Steve Avery
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Steven Thomas Avery (born April 14, 1970 in Trenton, Michigan) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Atlanta Braves (1990-96), Boston Red Sox (1997-98), Cincinnati Reds (1999) and Detroit Tigers (2003).
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[edit] Career
After graduating from John F. Kennedy High School in Taylor, Michigan, Avery was drafted by the Braves in June 1988. Avery made his first career start on June 13, 1990 against the Cincinnati Reds in Riverfront Stadium. Avery was clobbered, giving up eight runs in 2.1 innings. He ended 1990 with a record of 3-11 in 21 starts with a 5.64 ERA. Along with Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and Pete Smith, Avery was christened one of Atlanta's "Young Guns," the name for the pitching staff with great potential but little offensive help.
[edit] 1991
1991 was a magical year for both Avery and the Braves. The Braves went from worst to first while Avery compiled a record of 18-8 with a 3.38 ERA. He gave the Braves their first win of the season, a 7-5 victory over the defending world champion Cincinnati Reds. In the heat of the September pennant race with the Dodgers, Avery beat them twice, 9-1 at home, and 3-0 on the road, pitching a complete game both times. Avery's last win of the 1991 regular season was a stellar performance against the Houston Astros that clinched a division tie for the Braves. Avery threw a no-hitter for 6.2 innings until Luis Gonzalez broke it up with a single.
Avery's magical 1991 continued with one of the greatest post-season performances of all-time. He shut out the Pirates for 16.2 innings over two games and accumulated two 1-0 wins. His performance earned him MVP honors for the 1991 National League Championship Series. In the 1991 World Series, Avery earned no decision in two starts but pitched effectively in both game three and game six.
Avery married his girlfriend, Heather McMillan, on November 2, 1991.
[edit] Injuries And The End
In 1992, Avery lowered his ERA to 3.20, but his record fell off to 11-11, mostly due to the Braves' inability to score runs when he pitched. But he took the mound against the Pirates in the 1992 NLCS and extended his mastery of the Pirates to 22.1 innings before giving up five runs in the seventh inning of a Braves rout in game two. In his second start, Avery lasted only 1/3 of an inning. By the time he left, the Pirates had a 4-0 lead. He did, however, keep the Pirates at bay in the crucial middle innings of game seven in relief of John Smoltz. Avery's mastery kept the game close enough for Francisco Cabrera to perform his heroics.
Avery started game three of the 1992 World Series and was the losing pitcher in the first World Series game ever played outside the United States. He pitched effectively but lost, 3-2. In game six, he was pulled after giving up a home run to Candy Maldonado in the fourth inning. Avery appeared on his way to another loss, but a Braves rally extended the series into the eleventh inning before the Blue Jays won their first World Series and saddled hard-luck Charlie Leibrandt with the loss.
In 1993, Avery had his best season ever. He was selected to the All-Star team and had a record of 16-4 entering the September 12, 1993 game against the Padres. Avery lost and suffered an injury to a muscle under his pitching armpit. Avery was never again the same pitcher although he ended the year 18-6 with a 2.94 ERA. But he was outpitched early in game one of the 1993 NLCS by Curt Schilling. A late rally tied the game and got Avery off the hook, but the Braves still lost. In his second match-up with Schilling, the Braves again got Avery off the hook for the loss, and again lost the game in extra innings, 4-3.
Avery's career went rapidly downhill after his injury. His record after September 12, 1993, was 44-50 after compiling a 47-22 record from the beginning of 1991 until the injury. But he showed occasional flashes of his previous brilliance. In game four of the 1995 NLCS, Avery started with the Braves up three games to none over the Reds. He pitched an outstanding game and won, 6-0, to pitch the Braves into the World Series. In game four of the 1995 World Series, he was the surprise starter over Greg Maddux, and he was also the winner, 5-2. His only appearance in the 1996 World Series was in the bottom of the eleventh inning of game four, a game that saw the Braves blow a 6-0 lead en route to an 8-6 loss in the game that turned not only the series but the decade of the 1990s in baseball dominance. Avery was the loser in that game despite recording only two outs.
Avery was granted free agency on October 31, 1996. He pitched two years for the Boston Red Sox and was the number two starter behind Pedro Martinez. But he was finished as the brilliant pitcher who dazzled fans and batters in 1991. He played one year with the Reds, 1999, and was again granted free agency in October. He signed with the Braves but failed to make the club. In 2003, he made a brief comeback with the Detroit Tigers team that threatened to break the 120-loss record of the 1962 Mets. He made 19 relief appearances, including the final appearance of his career on July 20, 2003, at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. His final pitch was a double play caused when Paul Konerko lined to Avery and he threw Magglio Ordonez out before he was able to get back to first base. Avery left the field and was replaced the next inning by Danny Patterson.
In an eleven-season career, Avery posted a 96-83 record with 980 strikeouts and a 4.19 ERA in 1554 2/3 innings pitched.
[edit] Highlights
- All-Star (1993)
- National League Championship Series MVP (1991)
- 6th in Cy Young Award voting, 1991
- Led NL in games started (35, 1992)
- Set a record with 22 1/3 scoreless innings in the NLCS (1991-92)
[edit] Facts
- At age 21, Avery became the youngest pitcher to win a playoff game with an eight-inning six-hitter in Game Two of the 1991 NLCS.
[edit] External links
- Baseball Library (profile)
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
[edit] Trivia
- The local Applebee's in Taylor, MI contains a small shrine to the baseball player.
| Preceded by: Rob Dibble and Randy Myers |
National League Championship Series MVP 1991 |
Succeeded by: John Smoltz |
