struck out 10 Red Sox batters in 7.1 innings and allowed only 4 hits and one walk...Enters the 2002 season with the fifth-most wins (34) among pitchers 25 or younger, behind Seattle's Freddy Garcia (44), Montreal's Javier Vazquez (41), Toronto's Kelvim Escobar (40) and Florida's Ryan Dempster (37).

2000

Tied teammate Mike Mussina for 3rd in the American League with 6 complete games and finished 5th in the league with a career-high 222.0IP...Went the distance in 3 of his last 7 starts and pitched 7.0 or more innings in 21 starts, including 19 of his last 25 outings...In 1999, Sidney tied teammate Scott Erickson for second in the AL with 6 complete games...Allowed 12.4 baserunners per 9IP (307 in 222 IP), 9th best total in league and 2nd among O's starters behind Mike Mussina's 10.8...Allowed 9.04 hits per 9IP, 10th best in AL and just behind Mussina's 8.94 H/9IP for team lead...Opponents batted .258 off him (223-863),10th among AL starters and second on team behind Mussina (.255)...His 13 losses were tied for 8th most among A.L. hurlers and 2nd on Orioles behind Mussina's 15...Posted a 3.71 ERA (77.2IP, 33R/32ER) over his last 10 starts beginning August 5 but went just 3-6 as the Orioles scored a total of 21 runs over that time, only once scoring as many as 4 runs...Offense supported him with 120 runs over his first 18 starts (6.67 rgp) as he went 5-4 but only 36 runs over his last 14 starts (2.57 rpg) while he went 4-9...Matched or set a career-high in strikeouts 6 times over the course of the season, the best being 11 K's on September 6 in a 7.2 inning outing at Minnesota...Over his last 21 starts, struck out 116 in 147.2IP...Left a game with the lead 6 times during the season but did not get the decision when the bullpen failed to hold the lead...Beat the Twins 5-0 on April 16 at Minnesota on a 4-hitter for his first career shutout and first win of season...After winning his next start, April 21 at Oakland, he went winless in 6 starts and allowed 28 ER and 7 HR in 38.1IP (6.57 ERA) before beating Tampa Bay on May 30...Earned wins on the first and last days of July, but went 0-3 with a 9.30 ERA in his 4 starts in between...Made shortest start of his career, 1.1 IP, on July 6 at New York...Went 1-2 in 3 starts vs. National League East teams despite pitching to a 3.13 ERA, including a 1-0 complete game loss at Montreal on June 4...Is 5-4 with a 3.50 ERA (74.2IP, 66H, 29ER) and 4 complete games in 10 career starts against the National League... Had 19 "Quality Starts", most on the Orioles staff, and his .613 "QS" percentage (19-32) was tied for 6th best in the league...Allowed 17 stolen bases, tied with Jason Johnson for most among Orioles hurlers and tied for 7th among AL hurlers...Allowed team-high 30 home runs, tied for 7th in AL...Allowed 125 runs, tied with Pat Rapp for most on Orioles staff and tied for 3rd in league...Fielded all 34 chances cleanly, one of only 7 AL pitchers with 30 or more chances and a 1.000 fielding percentage.

1999

Allowed three or fewer earned runs in 22 of his 32 starts and pitched 7.0 or more innings 18 times...had 19 quality starts, most on Orioles staff, and his .613 percentage (19-of-31) was tied for sixth best in the American League...his six complete games tied teammate Scott Erickson for second in the American League, one behind Toronto's David Wells...allowed 35 home runs, tying club record set by Robin Roberts in 1963 and matched by Scott McGregor in 1986-- was tied for second in the American League with Texas' Jeff Fassero, behind Rangers' Rick Helling (41)... allowed 1.5 HR per nine innings, tied for third-highest average in the league...yielded three home runs on three different occasions...through July 3, went 7-5 with a 3.70 ERA in 16 starts (107.0 ip, 99 hits, 44 er)...in his last 16 starts beginning with his last outing before the All-Star Break, he went 5-7 with a 5.77 ERA (103.0 ip, 128 hits, 66 er)...was scratched from start in the O's final game of the season, October 3 vs. Boston, with right shoulder stiffness.

1998

Began season at Triple-A Rochester before being recalled on April 17...made Major League debut in relief, April 19 at Texas...made his first career big league start on April 29 at Chicago (AL)...earned first career save, May 24 at Oakland...recorded first Major League win on June 16 vs. New York (AL)...had season-high six-game win-streak, covering nine starts from July 2-August 18...season-high 7.1 innings, September 19 vs. New York (AL).

1997

Spent an injury-shortened season at AA Bowie of the Eastern League and was the Baysox Opening Night starter...In his first two starts he tossed 15.0 shutout innings and was honored as the league's "Player of the Week"...On 4/9 vs. Norwich he tossed a 3-hit shutout and struck out 12...In six starts, from 4/15-5/12, Sidney went 0-4 with a 8.38 ERA (29.0IP, 27ER)...During that stretch he allowed 40 hits, including nine home runs...Tossed 7.1 shutout innings vs. Portland on 5/17 in a 2-1 victory, however, over his last four starts he was 0-3 with a 6.94 ERA...On 6/13 he was placed on the DL with elbow soreness...Made rehab start at Gulf Coast, pitching two hitless innings before reaggravating the injury.

1996

Ranked as the Orioles #1 prospect by Baseball America...Missed the first two months of the season as he remained in extended spring training...His 3.45 overall ERA was 2nd best in the Orioles organization behind only Nerio Rodriguez (2.21)...Was 5th in the organization with 110 strikeouts and T4th in the Carolina League with three complete games...Was the Orioles organizational "Pitcher of the Month" for June...During the month he went 4-1 with a 1.13 ERA (39.2IP, 25H, 5ER, 5BB, 47K)...Held opponents to a .182 average and fanned 11 twice during the stretch...On 8/15 he owned a 2.32 ERA (93.0IP, 24ER) in 15 appearances (13 starts)...In his final three starts he gave up 17ER and 23H in 14.0IP...Following the season he pitched for Phoenix of the Arizona Fall League...Went 2-1 in eight games, seven starts, with a 3.26 ERA.

1995

Tied for 4th in Appalachian League with 13 starts and was 5th in innings pitched (77.2)...His ratio of 1.85 walks per 9IP was 5th best among the league's starting pitchers...Won 5 straight decisions, 7/10-8/7...Started that stretch by being named Appalachian League "Pitcher of the Week" for 7/10-16, winning both his starts and allowing only 1 earned run in 14 innings on the mound...Struck out 10 Burlington batters in 7.0 innings on 8/1...Was top fielding pitcher (1.000 pct.) in Appy League with 20 total chances without an error.

1994

Relieved in his 1st two pro appearances, then made 10 straight starts...Pitched a 9-inning complete game and fanned a career-high 7 vs. the GCL Red Sox, 8/16...Averaged 2.1 walks and 6.5 strikeouts per 9 IP.