Daniel Bard

Daniel Paul Bard (born June 25, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Bard had been previously selected in the 20th round with the 604th overall selection out of high school by the New York Yankees in the 2003 MLB draft, but did not sign.

At the midpoint of the 2004 season, Baseball America named Bard the top freshman pitcher in the U.S., and gave him Freshman All-America honors.

For his season's work, Bard was named to the Baseball America All-Freshman second team, and was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball.

He was Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) freshman of the year, and earned first-team all-conference honors.

In 16 games pitched, Bard was 8–4 with a 3.88 earned run average (ERA); his eight wins tied the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball freshman record.

For the 2005 season, Bard was named preseason first-team All-America by Baseball America and was named preseason third-team All-America by Collegiate Baseball and by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Bard went 7–5 with a 4.22 ERA in 16 starts.

and was third in the ACC in opponents' batting average at .219.

He was named to the Roger Clemens Award watch list.

Bard was a second-team summer All-American selection in the 2005 Cape Cod League after a successful summer with the Wareham Gatemen, where he led the league in innings pitched and strikeouts, while finishing third in ERA.

Bard and fellow North Carolina left-hander Andrew Miller were rated the top two prospects in the Cape Cod League.

Bard and Miller led North Carolina to the College World Series, where they lost to Oregon State, two games to one.

He finished his junior year with a 9–4 record and a 3.64 ERA in 17 starts.

He earned ACC pitcher of the week honors twice during the 2006 season.

On June 6, 2006, Bard was selected in the first round (28th overall) of the 2006 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox.

He was selected as a compensation pick from the New York Yankees for the signing of Johnny Damon.

On September 4, Bard signed with the team.

He admitted he had enrolled in classes at the University of North Carolina as a backup plan in case a deal with the Red Sox was not finalized in time.

Drafted as a starting pitcher, Bard spent the 2007 season in the same role, starting all 22 of his appearances with the Greenville Drive and Lancaster JetHawks.

He posted a 7.05 ERA between the two levels, and walked 78 batters in 75 1⁄3 innings pitched.

Because of the poor success starting, at the end of the 2007 season he was moved into the bullpen to pitch as a reliever.

While pitching out of the bullpen for the Honolulu Sharks of the Hawaii Winter Baseball league, Bard put up a 1.08 ERA in 16 appearances.

His control remained an issue, but with some improvement.

Remaining in the bullpen during 2008, Bard split time between the Greenville Drive and Portland Sea Dogs.

He posted a 1.51 ERA and had 107 strikeouts in 77 2⁄3 innings of work, and was named the 2008 Minor League Pitcher of the Year by the Red Sox.

He previously played for the Boston Red Sox from 2009 to 2013.

Bard began the 2009 season with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.

He faced 58 batters in 16 innings, giving up six hits and striking out 29.

Of those six hits, two were home runs.

On May 10, 2009, Red Sox pitcher Javier López was designated for assignment, and Bard was called up from Triple-A.

On May 13, 2009, he made his major-league debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, pitching two scoreless innings in an 8–4 loss.

Bard made his debut at Fenway Park on May 20, against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 8th inning.

He gave up two hits on the first two pitches thrown, eventually giving up a run.

He pitched 2⁄3 of an inning before being replaced by left-hander Hideki Okajima after the second out, leaving two runners on base.

In 2011, Bard set a Red Sox team record with 25 consecutive scoreless appearances.

His highest velocity pitch was 102 mph. In subsequent years, Bard experienced a loss of control over his pitches, derailing his playing career.

After pitching in only two major league games in 2013, he played for several minor league teams before retiring in 2017 to become a player mentor.

In 2020, Bard returned as a player after regaining his control, earned a spot on the Rockies' MLB roster, and went on to win the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award as their closing pitcher.

Bard attended Charlotte Christian School and then played college baseball at the University of North Carolina.