Tommy Hunter (baseball)

Raymond Thomas Hunter (born July 3, 1986) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays.

Tommy Hunter
Hunter with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018
Philadelphia Phillies
Relief pitcher
Born: (1986-07-03) July 3, 1986
Indianapolis, Indiana
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 1, 2008, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record56–44
Earned run average4.08
Strikeouts566
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World University Championship
2006 Havana National team

Hunter was drafted by the Rangers in the supplemental first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Alabama. He made his major league debut in 2008. In 2010 he led the American League with a .765 win-loss percentage, as he was 13–4.

Early and personal life

Hunter was born to Ray and Pam Hunter in Indianapolis, Indiana, and raised there with his older sister Megan.[1] Hunter attended Cathedral High School, where he was a two-time All-City Player of the Year (2004 and 2005) .[2][1] He played both baseball and football for the school.[3] He was also a two-time Junior Olympic judo champion.[3]

Hunter married girlfriend Ellen Cohara on January 4, 2014.[4] They have two sons, Henry and Oliver.[3]

College

Hunter attended the University of Alabama for two years.[3] At Alabama, Hunter played for the Alabama Crimson Tide and was a Second-Team All-American in his freshman season, during which the team won the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championship, and a pre-season All-American entering his sophomore season.[5] He also earned a gold medal at the World University Baseball Championship with the USA National Baseball Team in 2006.[3]

Major league career

Texas Rangers (2008–11)
Hunter with the Texas Rangers

Hunter was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the supplemental first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of the University of Alabama, and signed for a $585,000 signing bonus.[6] The Rangers were awarded a compensatory pick when Mark DeRosa left to go to the Chicago Cubs in free agency.

Hunter made his major league debut on August 1, 2008, taking on the Toronto Blue Jays as the fourth-youngest player in the American League shortly after turning 22 years of age.[7] He pitched 11 innings for the Rangers in 2008.[8] He recorded his first MLB win on July 3, 2009, against the Tampa Bay Rays. He recorded his first Major League complete game on September 13 against the Seattle Mariners. On October 3 Hunter gave up Ken Griffey Jr's 630th career home run.

In 2009, he was 9-6 with a 4.10 ERA, with 64 strikeouts in 112 innings.[3] He held right-handed hitters to a .228 batting average (7th-lowest in the AL), and opponents at home to a .226 average (the lowest single-season figure ever by a pitcher with at least 10 starts at Rangers Ballpark).[3]

Hunter made his 2010 season debut on June 5, pitching a complete game win against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was 13–4 for the season (an American League-leading .765 win-loss percentage), with a 3.73 ERA as he struck out 68 batters in 128 innings.[7] His 13 wins tied Derek Holland for the most wins by any pitcher in the Rangers organization in 2010, in either the major or minor leagues.[3] Hunter started Game 4 of the ALCS vs the Yankees.

In 2011 with the Rangers he was 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA, and struck out 10 batters in 15.1 innings.[8]

Baltimore Orioles (2011–15)
Hunter with the Baltimore Orioles

On July 30, 2011, the Rangers traded Hunter and first baseman Chris Davis to the Baltimore Orioles for reliever Koji Uehara.[9] In 2011 with Baltimore he was 3-3 with a 5.06 ERA, with 35 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.[8]

In the 2012 season, Hunter posted a 7–8 record with a 5.45 ERA, with 77 strikeouts in 133.2 innings.[8] He was a starter for a while, but was optioned to Triple A Norfolk. He was placed in the bullpen as a reliever. As a reliever Hunter's fastball averaged 96 MPH over the month of September, and topped out at 100 MPH, after averaging 91-92 MPH for his career.[10] In 2013, he was 6-5 with four saves and a 2.81 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 68.1 innings in 68 games, and held right-handed batters to a batting line of .141/.190/.154 in 159 plate appearances.[7][3]

After former closer Jim Johnson was traded to the Oakland Athletics, Hunter was named the new Orioles closer for the 2014 season. Hunter started the 2014 season as the Orioles closer and was successful in 11 of his 12 save opportunities, but he blew two consecutive saves on May 10 and 13 and then was placed on the 15-day disabled list.[11] When he returned, he continued to work out of the bullpen, but not as the closer. For the 2014 season, he was 3-2 with 11 saves and a 2.97 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 60.2 innings in 60 games.[7] He agreed to a one-year deal worth $4.65 million in January 2015, avoiding arbitration.[12]

He was 2-2 with Baltimore in 2015 with a 3.63 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 44.2 innings.[7]

Chicago Cubs (2015)

On July 31, 2015, Hunter was traded to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Junior Lake.[13][14] He was 2-0 with one save with the Cubs with a 5.74 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.[7] After the season, he had two surgeries to repair a core muscle injury.[3]

Cleveland Indians (2016)

Hunter signed a one-year contract worth $2 million with the Cleveland Indians on February 12, 2016.[15] He was placed on the disabled list on July 17 after suffering a non-displaced fracture in his back following a fall at his home.[16] On August 25, Hunter was released.[17] He was 2-2 with the Indians with a 3.74 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 21.2 innings.[7]

2nd stint Baltimore Orioles (2016)

The Baltimore Orioles signed Hunter on August 28, 2016.[18] He was 0-0 with the Orioles with a 2.19 ERA in 12 games.[7]

Tampa Bay Rays (2017)
Hunter in 2017

On February 22, 2017, Hunter signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.[19] Hunter impressed in spring training and received a spot in the bullpen. He had an ERA of 1.08 in 10 appearances before suffering a calf injury after running to first base on a ball in play. On April 23, Hunter was placed on the 10-Day DL. He was activated off the DL on May 25th.[20]

Hunter finished the season with a 3-5 record with one save and 25 holds (5th in the AL) in 61 games with a 2.61 ERA (a career low), pitching predominantly in the 8th inning before closer Alex Colomé. He held all hitters to a .202/.254/.333 batting line as he struck out 64 batters in 58.2 innings.[21]

Philadelphia Phillies (2018–present)

On December 15, 2017, Hunter signed a two-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.[22] He changed his number from 40 to 96 after Wilson Ramos was acquired from the Rays.[23] In 2018 with the Phillies, he was 5-4 with four saves, 25 holds (tied for 5th in the NL), and a 3.80 ERA, as he struck out 51 batters in 64 innings over 65 games.[8][24]

He began the 2019 season on the disabled list with a right forearm injury. He was placed on the disabled list on July 14 with a right forearm injury that cost him the first three months of the season.[25] On July 23, he underwent season-ending surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his right arm.[26][27] In 2019, he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 5.1 innings over 5 games.[8]. On February 12,2020 Hunter resigned with the Phillies on a one year deal<ref>{{cite web|

References
  1. 33 Tommy Hunter - University of Alabama Athletics
  2. "Cathedral alum Tommy Hunter settling into Orioles' closer role". Indianapolis Star. March 18, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
  3. "Tommy Hunter Stats, Fantasy & News". Philadelphia Phillies.
  4. "Get to know your Orioles: Tommy Hunter". Camden Chat. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  5. "MLB Trade Deadline 2015: Former Alabama star Tommy Hunter changes wild-card races in trade". AL.com. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  6. Tommy Hunter - The Baseball Cube
  7. "Baltimore Orioles Bring Tommy Hunter Back for Big Games". Baltimore Wire.
  8. Tommy Hunter Stats | Baseball-Reference.com
  9. "Rangers to acquire Koji Uehara from Orioles for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter". HardballTalk. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  10. "Tommy Hunter, or Generics versus the Brand Name - FanGraphs Baseball". Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  11. "Tommy Hunter". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  12. "Orioles, Hunter agree on 1-year contract". ESPN. Associated Press. January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  13. Muskat, Carrie (July 31, 2015). "Cubs get Hunter from O's, send Lake in return". MLB.com. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  14. "Baltimore Orioles on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  15. "Cleveland Indians sign RHP Tommy Hunter to 1-year deal worth $2 million". cleveland.com. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
  16. Hoynes, Paul (July 17, 2016). "Cleveland Indians recall Cody Anderson; Tommy Hunter placed on disabled list". cleveland.com. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  17. Bastian, Jordan (August 25, 2016). "Veteran pitcher Hunter released by Tribe". MLB.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  18. "Orioles sign RHP Tommy Hunter". ESPN. Associated Press. August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  19. "Rays, Tommy Hunter Agree To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  20. "Tommy Hunter, RP, Tampa Bay Rays". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  21. "Tommy Hunter Stats | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  22. Zolecki, Todd (December 15, 2017). "Phillies add another bullpen piece in Hunter". MLB.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  23. "NL East leading Phillies acquire All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos from Rays". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  24. National League Leaderboards » 2018 » Pitchers » Standard Statistics | FanGraphs Baseball
  25. Phillies Place Tommy Hunter On IL, Recall Edubray Ramos - MLB Trade Rumors
  26. Tommy Hunter undergoes surgery to repair flexor tendon – HardballTalk
  27. "Phillies reliever Tommy Hunter is done for the season after undergoing surgery"
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