Eric Gagne

From SoSH

Eric Serge Gagné (born January 7, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a right-handed relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Steroids 3 Awards 4 Achievements 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

Gagné was a 30th-round draft choice of the Chicago White Sox in 1994 (845th overall), but the following year he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent. Gagné, who spoke only French, went to study at Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Oklahoma. As a student, he taught himself English by watching various TV sitcoms, such as Will & Grace and Kenan & Kel, and pitched for the college's "Trojans" ball team.

He then went on to pitch in the minor leagues but missed the entire 1997 season due to Tommy John surgery. He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers team for a part of the 1999 season; in his first year in the major leagues, he appeared in only five games as a starting pitcher. Over his first three seasons he met with only mediocre success, winning 11 games while losing 14. At one point, the Montreal Expos offered a trade to the Dodgers which would have sent outfielder Jesus Milan in exchange for Gagné, but the Dodgers backed out at the last moment.

At the start of the 2002 season, he was converted from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher, and soon became the National League's leading reliever, earning 52 saves for the season. Gagné had a nasty assortment of pitches he used as a reliever but his most effective were his fastball and change-up. Gagné would set up hitters with his 98 mph fastball and eventually strike them out with his 78 mph "vulcan" change-up.

In 2003, as a closer, Gagné was called upon 55 times to save a baseball game and converted every one of them en route to becoming both the first pitcher to record 50 saves in more than one season and also the fastest pitcher to ever reach the 100-save plateau. His 55 saves in 2003 also equaled the National League record set the previous season by John Smoltz. Between August 26, 2002 and July 5, 2004, he converted 84 consecutive save chances—another major league record. Remarkably, more than half (55%) of the batters he retired during the 2003 season came by strikeout. The streak is considered among the most impressive in baseball history.

Gagné finished the 2003 season with an 1.20 earned run average and had 137 strikeouts and 20 walks in 82 1/3 innings pitched. This translated into an incredible 1.66 strikeouts per inning pitched. For his performance, he won the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award and became the first relief pitcher in 11 years to win the Cy Young Award. With Ferguson Jenkins, he is one of only two Canadian pitchers to win the most prestigious pitching award in baseball. Ironically, he is the only pitcher to win the award while having a losing season (his record was 2-3). Despite this, he lost his arbitration case over the winter.

On July 15, 2004 – just ten days after his saves streak ended – Gagné collected his 130th save as a Dodger in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona, surpassing Jeff Shaw for the most career saves in team history.

The Texas Rangers signed Gagne to a one-year, $6 million contract on December 19, 2006. In 34 games with Texas, Gagne went 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 16 saves before he was traded to Boston at the trade deadline for Kason Gabbard, David Murphy and Engel Beltre.

During his career, Gagné has converted 177 saves out of 184 save opportunities for a conversion rate of 96.2%. It is not uncommon for even the most successful closers to have 7 or more blown saves in a season, let alone a career. By comparison, Mariano Rivera has a conversion rate of 88%, Trevor Hoffman's is 89%, and Billy Wagner's is 86%. Each of these elite closers has blown six save opportunities in a season at least once, although their careers outspan Gagné's.

Steroids

Gagne was named in the December 2007 Mitchell Report on performance enhancing drugs in baseball. According to former clubhouse attendant and admitted steroids distributer Kirk Radomski, although he is not sure when, Radomski recalled that Paul Lo Duca called Radomski and told Radomski that Gagné was with him and wanted to buy human growth hormone. Gagné then came onto the phone and asked Radomski a question about how to get air out of a syringe. This is the only time Radomski spoke to Gagné. Radomski said that Lo Duca thereafter placed orders on Gagné’s behalf. Radomski said that he mailed two shipments to Gagné, each consisting of two kits of human growth hormone.

Awards

• 2003 Cy Young
• 2003 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year
• 2004 Rolaids Relief Man of the Year

Achievements

• Consecutive Saves Converted - 84
• Consecutive team games with a Save - 6

Transactions

• June 2, 1994: Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 30th round of the Amateur Draft but did not sign.
• July 26, 1995: Signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent.
• December 19, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
• July 31, 2007: Traded by the Texas Rangers to the Boston Red Sox for Kason Gabbard, David Murphy and Engel Beltre.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis