Scott Kazmir

Scott Edward Kazmir (born January 24, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who participated in 15 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons between and, most notably with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Kazmir was born and raised in the Houston, Texas area and gained the attention of MLB scouts as a award-winning multi-sport high school athlete.

At 22 years, 2 months and 10 days Kazmir was the youngest opening day starter since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1986.

He lost the decision after 6 ER in 4 IP, but his first full major league season was a success overall, with a record of 10–8 (on a Devil Rays team that lost 101 games) with 163 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA in 144.2 innings.

Kazmir often pitched best when facing the opponent's ace starter; he won decisions against Cy Young winner Roy Halladay, two-time 20 game winner Jamie Moyer, two-time All-Star and 20 game winner Dontrelle Willis, 2001 World Series co-MVP and 3-time 20 game winner Curt Schilling, and 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett.

He was chosen in the first round (15th overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets and quickly progressed through the lower levels of the club's minor league system.

He was one of the top pitching prospects in when the Mets sent him to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a trade deadline deal that has been listed as one of the most lopsided in recent major league history.

However, after he was drafted in the first round (15th overall) of the 2002 MLB draft by the New York Mets, he decided to sign a professional baseball contract and did not attend college.

His high school teammate Clint Everts was selected 5th overall by the Montreal Expos, and they became the first pair of pitchers from the same high school team to be drafted in the first round.

Kazmir quickly advanced through the lower level of the Mets' minor league system.

He led the minor leagues in strikeouts per nine innings in 2003 and was promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Class AA Eastern League in July during his second full season of pro baseball.

A few weeks later on July 30, he was traded along with minor league pitcher Joselo Díaz to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for veteran starting pitcher Víctor Zambrano and minor league reliever Bartolomé Fortunato.

The trade was widely criticized by the New York media and fan base at the time, and given Kazmir's subsequent success and the limited contributions from the oft-injured Zambrano, the trade has often been mentioned as one of the most uneven trading deadline deals in major league history.

The Devil Rays sent Kazmir to their Class AA affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League, where he started four games, throwing 25 innings and allowing 14 hits while striking out 24.

In late August, Tampa Bay called him up to the major leagues, bypassing the Triple-A level altogether.

The Devil Rays soon called him up to the major leagues, and he made his MLB debut as a 20 year old in August 2004.

Kazmir quickly became a mainstay in Tampa Bay's starting rotation, winning at least 10 games in each of his four complete seasons with the club at a time when the team lost at least 90 games per year.

He was named to his first All Star team in, led the American League with 239 strikeouts in , and is still among Tampa Bay's all-time leaders in many pitching categories, including strikeouts, earned run average (ERA), wins, and games started.

Kazmir made his major league debut on August 23, 2004, pitching five shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners.

He initially struggled with his control and had a 2–3 record and an ERA of 5.67 in 8 appearances (7 starts) in 2004, but he showed potential by striking out 11.07 batters per nine innings.

On September 9, Kazmir made his only relief appearance with the Rays, allowing one run in three innings against the Yankees.

Kazmir started the season opener April 3 at Baltimore.

On June 22, 2006, Scott Kazmir passed Sandy Koufax and put himself in the 22nd spot in MLB history for most strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher before his 23rd birthday.

He also picked up his team leading ninth victory in the process.

On July 2, 2006, Kazmir was elected by the players to appear in the 2006 MLB All-Star Game, his first all-star appearance.

The next day, he threw his first (and thus far only) complete game shutout, blanking the Boston Red Sox in Tropicana Field on 2 hits while striking out 10.

Kazmir missed time due to injury in and early, and the Rays dealt him to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at the 2009 trade deadline.

Continuing issues with his health and pitching mechanics reduced his effectiveness over the following seasons and the Angels released him in June 2011.

Kazmir did not sign with any major league organization over the next season and a half as he independently sought to regain his form.

He returned to the majors with the Cleveland Indians in and placed third in voting for American League Comeback Player of the Year after winning ten games.

He then signed a two-year contract with the Oakland Athletics and continued his resurgence, as he was named an All-Star and earned a career high 15 wins in.

The A's dealt Kazmir to his hometown Houston Astros at the 2015 trade deadline, and he signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the season.

Kazmir won 10 games for the Dodgers in, but a series of injuries kept him out of the big leagues for the final two years of his contract, and he remained unsigned in 2019.

He began another comeback in 2020 with an independent minor league team and returned to the major leagues in with the San Francisco Giants, for whom he started four games.

Also in 2021, Kazmir was selected as a member of the United States national baseball team for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where he started and won the quarterfinal game.

Kazmir attended Cypress Falls High School in Harris County, Texas.

He played both varsity baseball and junior varsity football at the school until his junior year, when he decided to focus on baseball to great success.

During one stretch on the high school baseball diamond, Kazmir threw five no-hitters in six games: four consecutive no-hitters, then a one-hit game, then another no-hitter.

As a senior, he struck out 172 batters in 75 innings pitched and had an earned run average (ERA) of 0.37.

Kazmir was recruited by several major college baseball programs and verbally committed to play for the Texas Longhorns baseball team.