Darren O'Day

Darren Christopher O'Day (born October 22, 1982) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees. He played college baseball for the University of Florida. Undrafted out of college, O'Day signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2006. He has also played for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut in 2008, and was an All-Star in 2015. O'Day is one of the few Major League pitchers to throw submarine pitches.

For the Irish footballer, see Darren O'Dea.
Darren O'Day
O'Day with the Baltimore Orioles in 2018
New York Yankees
Pitcher
Born: (1982-10-22) October 22, 1982
Jacksonville, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
March 31, 2008, for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Win–loss record40–19
Earned run average2.51
Strikeouts600
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Early life and amateur career

O'Day was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, and played high school baseball for the Bishop Kenny Crusaders.[1]

O'Day accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Pat McMahon's Florida Gators baseball team from 2003 to 2006.[2] He earned Southeastern Conference (SEC) Academic Honor Roll recognition for four consecutive years, and was an Academic All-American as a senior.[2] During the Gators' run in the 2005 College World Series, O'Day made four relief appearances and earned a save.[2] O'Day graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in agricultural and life sciences in 2006.

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Undrafted out of college, O'Day signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2006. He made his major league debut with the Angels in 2008. In 30 games, he was 0–1 with a 4.57 ERA in ​43 1⁄3 innings.

New York Mets

The New York Mets selected O'Day in the Rule 5 Draft on December 11, 2008. He made the Mets' roster out of spring training. He was widely quoted in the media on the death of his former teammate Nick Adenhart. He was designated for assignment by the Mets two weeks into the season in order to make room on the roster for Nelson Figueroa.

Texas Rangers
Darren O'Day throws a "submarine" side-arm pitch for the Texas Rangers in April 2009.

The Texas Rangers claimed him on April 22, 2009 and he made his debut the same day in extra innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, just minutes after getting to the bullpen from the airport. His arrival was so quick that he had to wear the jersey of Kason Gabbard in his first appearance.[3] He was an effective reliever for the Rangers, posting an ERA of 1.94 in 64 games. He struck out 54 in ​55 2⁄3 innings. The following season he appeared in a career high 72 games, posting an ERA of 2.03 with a 6–2 record.

Limited to sixteen appearances due to a pair of injuries, O'Day was 0–1 with a 5.40 earned run average (ERA) in 2011. He was first sidelined from April 27 to July 1 because of a partial acetabular labrum tear in his left hip. Right shoulder inflammation sent him back to the disabled list for the second time from August 25 to September 12. He also pitched in eighteen minor league games with the Frisco RoughRiders and Round Rock Express, going a combined 1–0 with a 2.53 ERA. He was not activated to the Rangers' roster for any round of that year's postseason.[4]

During this period, when he arrived at the mound, Texas Rangers' fans began a traditional chant of his last name.[5]

2012

The Baltimore Orioles claimed O'Day off waivers on November 2, 2011.[4] He was scheduled to make $1,350,000 in the 2012 season. Following the struggles of Pedro Strop, O'Day settled into the role of the 8th inning setup pitcher later in the 2012 season, often leaving the game in a manageable state for closer Jim Johnson. O'Day posted a 7–1 record with a 2.28 ERA by the end of the 2012 season.

2013

In 2013, O'Day continued his success as an Oriole, going 5–3 as their 8th inning setup man, while posting a 2.18 ERA in 68 games. He collected two saves and pitched 62.0 innings, while striking out 59 batters and holding opponents to a .210 batting average.

2014

Former Orioles reliever and fellow submarine pitcher Todd Frohwirth worked with O'Day during spring training in 2014 to improve his change-up.[6] O'Day had a career year in 2014, as he pitched 68​2⁄3 innings in 68 games and collected a 5–2 record with four saves. He posted a 1.70 ERA along with a 0.89 WHIP. He also struck out 73 batters and held opponents to a career-best .174 batting average. He set career-bests in innings pitched, saves, ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and opponent batting average. Despite his most successful season, O'Day struggled greatly in the postseason, as he posted an 0–2 record and a 13.50 ERA in four games. Particularly in the 2014 American League Championship Series, O'Day went 0–2 in three games and posted a 16.20 ERA.

2015

In 2015, O'Day was selected to appear in the All-Star Game. He finished his career year with a 1.52 ERA in 68 appearances, which totaled to 65​1⁄3 innings. He compiled a 6–2 record and set a career-high with six saves. He also set a career-high with 82 strikeouts.

2016

On December 14, 2015, the Orioles re-signed O'Day to a 4-year, $31 million contract.[7] Battling injuries throughout the duration of the season, O'Day had his worst year as an Oriole. He appeared in only 34 games, throwing 31 innings while pitching to a 3.77 ERA, his highest as a member of the Orioles. He compiled a 3–1 record and struck out 38 batters. O'Day also appeared in the Wild Card Game for the Orioles, tossing 1​2⁄3 innings while striking out one batter in a 5–2 loss.

2017

O'Day rebounded from the previous season, registering a healthy season in which he appeared in 64 games. He also had an ERA of 3.43 in ​60 1⁄3 innings.

2018

O'Day appeared in 20 games for the O's before undergoing season ending surgery on his left hamstring.[8]

Atlanta Braves

On July 31, 2018, O'Day, along with Kevin Gausman, were traded to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Brett Cumberland, Jean Carlos Encarnacion, Evan Phillips, Bruce Zimmermann, and international signing money.[9]

O'Day opened the 2019 season on the injured list with a right forearm injury, which followed a single spring training appearance.[10][11] He was activated to the major league roster on September 5.[12][13] In 2019 he was 0–0 with a 1.69 ERA in 5.1 innings over 8 games.[14]

On November 8, 2019 he re–signed with the Braves on a one-year, $2.5 million contract, with a club option for a second year.[15]

After finishing the 2020 season 4–0 with a 1.10 ERA and 22 strikeouts over 16.1 innings (19 relief appearances total),[14] the Braves declined their $3.5 million club option on his contract for the following season, opting to pay his $500,000 buyout, and he became a free agent.[16]

Personal life

O'Day's original family name was Odachowski. His paternal grandmother, who had raised his father Ralph and two uncles on her own after his grandfather died in a car accident, shortened it to Odach (the "ch" is silent in Polish phonology) to make it easier to pronounce for her colleagues at Montgomery Ward in Chicago. Ralph and one of his brothers legally changed their last names to O'Day in her honor after they were married. O'Day has "D. Odachowski" stitched on the side of his game glove to honor his family history. "Odachowski" was featured on the back of his jersey worn during MLB's Players Weekend on August 25–27, 2017.[17][18]

O'Day is married to Elizabeth Prann, a University of Florida alumna and an anchor/reporter for HLN. Their first child, a daughter named Claire, was born in December 2014.[19]

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2015-12-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 2009 Florida Gators Baseball Media Guide, History Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 88, 90, 95, 98, 101, 104 (2009). Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  3. "Rangers reliever pays tribute to late teammate". ESPN.com. 19 October 2010.
  4. Lyle Spencer, "Orioles claim O'Day off waivers from Rangers," MLB.com (November 2, 2011). Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25. Retrieved 2016-12-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Encina, Edwardo A. (March 5, 2014). "Orioles take different angle to teach O'Day to throw changeup". baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  7. Connolly, Dan. "Orioles make Darren O'Day deal official; Navarro designated".
  8. "Orioles O'Day to have season-ending surgery". ESPN.
  9. "Kevin Gausman, Darren O'Day traded to Braves". MLB.com.
  10. Burns, Gabriel (March 31, 2019). "Darren O'Day not any closer to return". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  11. Burns, Gabriel (July 23, 2019). "Braves won't say never with long-shot Darren O'Day appearance". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  12. Burns, Gabriel (September 5, 2019). "Darren O'Day activated more than a year after trade to Braves". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  13. Bowman, Mark (September 5, 2019). "O'Day joins Braves bullpen a year after trade". MLB.com. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  14. "Darren O'Day Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  15. Bowman, Mark (November 8, 2019). "Braves re-sign righty O'Day to one-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  16. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/braves-decline-darren-odays-option.html
  17. Connolly, Dan. "Orioles reliever Darren O'Day might be the most interesting man in baseball". baltimoresun.com.
  18. "Orioles to celebrate Players Weekend". MLB.com.
  19. "Who is Elizabeth Prann Husband? Know Her Married Life and Children Whereabouts!". The Celebs Closet. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
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