Larry Allan Simpson...resides in Las Vegas...graduated from Cheyenne High School in
North Las Vegas and Taft (Calif.) Community College where he was a two-year letter winner...signed by
Mariners scout Steve Jongewaard.
1998
At Wisconsin ranked fourth on the
staff in starts (19), innings pitched (93.1) and strikeouts (86)...was transferred to Peoria on 8/7 and went 1-0, 0.96 with
1 save in 3 apps.
1999
Spent most
of the season in Class A Wisconsin...was promoted to Lancaster in August.
2005
Began the season with the Rockies and made 2 apps, on 4/4 and 4/6 vs SD, before he was optioned
to Class AAA Colorado Springs on 4/8...the next day was traded to the Reds in exchange for RHP Jose Acevedo and
was sent to Class AAA Louisville...spent the rest of the minor league season with the Bats...did not allow a run in his
last 11 apps (14ip) for Louisville...was promoted on 9/5 and that night vs Mil made his Reds debut (0.2ip, 1k)...in his
first 8 apps for the Reds posted a 2.84 before allowing a season-high 3 earned runs in his final appearance of the
season (10/1 at StL)...on 7/16 at Charlotte bumped International League umpire Brian Hale and the next day began
serving an 8-game suspsension...following the season played for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League (7g, 4-1, 0.63, 14.1ip,
9h, 1er, 6bb, 14k)...led the AFL in victories and produced a 13-inning scoreless streak.
2004
Allan split the season between Colorado Springs (AAA) and the Rockies, enjoying three progressively
improving stints in the major leagues...in each of his three trips to the majors, his walks-per-nine
consistently dropped (from 5.23 to 4.41 to 4.35) and his strikeouts-per-nine consistently rose (from 6.97 to
11.78 to 12.19)...Simpson appeared in 32 big league games overall, going 2-1 with a 5.08 ERA while striking
out 46 batters in 39.0 innings...his 10.62 strikeouts per-nine-innings ratio ranked second among rookie
relievers behind Pittsburgh's Mike Gonzalez (11.42)...broke camp with Colorado Springs, where he
pitched in 13 games before being recalled on May 16...made his major league debut the following day (May
17), working a scoreless inning vs. Philadelphia...spent exactly one month with the Rockies before being
sent back down on June 16...returned to the big league club July 7 when Joe Kennedy was placed on the
15-day disabled list...recorded his first major league win on Aug. 7 vs. Cincinnati, working a scoreless sixth
inning in a 9-5 victory...the following day, Aug. 8 vs. Cincinnati, Allan struckout 7 of his 10 batters faced
over 3.0 innings of shutout relief...the 7 strikeouts were the second most ever by a Rockies reliever in a
single game, trailing only Bruce Ruffin's 9 K's on Sept. 14, 1993 (1) vs. Houston...following that performance,
Simpson allowed 9 runs on 10 hits and 5 walks in his next three appearances before being optioned
back to Triple A on Aug. 20...returned for good on Sept. 7 and went on to post a 0.87 ERA in his final nine
appearances, allowing just one run in 10.1 innings while registering 14 strikeouts...following the season,
Allan pitched for Obregon of the Mexican Pacific League, where he went 2-2 with a 2.53 ERA and 12 saves
in 30 games...his 12 saves ranked fourth in the league...struckout 46 in 32.0 innings.
2003
Acquired from Seattle for RHP Chris Buglovsky, Dec. 15, 2003...Completed his first season at the Triple A level, appearing in 43 games out of the bullpen for Tacoma...went 2-5 with a
4.16 ERA and 1 save...limited right-handers to a .207 average (30-for-145)
but lefties hit .319...the opposition batted just .192 with runners in
scoring position...posted a 3.45 ERA at home (31.1 ip, 12 er)...worked more
than one inning in 22 of his 43 outings...recorded 19 multi-strikeout games,
including a season-best 6 K's on May 3 at Iowa (3.0 ip)...after a slow start
to the year (6.10 ERA in April), came back to post a 1.32 ERA in 10
appearances during the month of May (13.2 ip, 2 er)...lowered his season ERA
to 3.38 by May 29...opened June by allowing 11 earned runs over his next six
appearances (10.24 ERA)...was one of the club's best pitchers down the
stretch as he gave up just 4 earned runs over his final 14 games and 20.1
innings (1.77 ERA)...recorded his only save Aug. 17 vs. Nashville.
Career:
Acquired by Colorado during the winter meetings, Simpson begins his
eighth season of pro ball but first outside of the Mariners
organization...has been used solely in relief over the past four years (183
appearances)...the right-hander has struck out 549 batters in 506.1 career
innings (9.8 K/9 IP).
2002
Simpson joined the Rockies in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on Dec. 15, 2003 ... The Mariners received minor-league RHP Chris Buglovsky ... Simpson, a Mariners co-Minor League MVP in 2002, played his first Triple-A season in 2003 at Tacoma ... Simpson finished 2-5 with a 4.16 ERA in 43 relief appearances ... Simpson turned in his best performance in May, when he posted a 1.32 ERA and held opponents to a .204 batting average in 13.2 innings over seven games ... Selected in the eighth round of the 1997 June draft by the Mariners, Simpson is 24-30 with a 3.71 minor league ERA in 506.1 innings in the minors.
2001
Compiled a 1.83 ERA in 38 combined appearances between San Bernadino
(High-A) and San San Antonio (AA)....held opponents to a .181 batting
average (44-for-243) and pitched scoreless ball in 29 of his 38
outings...allowed just 1 home run in 68.1 innings of work...began the year on the DL from April 5-May 2 with a right shoulder strain...promoted to San Antonio June 28...did not allow an earned run in his final nine appearances (15.2 ip) with San Bernardino and his first seven games (15.1 ip) with the Missions, giving him 16 consecutive games without allowing an earned run between the two teams (31.0 ip)...tossed 3.2 innings of no-hit ball in three post-season appearances...pitched for Peoria in the Arizona Fall League.
2000
Pitched in 46 games with Lancaster (High-A) and led the team with a
2.08 ERA...held opponents to a .184 average and allowed just one home run (217 BF)...did not allow a run in 11 June appearances (13.2 ip)...did not allow an earned run in 14 consecutive games, May 30-July 4 (16.1 ip).
