Sam Coonrod

Samuel Timothy Coonrod (born September 22, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fifth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft and made his MLB debut with them in 2019.

Sam Coonrod
Philadelphia Phillies
Pitcher
Born: (1992-09-22) September 22, 1992
Carrollton, Illinois
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 26, 2019, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Win–loss record5–3
Earned run average5.74
Strikeouts35
Teams

Amateur career

Coonrod was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Carrollton, Illinois.[1] He graduated from Carrollton High School, where he participated in baseball, basketball, and football. In 2011, his senior year, he went 12-0 with a 1.34 ERA along with batting .435.[2] As a senior, he was named Player of the Year by the State Journal-Register, the Alton Telegraph and the Jacksonville Journal, while academically he was a member of the National Honor Society, and was a Silver Medallion Award winner with a 3.94 GPA.[3]

He was not drafted in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, and enrolled at Southern Illinois University Carbondale where he majored in management and played college baseball.[4] In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.[5] In 2014, as a junior, he pitched to a 2-6 record with a 2.87 ERA in 15 starts.[6] He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the fifth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft, and signed for a signing bonus of $330,000.[7][8][9]

Professional career

San Francisco Giants

Coonrod made his professional debut that year with the Arizona League Giants and spent the whole 2014 season there, posting a 1-0 record and 3.90 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched. Coonrod played for the Augusta GreenJackets in 2015 where he pitched to a 7-5 record and 3.14 ERA in 23 games (22 starts) with 114 strikeouts (4th in the South Atlantic League) in 111.2 innings.[10][11][12][13] He was named South Atlantic League's "Best Pitching Prospect" by Baseball America, and as having the "Best Breaking Pitch" in the South Atlantic League. He was named SAL Pitcher of the Week for July 20-27, and Baseball America ranked him the Giants' sixth-best prospect entering the 2016 season.[1] On September 25, 2020, Coonrod gave up a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the final inning that cost the Giants an opportunity to make the playoffs.

In 2016, he pitched for both the San Jose Giants (California League) and the Richmond Flying Squirrels, posting a combined 9-6 record and 2.55 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP in 24 games started between both teams.[1] He was named a California League mid-season All-Star, and earned CAL Player of the Month honors for May.[1]

Entering the 2017 season he was the Giants' sixth-best prospect according to both Baseball America and MLB.com.[1] Coonrod returned to Richmond in 2017, spending the whole season there, going 4-11 with a 4.69 ERA in 24 games (18 starts).[14]

He pitched in only ten games in 2018 due to injury and Tommy John surgery.[1] The Giants added Coonrod to their 40-man roster after the season.[15]

He began 2019 with the Sacramento River Cats, with whom he was 2-4 with three saves and a 6.96 ERA in 33 games (1 start) in which he pitched 32.1 innings and had 43 strikeouts.[12]

On May 26, 2019, he was called up to the major leagues for the first time and made his debut that day in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He retired the side in order, getting a flyout to left field, a groundout to first base, and a strikeout. On July 23, 2019, Coonrod earned the first win of his major league career by pitching the 13th and final inning of a 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. It was Coonrod's fifth career appearance and his fifth inning pitched.[16] With the Giants in 2019 he was 5-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 33 relief appearances in which he pitched 27.2 innings.[12]

The following season, Coonrod struggled mightily, allowing 16 runs in under 15 innings. Coonrod also made headlines during the 2020 season when he refused to join his teammates to kneel in support of Black Lives Matter. "I just can’t get on board with a couple things I’ve read about Black Lives Matter, how they lean towards Marxism,” Coonrod said. “And… they said some negative things about the nuclear family. I just can’t get on board with that.”[17]

Philadelphia Phillies

On January 9, 2021, Coonrod was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Carson Ragsdale.[18]

Personal life

Coonrod's parents are Tim Coonrod, a warehouse worker, and Karen Coonrod, a counselor.[3] He is a Christian.[19]

References
  1. "Sam Coonrod Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  2. "Carrollton retires Major League draft pick Coonrod's jersey | RiverBender.com". Rbsportszone.com. February 15, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  3. "Sam Coonrod - Baseball - Southern Illinois University Athletics". Siusalukis.com. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  4. Kane, Dave. "Carrollton's Coonrod wants to live up to Callahan's hopes". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  5. "Samuel Coonrod - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. Hood, Ryan. "Fireballing right-hander Sam Coonrod goes to Giants in fifth round". MLB.com. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  7. "Fireballing right-hander Sam Coonrod goes to Giants in fifth round". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  8. "Carrollton's Coonrod excited to be drafted by Giants". July 8, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  9. "Sam Coonrod". The Baseball Cube. June 21, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  10. "LESS ROOM FOR ERROR': Carrollton's Sam Coonrod reflects on life a year after being drafted by the Giants". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  11. "SAL notes: Coonrod reaching his potential - MiLB". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  12. Cunningham, Kevin J. (March 29, 2019). "Sacramento River Cats 2019 Season Preview". McCovey Chronicles. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  13. "2015 South Atlantic League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  14. "Sam Coonrod Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  15. "Farhan Zaidi makes first roster moves, adds three to Giants roster". mercurynews.com. November 21, 2018. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  16. "Sam Coonrod #65". mlb.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  17. "Why Giants Pitcher Sam Coonrod Did Not Kneel with His Team Before First Game: 'I'm a Christian'". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  18. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/01/phillies-acquire-sam-coonrod-from-giants.html
  19. Dreher, Rod (July 24, 2020). "'Every Knee Shall Bow'". The American Conservative. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
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