Dan Haren
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – No. 24
Starting pitcher
Born: (1980-09-17) September 17, 1980 (age 31) Monterey Park, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 30, 2003 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics (through May 24, 2012)
Win–Loss record	109-87
Earned run average	3.45
Strikeouts	1,502
Shutouts	6
Complete game	16
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (2003–2004) Oakland Athletics (2005–2007) Arizona Diamondbacks (2008–2010) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star selection (2007, 2008, 2009) 2× NL Pitcher of the Month

Daniel John Haren (born September 17, 1980, in Monterey Park, California) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.^[1]

High-school and college career[link]

Haren, who is of Irish and Mexican descent, graduated from Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, CA in 1998. He attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA on a baseball scholarship. It was there that Haren teamed up with Noah Lowry, a left-handed pitcher just one month younger than Haren, to form the best starting pitching duo in the West Coast Conference. In the 2001 season, Haren posted a 2.22 ERA in 17 starts, and Lowry posted a 1.71 ERA in 18 starts. The teammates (and roommates) skipped their senior seasons, and Lowry was taken in the 1st round (30th overall) by the San Francisco Giants and Haren was taken in the 2nd round (72nd overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.^[2]

Professional career[link]

St. Louis Cardinals[link]

Haren made 28 starts in A-ball in 2002 for Peoria and Potomac, finishing with a combined ERA of 2.74. He started 2003 in Double-A Tennessee, but was promoted after eight starts to Triple-A Memphis.

Haren made his major league debut at the age of 22. He pitched well in his debut but was out-dueled by Jason Schmidt, who went on to finish second in the National League Cy Young Award voting that year. In his MLB debut, he showed off his batting skills by hitting the very first pitch he saw for a double. After finishing 2003 with a 5.08 ERA for the Cardinals, however, he was sent back down to AAA Memphis for the 2004 season. He received a late-season call-up, and made five appearances in the post-season for the Cardinals, including two in the World Series. The Cardinals were swept by the Boston Red Sox, but Haren pitched well, tossing 4 2/3 scoreless innings.

Pitching in a game against the Seattle Mariners

Oakland Athletics[link]

After the 2004 season, Haren was traded in a package that included right-handed reliever Kiko Calero and top hitting prospect Daric Barton to the Oakland Athletics for Mark Mulder, one of the best pitchers in the American League at the time. Mulder was surprisingly not missed, as Haren went 14-12 with a 3.73 ERA in his first full season as a major leaguer.^[3]

With Haren joining the A's, he got the opportunity to pitch against the rival San Francisco Giants in the Bay Bridge Series. Coincidentally, he has gone head-to-head multiple times against best friend and former teammate Noah Lowry, who also quickly made it to the majors. Haren has been the victor in both of the Haren/Lowry duels.

In 2005, Haren broke the top 10 in the American League in the following categories: innings (217-9th place), strikeouts (163-6th place), and complete games (3-4th place).

Furthermore, in 2007, Haren had one of the best seasons among any pitcher in the majors. Haren finished in the top ten in the American League in wins, with 15, strikeouts, with 192, and finished in the top three in the AL in ERA with 3.07.

In 2007, he was also selected to start the MLB All Star Game after Mark Buerhle declined for the American League.

On December 14, 2007, Haren was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with Connor Robertson for prospects including Carlos González, Brett Anderson, Aaron Cunningham, Greg Smith, Dana Eveland, and Chris Carter.

Arizona Diamondbacks[link]

Haren pitching during the 2009 All-Star Game in St. Louis.

In his first season with the Arizona Diamondbacks he was selected to the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium along with his teammate, Brandon Webb. He finished 2008 with an impressive 3.33 ERA to go along with a 16-8 win-loss record, and a career-high 206 strikeouts.

On August 6, 2008, Haren agreed to a four-year, $44.75 million contract and a team option for the 2013.^[1]

Haren was also selected a 2009 NL All-Star, representing the Diamondbacks along with Justin Upton. Haren had a great year, finishing with a record of 14-10, 3.14 ERA, and 223 strikeouts.

In 2009 he was named # 33 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. A panel of 100 baseball people, many of them members of the Baseball Hall of Fame and winners of major baseball awards, was polled to arrive at the list.^[4]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim[link]

On July 25, 2010, Haren was traded to the Angels for starting pitcher Joe Saunders, and minor league pitchers Rafael Rodríguez, Patrick Corbin, and Tyler Skaggs.^[5][6]

In 13 games with the Angels to close out the 2010 season, Haren went 5-4 with 75 strikeouts and a 2.87 ERA.

Haren also had an impressive year at the plate, posting a .364 batting average and .902 OPS with one home run in 55 at bats with the D-backs before he was traded.

On September 10, 2011, Haren threw a complete-game shutout against the New York Yankees, allowing four hits and striking out seven.

On May 24, 2012, Haren threw a career high 14 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout against the Seattle Mariners in Seattle, allowing four hits in a 3-0 victory.

Pitching style[link]

Haren throws a 88–91 mph fastball, a 87–91 mph two-seam fastball, a sharp split-finger fastball (84–86), and a spike curve (75–79).^[7] Haren has also added and relied heavily upon a 84–87 mph cutter, which he added in 2008 and has credited with rejuvenating his career.^[8] The cutter makes up more than half of his pitch selection to right-handed hitters, with the two-seamer and occasional splitter filling up most of the rest. Against lefties, Haren mixes all of his pitches but uses his two-seamer the most. His curveball is a change-of-pace pitch, and not a main weapon; he does not throw it to right-handers at all or in 2-strike counts. By contrast, he throws about half of his splitters with two strikes.^[7]

Haren is also known for exceptional control. His career strikeout-to-walk ratio is above 4 for his career. As of May 2012^[update], he is the active leader in that category.^[9]

Haren usually has a slow pitching delivery, highlighted by a slight pause in the middle of his windup, that he speeds up with runners on base. His pitching style is often dubbed a "chess match" by reporters and announcers (particularly Daron Sutton and Mark Grace of the Diamondbacks announce team) due to his ability to change speeds and throw almost any pitch in any count (and often throws pitches in succession, i.e., four straight breaking balls), often going against scouting reports, making it particularly hard to hit him.^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dan Haren

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Todd Graham (born December 5, 1964) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at Arizona State University, a position he assumed in December 2011.^[1] Graham previously served as the head football coach at Rice University (2006), the University of Tulsa (2007–2010), and the University of Pittsburgh (2011).

Playing career[link]

Graham was an all-district defensive back at North Mesquite High School, from which he graduated in 1983. He then went on to play at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All-NAIA defensive back. After graduation from East Central, Graham had a brief stint with the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL.

Coaching career[link]

Graham began his coaching career in 1988 as an assistant at Poteet High School in his hometown of Mesquite. He later held head coaching positions at Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and Allen High School in Allen, Texas before becoming linebackers coach under Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia University in 2001.^[2] The following season Graham was assigned to defensive co-coordinator.

In 2003, he was hired by Steve Kragthorpe as the defensive coordinator at Tulsa, where he helped guide the Golden Hurricane to two bowl games in three seasons. Graham built one of the best defensive units in Conference USA and the nation before leaving the position following his third year at Tulsa for his first head coaching stint.

Rice[link]

Graham was hired as the head coach at Rice on January 1, 2006, following the resignation of long-time coach Ken Hatfield after the Owls had finished 1-10 in 2005. At Rice, athletic director Chris Del Conte helped Graham raise $5.5 million for renovating Rice Stadium and replacing the dated AstroTurf with FieldTurf. He hired former University of Texas quarterback Major Applewhite as his offensive coordinator,^[3] replacing the triple option offense Hatfield had been running with a more balanced attack. Behind quarterback Chase Clement and All-American receiver Jarett Dillard, Rice pulled off the biggest turnaround of the 2006 season, finishing 7-5 and earning an invitation to the New Orleans Bowl, the school's first bowl game since 1960. Graham was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, and was rewarded by the Rice administration with the offer of a significant pay raise and contract extension.^[4] After signing this extension, Graham left for Tulsa only a few days after. Graham received much criticism for this move. On November 24, 2007, when Tulsa played Rice at Rice Stadium, the Rice University Marching Owl Band presented a halftime show named "Todd Graham's Inferno"^[5] (based on Dante's "The Divine Comedy"). This resulted in a formal protest to Conference USA by Tulsa's athletic department. Chuck Throckmorton, the marching band's director, later apologized for offending anyone, but not for the show.^[6][7] Following Graham's exodus, Rice hired David Bailiff, who led Rice to its 2008 Texas Bowl victory.

Tulsa[link]

When the Tulsa head coaching position was vacant following the 2002 season, Todd Graham sent in his application. But it was not until five years later that Graham would take over the reins as the Golden Hurricane head coach. After serving three years as Tulsa defensive coordinator and one year as Rice head coach, Graham was introduced as Tulsa's new head football coach on January 12, 2007.^[8] He is the 27th head football coach in Golden Hurricane history. For his offensive coordinators, Graham turned to his good friend Gus Malzahn, then offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas,^[9] as well as then WVU tight ends coach Herb Hand.^[10] He also hired former Tulsa quarterback and Tulsa Union HS coach Bill Blankenship as wide receivers coach.

With an annual salary of $1.1 million Graham was the second highest-paid coach in Conference USA, behind SMU's June Jones in 2010.

Pittsburgh[link]

Graham was announced as Pittsburgh's head coach on January 10, 2011,^[11] and subsequently led the team to a disappointing 6-6 regular season later that fall. Less than one year from his hiring, on the evening of December 13, Graham informed Athletic Director Steve Pederson that he had discussed coaching opportunity at Arizona State.^[12] After being informed he did not have permission to talk to the school about the job and refusing conversations with Pederson and another administrator, Graham resigned and subsequently accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State University.^[13] Graham informed his Pitt players of his departure the following day by having a text message forwarded to the team by director of football operations Blair Philbrick.^[14] Two weeks prior to leaving the University of Pittsburgh, Graham referred to assistant coaches who left to join the staff of Rich Rodriguez at Arizona as "nothing but mercenaries."^[15] In later interviews, Graham claimed those comments were taken out of context. He said he wasn't referring to the coaches who left Pittsburgh and that he was having a conversation with reporters generally about college football coaching and said, "A lot of times coaches jump around everywhere, they're like mercenaries."^[16]

The style in which Graham left, in combination with his quick departures from other universities, lead to criticism of Graham in both local and national media.^{[17][18][19][20][21]}

Head coaching record[link]

Football[link]

• ^A Graham resigned before Pittsburgh's 2011 bowl game.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tulsa profile

Brett Lawrie
Toronto Blue Jays – No. 13
Third baseman
Born: (1990-01-18) January 18, 1990 (age 22) Langley, British Columbia
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 5, 2011 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Career statistics (through May 31, 2012)
Batting average	.287
Hits	96
Home runs	13
Runs batted in	46
Stolen bases	14
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (2011–present)

Medal record
Men’s Baseball
Competitor for  Canada
Baseball World Cup
Bronze	2009 Nettuno	National team

Brett R. Lawrie (born January 18, 1990 in Langley, British Columbia^[1]) is a Canadian professional baseball third baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. He was traded to the Blue Jays from the Milwaukee Brewers on December 5, 2010 in a deal for starting pitcher Shaun Marcum.^[2] He is the brother of University of Washington softball pitcher Danielle Lawrie.

Minor League career[link]

While playing high school baseball for the Langley Blaze of the B.C. Premier Baseball League, Lawrie was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft by the Brewers.^[3][4] The selection of Lawrie was the fourth highest a Canadian player has ever been drafted, behind only Jeff Francis, Adam Loewen, and Phillippe Aumont and the highest a Canadian position player has ever been drafted (Loewen was drafted as a pitcher, but now is a position player in the New York Mets organization).

Lawrie was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship where he led the tournament with a .469 batting average, 3 home runs and 16 RBIs.^[5] He was also selected to play for Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Lawrie batting for the Las Vegas 51s, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, in 2011.

Lawrie represented Canada once again during the 2009 World Baseball Classic at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.^[6] His only appearance during Canada's brief run in the tournament came during a 6–5 loss to the United States where he pinch ran for Joey Votto in the 9th inning.

Although he was used primarily as a catcher for the Blaze, Lawrie transitioned to second base when he was assigned to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League to begin the 2009 season. He was selected to play for the World Team at the 2009 MLB All-Star Futures Game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.^[7][8] He was promoted to the Double-A Huntsville Stars in mid-August. On June 23 Lawrie was selected to the 2010 Futures Games, his second selection.

Lawrie finished the 2010 season with a .285 batting average, 8 homeruns, 63 RBIs, 90 runs, 16 triples and 30 stolen bases in 135 games with Huntsville. For his efforts he was named to the Southern League Post-Season All-Star team on September 1, 2010. Considered by many to be one of Milwaukee's top prospects, he was traded on December 6, 2010 to the Toronto Blue Jays for starting pitcher Shaun Marcum. Despite already having switched positions from catcher to second base after the Brewers drafted him, the Blue Jays moved Lawrie to third base.^[9]

On May 31, Lawrie was hit in the hand by a pitch and left the game with what was initially believed to be a broken hand. X-rays were negative and he was considered day-to-day, until it was later revealed by CAT scan that there is a non-displaced fracture, and he was expected to miss 2–3 weeks.^[10][11]

After a brief stint in Single-A Dunedin ending with a game where he was hit by a pitch twice, Lawrie was promoted back to Triple-A Las Vegas on July 18, 2011.^[12]

Lawrie on the field prior to a game in 2011.

He was named the third baseman on Baseball America's 2011 Minor League All Star team.^[13]

Major League Career[link]

2011[link]

On August 4, 2011, Lawrie was called up to the Blue Jays. Travis Snider was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Lawrie.^[14] He made his debut on August 5 against the Baltimore Orioles.^[15] In his first career at-bat, he recorded his first career hit and RBI. He finished 2–4 with 1 RBI and a fielding error.^[16] Two games later, he hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of starter Alfredo Simón. In his second game at home on August 10, Lawrie recorded his first career grand slam off of Oakland reliever Craig Breslow. The grand slam was also his first hit at the Rogers Centre.^[17] In the following series against the Los Angeles Angels, Lawrie recorded his first career triple and stolen base. On September 5, Lawrie hit his first career walkoff home run, a solo shot in the 11th inning off reliever Dan Wheeler to defeat the Boston Red Sox 1–0.^[18]

Lawrie's first season ended prematurely when, on September 21, he fractured the middle finger on his right hand while fielding during batting practice. He finished his first season with a batting average of .293, 9 home runs, 26 runs scored, 7 stolen bases and 25 RBI in 161 plate appearances.^[19]

2012[link]

Brett Lawrie made the 40-man roster during the Toronto Blue Jays 2012 season. ^[20]

On May 1, 2012, Lawrie hit a game-winning, walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Blue Jays an 8-7 win against the Texas Rangers.^[21] In a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 15, Lawrie was ejected from a game after objecting to being called out on two consecutive strikes by umpire Bill Miller. The two pitches in question, thought to be balls by Lawrie, were shown to be outside the strike zone on instant replay. Lawrie started down the baseline, only to hear the strikeout call, and turned and yelled. Miller then ejected him, and Lawrie threw his helmet on the ground. The helmet bounced and made contact with Miller. Manager John Farrell was also ejected after arguing with Miller.^[22] Lawrie was suspended for four games by Major League Baseball, and initially appealed the suspension but dropped the appeal on May 17.^[23]

References[link]

External links[link]

Baseball portal

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• COC Profile
• MiLB.com player profile
• Brett Lawrie on Twitter