Jeff Pierce (baseball)

Jeffrey Charles Pierce (born June 7, 1969) is a former middle relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the 1995 season. Listed at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 190 pounds (86 kg), he batted and threw right-handed.

Jeff Pierce
Pitcher
Born: (1969-06-07) June 7, 1969
Poughkeepsie, New York
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 26, 1995, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
May 24, 1995, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Win–loss record0–3
Earned run average6.60
Strikeouts12
CPBL statistics
Win–loss record1–0
Earned run average6.60
Strikeouts9
Teams

Early life and amateur career

Pierce was born in Poughkeepsie, New York where his father, Don, was an engineer for IBM.[1] Pierce grew up a fan of the New York Yankees and attended games at Yankee Stadium.[2]

He played high school baseball for Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School in Hyde Park, New York where he was teammates with Frank Cimorelli.[3][4] In 1987, he had a batting average of .438.[5]

Pierce did not receive any college baseball scholarship offers and was not drafted out of high school. Unable to afford college without a scholarship, he joined the United States Army Reserve. After completing Basic Training and spending the summer with the Army, he enrolled at Dutchess Community College in his native Dutchess County.[6]

At Dutchess, he was talked into joining the baseball team where he was again teammates with Frank Cimorelli.[6][7] In 1989, he was the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XV Player of the Year.[8]

He continued his college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack from 1990–1991.[9] In 1990, he was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Second Team; he had a batting average of .359 with 13 home runs and had a 6–1 record as a pitcher.[10]

During a game in May of his senior year in 1991, Pierce tied an ACC record by hitting four home runs and driving in ten runs.[11] He was again named to the All-ACC Second Team as an outfielder in 1991. He was named to the ACC Baseball Tournament's All-Tournament Team as an outfielder in 1990 and 1991.[12] In 67 games as a senior, he hit 19 home runs, drove in 77 runs and maintained a batting average of .370.[13]

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

After not being selected in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft, Pierce signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox on June 10, 1991.[1][14] Though he primarily played the outfield at NC State, he was signed as a pitcher; Alex Cosmidis, the scout who signed Pierce, had seen him pitch a game in the 1991 ACC Baseball Tournament.[1][15] However, he talked the White Sox into letting him take batting practice after signing and performed well enough that he was assigned to the Utica Blue Sox as an outfielder to start his professional baseball career.[6][15]

Pierce spent the entire 1991 season as an outfielder in Utica where he finished fourth on the team in slugging percentage.[16][17] Nonetheless, Pierce spent the 1991–92 offseason training as a pitcher in anticipation of being transferred to the pitching mound.[15]

Pierce made his professional pitching debut in 1992 with the South Bend White Sox.[16] At midseason, he was named a Midwest League All-Star.[18] He finished the season with the second-most saves in the league.[19]

Pierce began the 1993 season in Double-A with the Birmingham Barons. Despite missing two weeks in the summer due to a rib cage injury, he was third in the Southern League in saves by the end of July.[13]

Cincinnati Reds

On July 31, 1993, he was traded along with Johnny Ruffin to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Tim Belcher.[20] The Reds kept him in the Southern League with the Chattanooga Lookouts where he served primarily as a setup man for closer Chris Bushing, a transition he told the Birmingham Post-Herald he found "pretty frustrating."[13]

Prior to the 1994 season, in the words of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Pierce was among a group of "young, no-name pitchers" invited to Major League spring training by the Reds.[21] The Reds also thought highly enough of him to add him to their 40-man roster.[22] However, in March, the team placed Pierce on waivers at least in part to create room on the roster for Tony Fernández.[23] The Boston Red Sox signed him on March 18 to fill a spot on the 40-man roster created by their release of Scott Taylor.[24] The next day, Pierce said he was "glad to be out of the Reds organization" because he "wasn't too happy" there.[25] Peter Gammons later reported that Pierce had "had some problems with teammates" in the organization.[26]

Boston Red Sox

At the conclusion of spring training, Pierce was assigned to the Double-A New Britain Red Sox to start the 1994 season.[27] Despite pitching only a portion of the season in New Britain, Pierce led the team with ten saves, more than triple the second place finisher.[28] On June 18, Pierce was called up to Triple-A for the first time in his career with the Pawtucket Red Sox; he became the 37th player rostered by Pawtucket in the 1994 season.[29] Despite joining the PawSox mid-season, he finished the year with the fourth-most pitching appearances on the team.[30] He had been expecting to receive a September call-up to the majors before the Major League Baseball Players' Association went on strike.[31]

The Red Sox had high hopes for Pierce heading into the 1995 season. General Manager Dan Duquette told the press that he expected Pierce to have a middle relief role in the majors in 1995.[32] He spent part of the offseason honing his craft in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico.[33]

Pierce was named to Boston's Opening Day roster to start the 1995 season.[34] He made his Major League debut on Opening Day, April 26, 1995;[20] Pierce contributed to a two-hit shutout of the Minnesota Twins, pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the game at Fenway Park.[35] Nick Cafardo reported that Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy was "particularly peeved" about Pierce's outing on May 24 against the Seattle Mariners in which Pierce allowed a three-run double to Mike Blowers. After the game, Kennedy publicly criticized Pierce's performance, telling the press that his "grandmother could have hit that" pitch. Although Pierce responded by saying that he "just went out and gave it 100 percent," he would not get another chance to pitch in the majors.[36] The May 24 game would be the final appearance of his Major League career.[20]

Pierce played in the Chinese Professional Baseball League for two months in 1997 before joining the Chicago Cubs farm system. The Cubs released Pierce in July 1997 after having traded Frank Castillo to the Colorado Rockies for Matt Pool. Orlando Rays manager Dave Trembley said the organization decided to give his roster spot to Pool because he was the younger player. Pierce retired following his release.[37]

See also

References
  1. Ferro, John (28 March 1993). "Pierce rides the winding road of spring". Poughkeepsie Journal. pp. 4G. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  2. Doyle, Paul (2 May 1995). "In Wetteland, Kennedy can see what might have been". Hartford Courant. p. C7. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  3. "FDR's Duane Davis remembered as 'beloved' coach, mentor". USA Today. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  4. Thomaselli, Rich (12 June 2020). "FORMER RCK STAR PITCHER MURPHY DRAFTED BY MLB'S GIANTS". Hudson Valley Sports Report. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  5. Thomaselli, Rich (7 June 1987). "Stars were sparkling on diamond this year". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 14C. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. Rallo, Curt (5 July 1992). "Ex-Army parachuter flying high for Sox". The South Bend Tribune. p. 6. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  7. "Falcons sweep Orange". Poughkeepsie Journal. 14 April 1988. p. 1D. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  8. "Pierce, Hughes star at N.C. State". Poughkeepsie Journal. 26 March 1990. p. 5D. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  9. "North Carolina State University Baseball Players Who Made it to the Major Leagues". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  10. "1991 college baseball: Players to watch". The News and Observer. 18 February 1991. p. 31. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  11. Furlong, Jim (19 May 1991). "Pierce slams four homers". The Herald-Sun. p. 27. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  12. "2022 ACC Baseball Guide" (PDF). Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  13. Grant, Rubin E. (20 August 1993). "Pierce frustrated with new relief role". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 23. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  14. Woodward, Bill (10 June 1991). "A tough time for the Tigers". The News and Observer. p. 27. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  15. Rallo, Curt (10 May 1992). "DeBerry's father familiar to Irish football". The South Bend Tribune. p. 26. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  16. "Jeff Pierce Minor & CPBL Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  17. "1991 Utica Blue Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  18. Rallo, Curt (12 June 1992). "All-Star selections surprise S.B. Sox". The South Bend Tribune. p. 15. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  19. "1992 Midwest League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  20. "Jeff Pierce Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  21. "Courtesy Calls". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 13 February 1994. p. 38. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  22. "Mid-Hudson Valley natives playing professional baseball". Poughkeepsie Journal. 13 February 1994. p. 8G. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  23. Glynn, Rory (19 March 1994). "Dibble encouraged despite difficulties". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 38. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  24. "Player salaries take big bite out of baseball's profits". Springfield News-Sun. Associated Press. 19 March 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  25. Cafardo, Nick (20 March 1994). "Turns for the worse and better". The Boston Globe. p. 57. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  26. Gammons, Peter (19 June 1994). "For Duquette, the fix is out". The Boston Globe. p. 56. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  27. Doyle, Paul (8 April 1994). "System to help Britsox". Hartford Courant. p. E4. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  28. "1994 New Britain Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  29. Cafardo, Nick (19 June 1994). "Nixon's big obstacle: back woes". The Boston Globe. p. 57. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  30. "1994 Pawtucket Red Sox Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  31. Thomaselli, Rich (8 January 1995). "Strike: Local players won't cross picket line". Poughkeepsie Journal. pp. 6G. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  32. Cafardo, Nick (16 September 1994). "Red Sox' course for '95 will be free but not so easy". The Boston Globe. p. 102. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  33. Gammons, Peter (11 December 1994). "Their needs are bigger than Canseco". The Boston Globe. p. 68. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  34. Doyle, Paul (25 April 1995). "Red Sox bench looks thin as roster trimmed to 28". Hartford Courant. p. 137. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  35. "Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox Box Score, April 26, 1995". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  36. Cafardo, Nick (26 May 1995). "Kennedy facing mound of woes". The Boston Globe. p. 51. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  37. Stewart, J.W. (27 July 1997). "Injuries, trades force Roosevelt's Pierce to retire". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 3H. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
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