Lance Cormier #31

Lance Robert Cormier...resides in Tuscaloosa, AL with his wife, Jamie, and son, Lance Jr. (L.J.)...attended the University of Alabama, leaving as one of the top hurlers in program history while also securing his degree in finance...was a four-year letter winner at Alabama, going 31-16 with 17 saves and a 3.98 ERA...set an Alabama freshman record with an SEC-leading 11 saves...honored as a First Team Academic All-American during his senior season...in 2008, joined former Dodger Paul Bako as the only players to have their jerseys retired at Lafayette (LA) High School...played first and third base in high school and also played basketball as a freshman...assists "Baseball Country, " a nonprofit, Christian-based organization which holds baseball camps during the day and Bible study at night...his uncle, Garrett O'Connor, pitched with the Yankee organization in 1985...signed by Arizona scout Mike Valarezo.

2010

Right-hander spent the entire season in the Rays bullpen and made 60 appearances...was his second season with the Rays...worked 62.0 innings, third most out of the Rays' bullpen behind Andy Sonnanstine (63.0) and Rafael Soriano (62.1)...the 60 appearances were the second most of his career (67 in 2005 with Arizona)...Held left-handed hitters to a .252 avg. (35-for-139), compared to .320 (33-for-103) against righties...in two seasons with Tampa Bay, held lefties to a .245 avg. (73-for-298) and righties to .286 (70-for-245)...Had fewer strikeouts (30) than walks allowed (34), and his 3.92 ERA was the lowest of any pitcher in the majors with more walks than strikeouts (min. 50.0 IP)...Held opponents to a .189 avg. (7-for-37) with two outs and RISP...Did not allow a run over his final 12 appearances, all coming from Sept. 4 through year's end...totaled 10.0 innings, three hits, six walks, 10 strikeouts...Ten of his 58 outings lasted 2.0 or more innings...on Aug. 4 vs. Minnesota pitched a season-high 4.0 innings, working the 10th through 13th, and was charged with the loss on Delmon Young's RBI single...this matched his longest career relief outing (fourth time)...On April 17 vs. Boston (the continuation of the suspended game the previous day), took the mound when the game resumed to face David Ortiz in the bottom of the 9th...pitched 3.0 shutout innings (9th through 11th)...escaped a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the 11th to hold a 1-1 tie... picked up the win after Pat Burrell's two-run homer in the 12th...it was the only suspended regular-season game in club history...Made eight appearances vs. the Yankees and crafted a 2.45 ERA (2 ER/7.1 IP)

2009

Led Rays relievers with 77.1 innings pitched, 10th in the AL. ...Fifteen of his 53 outings were 2 innings or more, none of which came after Sep 3...threw 40 or more pitches 8 times...matched his career high as a reliever with 4 scoreless innings in a no-decision on April 29 vs. MIN. ...Was 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road. ...Opponents batted only .172 (15-87) with runners in scoring position. ...Saw his most action against Boston and in 8 appearances was 1-0 with one save and a 0.68 ERA...held the Red Sox to a .149 average including .095 (2-21) at Fenway Park...Jason Bay's home run on Sep 13 was the only run he allowed to them. ...On May 9 at BOS, faced 12 batters and retired 11...earned his 2nd major league save and just his 3rd professional save. ...Posted a 2.81 ERA prior to the All-Star break and a 3.99 after. ...Take away the Yankees and Mets and he pitched to a 2.09 ERA (68.2-IP, 16-ER) in his 44 other outings...15 of his 31 runs came against the Gotham City clubs. ...Picked up his 1st win June 10 vs. LAA, tossing 2.1 shutout innings in relief of Jeff Niemann. ...Picked up the victory Aug 4 vs. BOS, pitching a scoreless top of the 13th before Longoria's walk-off homer in the bottom of the frame. ...Relieved James Shields Aug 20 vs. BAL with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the 6th inning... allowed a grand slam to Brian Roberts, giving the Orioles a 5-1 lead...tied his shortest outing (0.1-IP) and his most runs allowed (3-ER) on the season...was the 2nd grand slam allowed in his career. ...Pitched in 3 of 4 games in the series Sep 7-9 at NYY and was charged with two losses.

2008

Signed a minor league deal with the Orioles... opened the season at AAA Norfolk, but spent the majority of the season in the Orioles bullpen after being selected on May 2...pitched in 45 games for the Birds, his most appearances since a career-high 67 in 2005 for the D-backs. Pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in his Orioles debut, May 4 at Los Angeles (AL)...earned his first ML save June 28 at Washington with 4.0 scoreless innings, matching his career high for a relief outing...worked 2.0 or more innings in 19 of his 44 relief appearances. Finished strong, pitching to a 1.80 ERA in 10 September appearances (15.0-IP, 3-ER).

2007

Lance made two appearances on the Atlanta roster following two trips to the disabled list for a strained right triceps, playing in 10 games and nine starts...Held left-handed hitters to a .257 avg. (19-for-74) and right-handed hitters hit .333 (37-for-111)...Allowed 16 home runs on the season (45.2 IP) and averaged 3.15 HR per nine innings pitched...Missed 55 team games with strained right triceps, suffered March 26 at Kissimee vs. the Astros...Appeared in one rehabilitation game with Rome (A) on 4/22, two with Mississippi (AA) on 5/19 and 5/23 and one with Richmond (AAA) on 5/28. Did not allow a run in his last two rehab starts and had a 12 inning scorless streak...Was activated from the DL on 6/2 and made his first Major League appearance since Sept. 30, 2006. Went 4+ innings and allowed a career-high eight runs on nine hits in the Braves' 10-1 loss...Was on the DL for a second time from June 9 to June 30 with strained right triceps, missing 18 games. He then was assigned to Richmond...Named Richmond's July Pitcher of the Month, going 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA in five starts including a shutout 7/24 vs. OTT...Was recalled from Richmond (AAA) on 8/3 and pitched an inning in relief (3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K) vs. COL...Returned to the starting rotation on a regular basis on 8/11 and made six starts going 2-4 with a 5.11 ERA and a .269 opponents avg. Made his only relief appearance 8/3 vs. COL (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 K)...Snapped his two-game winning streak with a loss against WSH on 9/9 allowing four runs in six innings of a 7-4 loss. The Braves led 3-1 entering the sixth inning before he allowed a three-run homer to R. Church...Posted his second straight win with a 5-1 victory over PHI on 9/3, dropping his season ERA more than two points (from 9.00 to 6.69). Went 5.2 innings and allowed one run on four hits...Snapped his career-high four-game losing streak with a 13-2 win at FLA on 8/27. Lance posted his second quality start of the season, going 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on six hits...Suffered fourth straight loss at CIN on 8/22, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits in 5.0 IP (two homers)...Went a career-high 7.1 IP on 8/21 vs. ARI, but got the loss due to Brandon Webb's two-hit shutout. Lance allowed three runs, including a solo homer in the first inning and a two-run homer in the eighth inning...On 8/11 at PHI, made his first Major League start since 6/8 and went 4+ innings. Allowed one run in the third inning and three in the fifth before making his exit. Atlanta won 7-5, but Lance did not get the decision...In 10 starts at Richmond, went 4-2 with a 3.46 ERA, 15 BB and 31 Ks in 52.0 IP. In his last four starts for Richmond, he was 3-1 with a 0.93 ERA, including a nine-inning shutout of OTT on 7/24. Did not walk a batter in his last two starts, covering 16 innings...Had a fine spring for the Braves before being de-railed by his triceps injury on 3/26 at Kissimmee...Appeared in five Grapefruit League games with Atlanta and one with the Triple-A squad, going 3-0 with a 1.15 ERA in the five official games and 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA in six games overall.

2006

In his third Major League season, made 20 relief appearances and nine starts for the Braves...Went 4-3 with a 3.95 ERA in nine games (all starts) at Richmond (AAA)...For Atlanta, went 2-1 with a 5.96 ERA in 25.2 IP as a reliever, and 2-4, 4.31 in 48.0 IP as a starter...Posted a 3.92 ERA in eight games (seven starts) after the All-Star break and fashioned a 3.25 ERA (10 ER/27.2 IP) in five games (all starts) in September...Made his final start on 9/30 vs. HOU and did not figure in the decision after going 5.1 IP...Earned the victory on 9/20 at WSH in the Braves' 7-3 win. Allowed just two runs on six hits in 6.1 IP...Had second-shortest start of his career (6/19/04 vs. TB, 1.1 IP) on 9/15, allowing six runs, four earned in 2.0 IP in a 6-4 loss to PHI...Picked up second career win as a starter, setting a career high with 10 strikeouts and rematching his career high with 7.0 IP in a 2-1 win over CHI on 9/10. The only run came on a Freddie Bynum sixth-inning homer...Took a ND in Game 2 of DH on 9/3 at PHI, despite going a career-high 7.0 IP and only allowing one run on three hits in a 3-1 Braves' win...Returned to the club on 8/25 after RHP Danys Baez underwent an emergency appendectomy on 8/23...Lance had been optioned to Triple-A Richmond on 8/21, but did not pitch...Was recalled from Richmond on 8/15 at WSH and made his third start of the season. Allowed five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 4.2 IP, as Pedro Astacio made quick work of the Braves with a two-hit shutout that lasted just two hours and one minute...Was named the International League's Pitcher of the Week for 7/31-8/4 after he pitched a shutout in a 7-0 win over Durham on 8/3. Lance struck out four, did not issue a walk and threw just 93 pitches in Richmond's first nine-inning CG since 7/9/03 and its first nine-inning, CG-shutout since 5/29/03 (both by Jason Marquis)...Before his CG shutout, had lost three straight starts from 7/19-29, allowing 15 ER in 16.0 IP (8.44 ERA)...Was optioned to Richmond on 7/4 as the Braves activated RHP John Thomson from the disabled list...Started on 6/24 at TB and dropped a 3-2 decision, allowing three runs on a career-high 11 hits in 5.2 IP...Made his first major league start since 8/12/04 with Arizona on 6/17 vs. BOS, taking the loss in a 5-3 Red Sox win. Lance allowed four runs on seven hits in 4.0 IP...Was recalled from Richmond on 6/16...Was optioned to Richmond on 5/30...Allowed six runs on three hits and five walks on 5/20 at ARI, his first outing since being activated from the disabled list. Saw his season ERA rise from 3.00 to 5.94...Was on the disabled list from 5/3-5/18 with a strained left oblique. Made one rehab appearance for Rome (A) on 5/17 at Columbus, pitching a scoreless inning with no hits and two strikeouts...In 14 April appearances, was 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 14.1 IP...Went unscored upon in his first six outings of the season.

2005

Appeared in a team-high 67 games for the Diamondbacks, which tied for sixth among MLB rookies. ... His seven wins tied for fourth among N.L. relievers. Finished seventh in the N.L. with 79.1 relief innings. ... Tied for fifth among N.L. rookies in wins and was eighth with 63 strikeouts. ... Ranked 20th in the senior circuit by stranding 21 of 31 (68%) inherited runners. ... Opened the year with Tucson (AAA) where he was the Opening Night starter prior to his 4/11 recall. Spent the remainder of the season in the D'Backs bullpen. ... Began the year with 18.0 scoreless innings, tying the longest season-opening streak in Arizona history. ... Closed year by posting a 1.04 ERA (1 R, 8.2 IP) over his last nine appearances from 9/8 to end of season. ... Picked up a season-best four strikeouts in 2.0 scoreless frames on 4/29 vs. San Diego.

2004

Lance began the season with El Paso (AA) and by June was pitching in the big leagues...his year began where he finished up the 2003 season, appearing 10 times for the Diablos, including 8 starts, going 2-3 with a 2.29 ERA, giving up 2 or fewer earned runs in 8 of those outings...the 2-3 record was more a result of El Paso's inability to score runs as the offense plated 3 or fewer tallies in 7 of his appearances, including his last 5...his best AA outing was on May 6 at Frisco, allowing only 2 hits over 7.0 innings with 10 K's, a no decision that eventually ended up a 3-2 El Paso loss...Cormier was promoted to Tucson (AAA) at the end of May, going 1-1 with a sparkling 1.77 ERA in 3 starts...he was summoned to the majors on June 18 when Jose Valverde was disabled, barely 2 years after Cormier's selection in the fourth round of the 2002 draft...he did not have to wait long before making his big league debut, taking the hill for a start against Tampa Bay on June 19, dropping an 11-4 decision to the Devil Rays, allowing 7 runs on 5 hits over 1.1 innings...he was optioned back to Tucson following that assignment, but did not let the outing bother him as Lance earned the organization's minor league Pitcher-of-the- Month honor for June, going 1-0 with a 0.44 ERA in 3 starts for Tucson (1 run in 20.2 innings) with 18 strikeouts...overall, he went 2-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 5 minor league starts following his return to Tucson, earning him a second opportunity to pitch for the big league club...he recorded his first big league triumph on July 29 in Houston, doing so in front of several family members and friends who made the trek from his home state of Louisiana...a 6-4 winner, Lance went 6.0 innings allowing 8 hits and 3 runs (2 earned) with a walk and 5 K's, while also collecting his first Major League hit, a sixth-inning single off of Tim Redding...after dropping his next 2 starts, Cormier was moved to the bullpen, appearing 12 times over the final 6 weeks...his best relief work was over 5 outings from August 29-September 11, yielding a run over 6.0 frames with opponents batting only .136 (3-for-22)...Lance "drove" in his first run with a bases loaded walk vs. Colorado on July 24.

2003

Started season in Lancaster (A) and had stops at both the AA and AAA levels...Made the jump to Triple-A Tucson on 6/22 and limited opponents to two runs or less in four of five outings...Was sent to El Paso (AA) on 7/18...Overall, went 9-9 with a 4.30 ERA in 27 starts...During the offseason was selected by Baseball America as one of the top 30 prospects in the organization.

2002

Made only one appearance with Yakima (short-season A) before taking three weeks off for his wedding and honeymoon...went 3-0 with a 2.93 ERA in 11 appearances (three starts) for South Bend.