Mark Prior #22

Full name is Mark William Prior...married to Heather...his father, Jerry, played football at Vanderbilt University...his sister, Millie, played tennis at the University of San Diego, while his brother, Jerry III, was a tennis player at Villanova University...graduated from University of San Diego High School in 1998, earning all-America honors after going 10-5 with a 0.93 ERA as a senior...was also named the San Diego County "Player of the Year" by the San Diego Union-Tribune...in 1999, was selected to the Baseball America second-team all-summer team...pitched for the USA National Team in 1999 and 2000, recording wins over Japan and Cuba during the Haarlem (The Netherlands) Tournament during the summer of 2000...was originally selected by the Yankees in Compensation Round A (43rd pick overall) of the 1998 First-Year Player Draft, but instead chose to attend Vanderbilt University...spent his freshman year at Vanderbilt-earning Baseball America freshman second-team all-America honors-before transferring to the University of Southern California, where he received a business degree in 2004...pitched for USC for two seasons...as a sophomore in 2000, earned Pac-10 honorable mention honors after going 10-7 with a 3.56 ERA in 23 games (19 starts) for the Trojans...in 2001, earned numerous all-America selections and won seven national "Player of the Year" awards-including "Player of the Year" nods from the American Baseball Coaches' Association, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and The Sporting News-after going 15-1 with a 1.69 ERA, six complete games and three shutouts during his junior year while leading the Trojans to the College World Series (138.2IP, 18BB, 5HR, 202K, .201 opp. BA)...also in 2001, won the Golden Spikes Award, the Rotary Smith Award and the Dick Howser Trophy (National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association)...was a 2002 finalist for the 72nd annual Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) James E. Sullivan Memorial Award, recognizing the top amateur athlete in the nation...was just the fourth baseball player to be a finalist for the award...in 2005, was named to USA Baseball's board of directors...was selected by the Cubs in the rst round (second pick overall) of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft.

2010

Missed the beginning of the season rehabbing from shoulder surgeries performed in 2007 and '08...in August, signed with the Orange County Flyers of the independent Golden Baseball League...did not allow an earned run in nine relief appearances (11.0IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 5BB, 22K)...signed with Triple-A Oklahoma City-a Texas Rangers affiliate-on 9/4, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning in relief (2H, 1BB, 2K)

2009

Signed a minor league contract with San Diego on 1/18...missed the season rehabbing from shoulder surgeries performed in 2007 and '08...was released by the Padres on 8/1

2008

Signed with the Padres...began the season on the 60-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain...underwent right shoulder surgery in June, missing the remainder of the season

2007

Placed on the 60-day disabled list 3/28 and missed the entire season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on 4/24...the procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, AL...appeared in four Spring Training games (three starts) and went 0-2 with a 6.97 ERA (8 ER/10.1 IP).

2006

Spent majority of the season on the disabled list, appearing in nine games between June and August...started the season on the disabled list with a right subscapularis strain...went 1-2 with a 2.89 ERA (6 ER/18.2 IP) in four rehab outings from 5/29-6/13...walked three and struck out 22...made his first two rehab starts with Single-A Peoria, 5/29 and 6/3, posting a 3.86 ERA (3 ER/7.0 IP)...pitched with Double-A West Tenn on 6/8 vs. Birmingham...allowed three runs in 5.0 innings of work...in his fourth rehabilitation start, struck out 10 in 6.2 innings of work with Triple-A Iowa at New Orleans on 6/13...made his first Big League start of the season 6/18 vs. DET and was tagged with the loss after he allowed eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits (four home runs) in 3.2 innings of work in the 12-3 defeat...tossed 5.2 scoreless innings of hitless ball, but did not factor in the decision - a 1-0, 10-inning loss at NY (NL) on 7/26...allowed five walks, which tied a career-high, and struck out three...after nine starts, his season ended when he returned to the disabled list on 8/12 (right shoulder tendinitis).

2005

Mark recorded his second career double-digit wins season - going 11-7 with a 3.67 ERA - despite battling injuries for the second straight year ... opened the season on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation and was activated April 12 ... returned to the DL on May 28 after suffering a fracture in his right elbow ... suffered the injury on May 27 when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Colorado's Brad Hawpe ... struck out 188 batters in 166.2 innings of work and limited the opponents to a .227 average ... led the National League in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.2), ranked fifth in opponents batting average against and ranked ninth in strikeouts ... surrendered more than 3 earned runs on just three occasions - and was 11-4 with a 2.83 ERA (48 ER/152.2 IP) in his remaining 24 starts ... had six double-digit strikeout games, striking out a season high 11 batters on August 9 ... earned his first win of the campaign in his first start, hurling 6.0 scoreless innings in an 8-3 defeat of San Diego on April 13 ... also notched a pair of hits and scored a run in the contest ... opened the year with a three-game winning streak, allowing just 2 earned runs over his first 19.0 innings of work ... rebounded from his second stint on the DL with a win, pitching 6.0 shutout innings in a 2-0 win on June 26 at U.S. Cellular Field ... retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced ... Pablo Ozuna was the lone batter to reach base, singling in the third inning ... pitched in the same game as Kerry Wood for the first time in their careers, earning the win in a 5-4 decision on August 14 in St. Louis.

2004

Mark posted a winning record despite spending the first two months of the season on the disabled list with right achilles tendinitis ... went 6-4 with a 4.02 ERA in 21 starts ... struck out 139 batters while issuing just 48 free passes and held opponents to a .251 batting average ... opened the season on the disabled list and did not see action until May 20, when he made the first of two rehabilitation starts in Lansing (A) ... also saw action in one game in Iowa (AAA) before being activated from the disabled list ... made his Cub season debut June 4 vs. Pittsburgh, allowing 2 hits and striking out 8 batters in 6.0 innings of work ... was not involved in the decision in a 2-1 loss to the Pirates ... won his first big league game of the year June 14 in Houston, working 5.0 shutout innings ... the first five outs he recorded were strikeouts ... missed a start in July after leaving the contest July 15 with discomfort in the posterior area of his right elbow ... earned his first win at Wrigley Field since Game 2 of the 2003 NLCS on August 26, defeating Houston 8-3 ... ended the campaign on a strong note, going 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five starts in September ... allowed 30 hits and 7 walks while striking out 43 batters over the span ... struck out 16 batters September 30 against Cincinnati, tying a career-high ... was not involved in the decision as the Cubs lost 2-1 in 12 innings - despite allowing just 1 run on 3 hits over 9.0 innings ... in a 24.1-inning stint from September 20-30, he posted a 0.74 ERA, giving up 2 runs in three games.

2003

Was selected to the National League All-Star team during his first full major league season - and went on to go 18-6 with 3 complete games and a 2.43 ERA in 30 starts ... finished 3rd in the N.L. Cy Young Award voting - the highest finish for a Cubs pitcher since Greg Maddux won the award in 1992 ... tied for second in the NL in wins ... was second in strikeouts (245) and third in ERA ... led the NL in road ERA (2.08) and was fifth in home ERA at 2.85 (Carlos Zambrano also ranked among the league Top 10 in both categories) ... only two Cubs pitchers over the previous 30 seasons finished a season in the NL Top 10 in ERA both at home and on the road - Rick Reuschel (1977) and Greg Maddux (1992) ... went 10-1 with a 1.52 ERA in 11 starts after returning from the disabled list August 4 (14 ER/82.2 IP) ... over the span, he gave up 67 hits and 16 walks while fanning 95 batters ... was selected the NL's Pitcher of the Month for August ... in five starts during the month, he went 5-0 with a 0.69 ERA (3 ER/39.0 IP) ... was the first Cubs hurler to win the award since Mike Morgan in May 1992 ... he then went on to win the league's Pitcher of the Month Award for September - becoming just the second Cubs hurler to win the award in back-to-back months (Rick Reuschel, June-July 1977) ... in six final starts, he went 5-1 with a 2.27 ERA ... in consecutive wins September 16 vs. New York (3-2) and September 21 at Pittsburgh (4-1), he struck out 27 batters in 16.1 innings ... for his effort over the 2-start stretch, he was named the NL's co-Player of the Week (with St. Louis' Edgar Renteria) for the week of September 16-September 21 ... won seven consecutive starts August 5-September 6 - becoming the first Cubs pitcher to have a seven-game winning streak since Kevin Tapani in 1998 (August 4-September 15) ... had a 0.57 ERA over a six-start span August 5-September 1 (3 ER/47.0 IP) ... registered the lowest six-start ERA total for a Cubs pitcher since the advent of divisional play (in 1969) - surpassing the 0.64 ERA registered by Rick Reuschel from June 15-July 7, 1977 (3 ER/42.0 IP) ... on August 5 in San Diego, he returned to a big league mound for the first time since July 11 - when he was injured in a collision with Atlanta's Marcus Giles ... was on the disabled list July 12-August 4 (right shoulder contusion) ... in the August 5 affair, he picked up the victory in a 3-0 contest - his first win since June 14 ... on August 10 at Los Angeles, he threw his third career complete game in a 3-1 victory ... he allowed 5 hits, 1 run and 1 walk while striking out 9 batters ... followed up that outing with a second straight route-going effort in a 2-1 win vs. the Dodgers August 15 at Wrigley Field ... in a combined 6-0 shutout August 20 at Houston, he pitched 5.0 no-hit frames before allowing a double to Adam Everett leading off the bottom of the 6th ... in back-to-back victories over St. Louis August 26 (7-4) and September 1 (7-0), he allowed 1 run and 8 hits in 16.0 innings ... in 211.1 innings on the mound, he issued only 50 walks ... his strikeout-to-walk ratio for the campaign was 4.9-to-1 ... the only pitcher in the NL with a higher strikeout-to-walk ratio was Arizona's Curt Schilling - at 6.1 strikeouts for every walk (194 strikeouts, 32 walks) ... since the end of World War II, only two Cubs starters finished a season with higher strikeout-to-walk ratios - Fergie Jenkins and Dennis Eckersley ... Jenkins accomplished the feat twice, recording a 7.3-to-1 ratio in 1971 (263 strikeouts, 37 walks) and a 4.6-to-1 ratio in 1970 (274 strikeouts, 60 walks) ... Eckersley had a 6.2-to-1 ratio in 1985 (117 strikeouts, 19 walks) ... opened a season in the majors for the first time and went 4-1 with a 1.70 ERA in five April outings ... on April 9 against Montreal at Wrigley Field, he hurled his first big league shutout in a 3-0 contest ... in his 9.0 innings of work (113 pitches, 89 for strikes), he allowed 4 hits and no walks while striking out 12 batters ... on June 26 vs. Milwaukee (no decision, 5-3 loss), he struck out 16 batters in 8.0 innings of work without issuing a walk ... the strikeout total tied for the 2nd-highest single-game total in Cubs history - as he fanned the final 6 batters he faced ... was the youngest Cub to go to an All-Star Game since Greg Maddux, who was three months past his 22nd birthday when he went to the 1988 Midsummer Classic ... did not pitch in the game, though, due to the right shoulder injury he suffered during his baserunning collision.

2002

Had a solid first professional campaign, reaching the majors in May after just 9 minor league starts ... went 11-8 with a 3.01 ERA in 28 overall starts for the Cubs, Iowa (AAA) and West Tenn (AA) ... in 167.2 combined innings, he held opponents to a .218 average (137-629) ... fanned 226 batters while issuing 56 walks ... with the Cubs, he went 6-6 with a 3.32 ERA in 19 starts ... had six double-digit strikeout contests, as he fanned 147 batters in 116.2 innings at the major league level ... began his pro career at West Tenn, where he was 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA in six starts ... won the Southern League's Pitcher of the Week Award for the first two weeks of the campaign ... on April 27 at Chattanooga, he fanned a West Tenn-record 15 batters in a 10-1 win ... allowed 1 run and 3 hits in 8.0 innings ... was promoted to Iowa May 4 - where he went 1-1 with a 1.65 ERA in 3 starts ... made his Triple-A debut May 7 vs. Tucson and picked up the win in a 6-1 affair, fanning 10 batters in 7.2 innings ... struck out the side on 10 pitches in the first inning and hit a pair of solo homers off Tucson's Horacio Estrada ... was recalled from Iowa May 22 and made his first big league start that evening - a 7-4 victory over Pittsburgh ... worked 6.0 innings and allowed 4 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks while striking out 10 ... his strikeout total was the highest for a Cubs pitcher making his big league debut since the advent of divisional play in 1969 ... his first strikeout victim was Brian Giles in the first inning ... had 3 double-figure strikeout outings in his first 5 big league starts, becoming the first pitcher to accomplish that feat since Los Angeles' Fernando Valenzuela in 1981 ... over his final seven starts spanning 43.2 innings, he struck out 61 batters while issuing only 8 walks ... on August 4 against Colorado at Wrigley Field, he threw the first complete game of his professional career in a 4-1 victory ... allowed 5 hits, 1 run and 2 walks while striking out 13 batters ... made his final start of the season August 31 vs. St. Louis ... strained his left hamstring running the bases in that contest ... his first 4 ML hits were all doubles ... on June 1 vs. Houston, he recorded his first big league hit - a 2-run two-bagger off Roy Oswalt.