Kelvim Jose Escobar (Bolivar) started the Kelvim Escobar School of Baseball in his native Venezuela...Signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a non-drafted free agent on July 3, 1992.
2009
Began the season rehabilitating his right shoulder...Made one appearance for the Angels, a start on June 6th at Detroit...Took the
2-1 loss, going 5.0 innings and allowing four hits, two runs, earned and four
walks while striking out five...Also made three rehabilitation starts, two for Rancho Cucamonga (A) of the
California League on May 22nd and May 27th and one for Salt Lake City (AAA)
of the Pacific Coast League on June 1st...Returned to the Disabled List on June 16th and did not make another
appearance for the rest of the season...Tossed 1.0 scoreless inning for Cardenales de Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League.
2008
Missed entire season with a labrum tear in his right shoulder...Spent February, March, April and May rehabilitating the shoulder...
Felt pain after a three-inning, 39-pitch start for single-A Rancho Cucamonga on June 30 and was shut down...Underwent surgery
with Dr. David Altchek (Mets Orthopedist) in New York on July 29...Anticipated return is mid-season 2009.
2007
Completed season 18-7 with three complete games, one shutout and a 3.40 ERA (195.2 IP - 74
ER) in 29 starts...Allowed 182 hits (11 HR), walked 66 and struck out 160...Posted career-high 18 wins on season (previous best was 14 in 1999)...Led club with three complete games...Among AL leaders, ranked tied for sixth in wins (18), tied for third in complete games (3) and sixth in winning percentage (.720)...With 18 wins, joins John Lackey (19) to form the first Angels duo to each notch 18-or-more wins in a season since 1991 when Jim Abbott (18), Finley (18) and Langston (19) accomplished the feat...Placed on 15-day disabled list, April 13 (retroactive to April 9), due to right shoulder irritation...Activated from DL, April 24...Reached 1,500 innings pitched in career, Sept. 29 at Oakland...Posted 200th career start, Sept. 17 vs. Tampa Bay...Registered 100th career victory, Sept. 12 at Baltimore (18-6 score)...
Finished July with 2-2 record, one complete game and 1.67 ERA (37.2 IP - 7 ER) in five starts...Posted four wins in May (4-2) and August (4-1)...Was 10-4 at home (3.18 ERA) and 8-3 on road (3.72 ERA) Won career-best five straight decisions (eight starts), July 5-July 19, posting one complete game and a 2.68 ERA (57 IP - 17 ER)...With 10 wins at All-Star Break, joined John Lackey (11) as first Angel duo with 10+ wins at
break since 1991 (Mark Langston & Chuck Finley - 12 each)...Allowed leadoff home run to Rafael Furcal, June 17 at Dodger Stadium...Marked third career leadoff home run allowed as starter (July 26, 2004 vs. Texas - Michael Young & Aug. 4, 1999 at New York - Chuck Knoblauch)...Struck out career-best 14 batters, June 12 at Cincinnati (6 IP)...Marked most SO by an Angel since Chuck Finley famed 15, May 23, 1995 vs. New York Yankees...Allowed three earned runs-or-less in 23 of 30 starts...Complete games came July 30 at Seattle (2-0 loss), June 5 vs. Minnesota (5-1 win) and May 10 vs. Cleveland (8-0 shutout)...Three-hitter June 5 vs. Minnesota was low-hit game of career and best by an Angel this season...Allowed 11 home runs in 195.2 innings pitched this season (0.51 per 9 IP)...Walked 66 batters (2 IBB) and struck out 163 (2.2 BB & 5.4 SO per start)...Tossed 21 consecutive scoreless innings at Angel Stadium, May 4-20...Angels were 22-8 in his starts...Angels were 11-2 when Escobar starts after a loss this season...Escobar was 8-1 with a 3.13 ERA (83.1 IP - 29 ER) in those 13 starts...Was 2-for-6 as a better in interleague play...Posted .939 fielding percentage, committing two errors in 33 chances.
2006
A year after having surgery on his right elbow, Escobar started 30 games for the Angels in 2006. Angels signed him to a $28.5-million, three-year contract extension during the season. He finished with an 11-14 record, though his ERA of 3.61 was the sixth-lowest in the American League. He had the lowest ERA for any pitcher in the Majors with a losing record (minimum 15 starts). Escobar was hurt by poor defense behind him (Major League-high 17 unearned runs allowed) and a lack of run support (Angels scored three runs or fewer in 11 of his 14 defeats). His best month came in July, when Escobar posted a 2-0 record with a 2.77 ERA in four starts. After going on the disabled list with elbow irritation on July 7, Escobar finished the season with a 5-5 record and a 3.27 ERA. He threw eight innings of two-hit, shutout ball against the Tigers on Sept. 3. Escobar lost seven straight decisions from May 17 to June 25, though he allowed three earned runs or more in just two of those eight starts. He reached 1,000 strikeouts in his first start of the season on April 7 against the Yankees. Escobar pitched for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic and had a 1-1 record and a 0.00 ERA (1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 5 K) in two games (one start).
2005
Finished 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA (59 2/3 IP - 20 ER) in 16 games (seven starts) ... Was 2-2 with a 3.54 ERA (40 2/3 IP - 16 ER) as a starter and 1-0 with one save and a 1.89 ERA (19 IP - 4 ER) in nine relief appearances ... Activated from 15-day disabled list Sept. 6 ... Made three rehab starts at Triple-A Salt Lake, posting a 1-0 record and 1.74 ERA (10.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 7 BB, 16 SO, 1 WP) ... Underwent surgery to shave down bone spur and remove bone chip from right elbow June 29 ... Placed on 15-day DL June 10 (retroactive to June 9), due to bone spur in right elbow ... Activated from 15-day DL May 28 ... Placed on 15-day DL May 12 due to bone spur in right elbow ... Activated from 15-day DL April 24 ... Placed on 15-day DL April 2 (retroactive to March 31) due to strained right elbow ... Made two rehab starts ... Pitched for Class A Rancho Cucamonga on April 14 at Modesto (3 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 7 SO, 58 pitches) and for Salt Lake on April 19 at Las Vegas (4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 1 HB, 1 BB, 6 SO, 77 pitches) ... Also missed time in spring due to tender right shoulder ... Worked three innings, Sept. 22 vs. Texas (1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) to earn first save since May 4, 2003, vs. Angels while with Toronto ... Marked 59th save of career ... Sept. 6 at Boston marked first relief appearance since May 15, 2003, vs. Tampa Bay ... Is two strikeouts shy of 1,000 in career.
2004
Completed first season with Angels with 11-12 record and 3.93 ERA (208.1 IP - 91 ER) in 33 starts in 2004...Led Angels in innings
pitched (tied with Colon), walks (76) and strikeouts (191)...Ranked 10th in AL in ERA, fourth in strikeouts, eighth in average against
(.244) and third in strikeouts per 9 IP (8.3)...Set career bests in innings pitched, strikeouts and games started...19 of 33 starts were
"quality starts" (6 IP or more and 3 ER or less), including 17 of last 26 outings...Career-high 12 strikeouts, Sept. 8 vs. Toronto,
marked most by an Angel since Chuck Finley, Aug. 15, 1999 at Detroit...Received 3.91 runs of support per start (129 runs total)...
Angels were shutout 10 times on season, five times in his starts...Angels scored 195 runs in the 33 games prior to his starts, 5.9 runs
per game...Had one win in six June starts despite 2.88 ERA in the month - received 2.5 runs per start in June...191 strikeouts on
season marks most SO's by an Angels pitcher since Chuck Finley in 1999 (200) and most by right-hander since Mike Witt (208) and
Kirk McCaskill (202) in 1986...Posted 1,000th career inning pitched, Aug. 22 at New York...Allowed a run in 44 of last 182 innings
pitched (27 starts - 74 runs total)...Surrendered 14 home runs over last 25 starts (163.2 IP) after allowing seven HRs over first eight
starts (44.2 IP)...Missed scheduled start, April 30 at Minnesota, due to split fingernail (middle finger) and limited to three innings in
May 11th start at New York due to two rain delays...Registered first win as an Angel, April 24 at Oakland (6-3 score; 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R,
3 ER, 2 HR, 6 SO, 1 WP)...Made Angels debut, April 8 at Seattle, receiving no decision (6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO)...Angels
were 16-17 in his starts...Pitched into seventh inning-or-later in 17 starts...Limited opponents to three earned runs-or-less in 23
times...All 91 runs allowed were earned...Posted 1.000 fielding percentage (40 total chances)...2004 Post-Season...Started Game
3 of ALDS, receiving no decision in Boston's 8-6, 10-inning win (3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 1 IBB, 4 SO).
2003
With Toronto, was 13-9 with one complete game, one shutout, four saves and 4.29 ERA in 41 games, 26 starts...Set career bests in IP (180.1) and strikeouts (159)...Made 26 consecutive starts after starting season in bullpen...First 15 appearances came in relief...As reliever, posted 1-1 record with four saves and 7.79 ERA...Converted four saves in five opportunities...Last save came May 4 vs. Texas, tossing 3 IP which was longest relief outing since July 19, 2001 vs. Boston...Marked first career three-inning save...Over final three relief outings, allowed just one hit in seven innings of work and struck out 10...As starter, went 12-8 with one complete game, one shutout and 3.92 ERA...Received 4.31 runs support per start, lowest on starting staff...Had 16 quality starts, going 11-1 with four no-decisions in those outings...May 18 at KC, made first start after making 92 consecutive relief appearances...On May 23 at NYY, won first game as a starter since Aug. 25, 2001 at Baltimore...June 8 at Cincinnati, matched career best with four-hit, complete game shutout (5-0)...June 13 vs. Cubs, recorded fourth career 10-plus strikeout game...In two starts, June 8-13, pitched career-best 17 scoreless innings...Won four straight decisions from July 18-Aug. 14 to match career-high...Finished season winning each of last three starts...Sept. 24 vs. TB, struck out 10 for fifth career 10-plus strikeout game...Worked seven or more innings in 11 of last 18 outings...On road, was 8-2 with 2.76 ERA (84.2 IP), while at home, went 5-7 with 5.64 ERA (95.2 IP)...At 2.76, had 4th lowest ERA on road...From June 8-August 29 won six straight decisions on road...Allowed three home runs away from SkyDome and 12 at home.
Career Highlights
Has converted 58 of 72 career save opportunities...Has recorded five career 10-plus strikeout games...Has captured one AL Player of Week Award (2001) and one AL Rolaids Relief Pitcher of Month Award (Sept. 2002)...Is only Blue Jays pitcher to be ranked in top 10 in franchise history for both wins (9th) with 58 and saves (4th) with 58... 26-30 with 18 saves and 5.34 ERA in career before all-star break and 32-25 with 40 saves and 3.87 ERA after ...Tossed no-hitter with Medicine Hat in 1995.
2002
With Jays, went 5-7 with career-high 38 saves (46 chances) and 4.27 ERA in first full season as closer...Pitched in
career-high 76 games, fifth in AL...38 saves, which ranked fifth in AL, were second most in franchise history behind only Duane Ward's 45 in 1993...Converted seven consecutive save opportunities on three different occasions...Recorded 24 saves after allstar break in 28 opportunities...In September, recorded 11 saves matching Billy Koch's club mark for most saves in month set in August of 1999...Pitched three straight days six times, four straight days three times...Sept. 8-14, worked in six-straight games over seven days (4 saves, 1 blown save)...Retired 51 of 76 first batters faced...From Aug. 4 through Sept. 29 recorded 18 saves in final 20 opportunities...Named AL Rolaids Relief Pitcher of Month for September...Worked in four of six Blue Jays shutouts and saved three of them...Second in AL with 68 games finished and tied for second among AL relievers with 85 strikeouts.
2001
With Toronto, was 6-8 with one complete game, one shutout and 3.50 ERA in 59 games, 11 starts...As a starter, was
4-4 with 3.18 ERA and 2-4 with 3.88 ERA as reliever...Opened season in relief posting 1.56 ERA in 17 games with seven holds
through May 10...At All-Star break was 0-4 with 4.89 ERA...After break, went 6-4 with ERA of 2.70 in 19 games, 11 starts...
Posted eight scoreless outings from July 8-24 and totaled 13 scoreless innings...Was then moved into starting rotation...Lost
his first start on July 28 vs. New York...Won four of his next five starts from August 3-25 to tie career-high win streak...Posted ERA of 1.45 in those starts...Pitched 16.1 consecutive scoreless innings from August 9-20...On August 25 in Baltimore, tossed five-hit shutout in a 9-0 win, fifth career complete game and second shutout...Earned Co-AL Player of Week Award for week of August 20-26 - was 2-0 in two starts with 1.04 ERA with a shutout, three walks and 15 strikeouts in 17.1 innings....In August, was 4-0, 1.71 ERA (42 IP- 8 ER)...Allowed only three home runs in his last 82 innings pitched after five in first 44 innings...With runners on base allowed .198 (35-177) batting average, third lowest mark in AL....Overall opponents hit .204, lowest clip of career.
2000
With Blue Jays, finished 10-15 with three complete games, one shutout, two saves and 5.35 ERA in 43 games, 24
starts...Split season between starting rotation and bullpen...First 24 appearances were starts as he went 7-13 with 5.42 ERA...Appeared in relief August 15, breaking stretch of 30 consecutive starts dating back to August 28, 1999... In relief, was 3-2 with two saves and 4.94 ERA in 19 games...Threw first complete game of season on April 22 in 8-2 win over Yankees...Finished April 2-3 with 3.98 ERA...Tossed second complete game and struck out season-high 10 batters, June 4 in Florida...Tossed first career shutout on June 21 vs. Detroit in 6-0 win, third complete game of season and fourth career...Lost four straight starts from July 25-August 11 - in those four starts allowed 22 earned runs in 24 innings on 23 hits and 16 walks...Then moved to bullpen and made his first appearance on August 15 vs. Anaheim.
1999
With Toronto, posted career-high 14 wins against 11 losses in 33 games, 30 starts with 5.69 ERA...14 wins were second on club to David Wells' 17...Opened season 2-0 in April despite posting 5.52 ERA in five starts...In May was 2-2 with 6.21 ERA after posting one quality start in five outings...In June was 3-3 with 4.89 ERA...Tossed one complete game, July 30 at Detroit (career-high 132 pitches)...Made three appearances in relief in August and was 0-0 with one earned run in six innings...Had made 34 consecutive starts since August 1998... Returned to rotation to begin September and responded with 4-2 record and ERA of 4.64 which was lowest of any month.
1998
With Blue Jays, was 7-3 with 3.73 ERA in 22 games, 10 starts...Started season in bullpen and allowed runs in five of his first six games and was placed on disabled list April 16 with right elbow inflammation...Joined Syracuse on rehab assignment, going 0-0 with a save in two games (2 IP, 0 ER)...Recalled and activated from DL on May 6...Earned first win of season that night at Anaheim with 1.1 scoreless innings...Optioned to Syracuse on May 31...At Syracuse, made one relief appearance and joined starting rotation making 10 starts...In the 10 starts was 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA and struck out 62 in 57 IP...Recalled to Toronto on August 1 and inserted into starting rotation...Received no-decision in first ML start, August 5 at Texas (7 IP - 2 ER)...Did not allow more than two earned runs in first six ML starts...First win as a starter was August 17 in 4-2 win at Oakland...Struck out career-high 11 on August 22 in Anaheim but lost 5-1 (7 IP, 2 ER)... Won four consecutive starts from August 27 -September 20...As starter, was 6-2 with 2.35 ERA and held opponents to a .210 average...In relief, was 1-1 with a 12.66 ERA.
1997
Made ML debut posting 3-2 record with 2.90 ERA and 14 saves in 27 games to lead all AL rookies...14 saves marked second most ever by Blue Jays rookie- 17 by Darren Hall in 1994...Opened season on disabled list after arthroscopic surgery in March to remove loose bodies in right elbow...First pitched in May with single-A Dunedin on medical rehab assignment from double-A Knoxville...Went 0-1 in three games (two starts) with 3.75 ERA...Recalled to Knoxville and activated from disabled list, June 28...Started five games (2-1, 3.70) before joining Toronto...Won ML debut on June 29 at Baltimore allowing one run over 4.1 innings of relief (2 H,1 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO)...First ML strikeout was Brady Anderson...Prior to joining Toronto had made just three career appearances in relief in minors...July 13 in Boston, recorded first major league save in 3-2 win (0.2 IP)...Then recorded saves in his next seven games...Eight consecutive saves was two short of club record 10 held by Duane Ward (1991) and Darren Hall (1994)...First blown save came in 11th opportunity on August 24 at KC in 13 inning 11-8 win... Finished season 14-17 in save opportunities.
1996
Combined to post a 12-9 record with a 3.56 ERA between Dunedin (A) and Knoxville (AA) with 157 strikeouts in 164.1 innings...The 157 strikeouts tied for tops in the organization with Joe Young...Opened the season with Dunedin posting a 9-5 record with a 2.69 ERA in 18 starts...Earned organizational Pitcher of the Month award in May going 5-1, with a 2.72 ERA...Struckout 11 batters in a two-hit complete game on June 4 vs St. Petersburg in a 6-1 victory...In June recorded 41 strikeouts in 33.0 innings... Selected to the Florida State League All-Star team...Named second best prospect in the FSL by Baseball America...Second in FSL with 9.22 strikeouts per 9.0 innings...Promoted to AA Knoxville on July 11...Started ten games for the Smokies, 3-4, 5.33 ERA...At home was 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA... Struckout 44 in 54.0 innings...Selected to the Howe Sportsdata 1996 All-Teen Team...Selected as fourth best prospect in the organization by Baseball America...In winter ball was 5-0 with a 0.92 ERA for Lara in Venezuela.
1995
Began the year in the Dominican Summer League before joining Medicine Hat at the start of the Pioneer League season...Was fourth in the strikeouts (75), tied for fourth in complete games (1), tied for fifth in games started (14) and tied for the league lead in shutouts (1)...Struck out an average of 9.74 batters every nine innings, ranking second among league starters...Struck out a season-high 11 batters on July 2 in Lethbridge (6IP, 1H, 0R)...Threw a No-Hitter on July 20th (G1), a 2-0 win against Ogden (4BB, 7SO)...Was 2-1 with a 2.64 ERA through July 7...Started two Pioneer League playoff games (0-2, 1.50 ERA, 12IP, 11H, 2ER, 7BB, 15SO).
1994
Recipient of R. Howard Webster Award as team MVP...Tied for tenth in Gulf Coast League in ERA at 2.35...Ranked fourth among starters in strikeouts per nine innings (9.00)...Led league pitchers with 12 putouts...In five July games, four starts, was 3-0 with a 1.50 ERA.
1993
Made professional debut with Blue Jays Santo Domingo team in Dominican Summer League...Was 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 33.0 innings.
