Tony Sipp

Tony Marcel Sipp (born July 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He had played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, and Washington Nationals.

Tony Sipp
Sipp with the Nationals in 2019
Relief pitcher
Born: (1983-07-12) July 12, 1983
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 22, 2009, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
July 30, 2019, for the Washington Nationals
MLB statistics
(through July 30, 2019)
Win–loss record26–22
Earned run average3.72
Strikeouts531
Teams

Amateur career

Born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, Sipp graduated from Moss Point High School in Moss Point, Mississippi, where he also competed in football, winning a state title with the team in 2000. In baseball, Sipp also helped Moss Point High reach the state championship in baseball. Sipp and fellow major leaguer Joey Butler formerly played against one another, as they are both from Jackson County, Mississippi.[1] Sipp played for Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and also attended Okaloosa-Walton College, before transferring to Clemson University.[2] In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and returned to the league in 2004 to play for the Cotuit Kettleers.[3]

Professional career

Minor leagues

After being drafted by Cleveland in the 45th round in 2004, Sipp played with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Lake County Captains, Kinston Indians, Akron Aeros, and Columbus Clippers.

Cleveland Indians
Sipp with the Cleveland Indians in 2012

He made his major league debut on April 22, 2009. Coming out of the bullpen, Sipp went 2–0 with an ERA of 2.92, recording 48 strikeouts.[4] In 4 years in the Indians bullpen, he appeared in 248 games and recorded 167 holds, striking out 225 batters and recording a 3.68 ERA.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On December 12, 2012, Sipp was acquired by the Arizona Diamondbacks in a nine-player three-team blockbuster trade that sent Shin-Soo Choo to the Cincinnati Reds.[5] He was designated for assignment on August 4, 2013.[6] He became a free agent on November 27, 2013.

Houston Astros
Sipp pitching for the Houston Astros in 2015 American League Division Series Game 1

Sipp signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres in February 2014.[7] On May 1, he was released by the Padres, then he signed a major league deal with the Houston Astros.[8] Sipp became a key component of the Astros' bullpen for the remainder of the 2014 season, posting a 2.94 xFIP and striking out 11.19 batters per nine innings of work.

On December 11, 2015, the Astros re-signed Sipp to a 3-year, $18 million contract.[9]

In 2017, Sipp made 46 appearances out of the bullpen and finished the season 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA. The Astros finished 2017 with a 101-61 record, giving them an AL West pennant clincher. Sipp did not see any sort of postseason action, but was still on the 40-man roster at the time, as the Astros won the 2017 World Series.[10]

Washington Nationals

On March 14, 2019, Sipp signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Washington Nationals. The deal includes a mutual option for the 2020 season.[11] He was designated for assignment on August 2 after posting an ERA of 4.71 in 36 appearances. He was released shortly afterwards. Reports involving the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal state that prior to the 2019 World Series Nationals ace Max Scherzer reached out to Sipp and asked if the Nationals needed to be concerned about the Astros even with no runners on base, to which Sipp replied yes. [12]

Pitching style

Sipp throws four pitches: a four-seam fastball (91-94 mph), a two-seam fastball (89–91), a slider (79–82), and a changeup to right-handed hitters (78–81). The slider is his most common two-strike pitch.[13]

References
  1. Stephenson, Creg (December 13, 2012). "Moss Point's Tony Sipp: Trade from Indians 'like leaving home for the first time'". The Mississippi Press. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  2. Stephenson, Creg (October 12, 2010). "BIG HEART: Moss Point native Tony Sipp gives some back to the community". The Mississippi Press. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  3. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  4. "Indians Recall LHP Tony Sipp from AAA Columbus". MLB.com (Press release). Major League Baseball Advanced Media. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
  5. Meisel, Zack (December 11, 2012). "Tribe gets Bauer from D-backs, Choo heads to Reds". MLB.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  6. Links, Zach (August 4, 2013). "D'backs Designate Then Option Tony Sipp To Triple-A". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  7. Wilmoth, Charlie (February 1, 2014). "Padres To Sign Tony Sipp". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  8. "Astros add Sipp to bullpen". Associated Press. Sports Illustrated. May 2, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  9. "Astros re-sign Tony Sipp". ESPN. December 11, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  10. McTaggart, Brian; Gurnick, Ken. "Houston Astros win 2017 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  11. "Nationals agree to terms with Tony Sipp". Nationals Communications. March 14, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  12. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/astros-cheating-open-secret/2020/02/11/1830154c-4c41-11ea-9b5c-eac5b16dafaa_story.html
  13. "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool - Player Card: Tony Sipp". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
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