Darren Oliver
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| New York Mets — No. 27 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 1, 1993 for the Texas Rangers | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through August 1, 2006) |
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| Wins-Losses | 91-80 |
| Earned Run Average | 4.97 |
| Strikeouts | 883 |
| Teams | |
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Darren Christopher Oliver (born October 6, 1970 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a pitcher for the New York Mets.
Oliver is the son of former infielder Bob Oliver. Oliver played baseball and basketball at Rio Linda High School in Rio Linda, California. Oliver was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 1988 amateur draft.
[edit] MLB Career
Oliver made his major league debut on September 1, 1993 at the age of 22 at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. In 1996, Oliver became a starter for the Rangers and won 14 games. From 1996 to 1998, Oliver pitched for the Rangers and then was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for whom he pitched until 1999, returning to the Rangers for the next two years.
In 2002, Oliver pitched for the Boston Red Sox as a left-handed reliever. In 2003, Oliver won 13 games for the Colorado Rockies. In 2004, Oliver pitched for the Florida Marlins and Houston Astros. After 2004, he became a free agent.
In 2005, the Rockies brought him to their spring training camp, but released him. Oliver missed the entire season. After the 2005 season, Oliver signed with the New York Mets and made the team as a left-handed reliever. Oliver proved to be very useful in the Mets bullpen, going 4-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 36 games and 66.2 innings (through August 30, 2006). He made a six-inning relief appearance in Game 3 of the 2006 NLCS on October 14, 2006. Despite not giving up a run, the Mets lost the game and were down 2-1 in the series. He was mentioned as potential starter for Game 7; the Mets instead tapped Oliver Perez the starter.
[edit] Trivia
- Oliver is the first pitcher ever to pitch in interleague play. He was the starting pitcher in the Texas Rangers' 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on June 12, 1997 at The Ballpark in Arlington (now Ameriquest Field in Arlington). [1]
- As a Cardinal, Oliver was the starting and winning pitcher in the game where Mark McGwire hit his record-tying 61st home run on September 7, 1998.
[edit] External links
- Darren Oliver at ESPN.com
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
Categories: 1970 births | Living people | Major league pitchers | Texas Rangers players | St. Louis Cardinals players | Boston Red Sox players | Colorado Rockies players | Florida Marlins players | Houston Astros players | New York Mets players | African American baseball players | Major league players from Missouri | Major League Baseball families
