Carl Pavano

Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player.

At Southington, Pavano led the baseball team to a state championship in 1994.

Pavano initially committed to play college baseball at Louisiana State.

In 1996, with the A level Michigan Battle Cats, he was 6–6 with a 3.44 ERA in 22 starts.

This earned him a number of honors including Baseball America first team Minor League All-Star, Double-A All-Star, Eastern League All-Star & Pitcher of the Year and Red Sox minor league player of the year.

In 1997, with the AA Trenton Thunder, he was 16–5 with a 2.63 ERA in 26 starts and was selected as a Triple-A All-Star.

In November, he was sent to Montreal, along with pitcher Tony Armas Jr., in a trade that brought Pedro Martínez to Boston.

A right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Minnesota Twins.

Pavano made his Major League debut on May 23, 1998 by starting and pitching seven strong innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.

He allowed one run and struck out six while allowing no walks.

He recorded his first win on June 2, 1998 when he pitched 7.1 innings, also against the Phillies.

Pavano is well known for giving up Mark McGwire's 70th home run in the 1998 season.

He pitched four and one-half seasons for the Expos, making 78 starts and had a record of 24–35 and an ERA of 4.83.

Pavano was traded to the Florida Marlins in the middle of the season (with Graeme Lloyd, Mike Mordecai and Justin Wayne) for Cliff Floyd, Wilton Guerrero and Claudio Vargas.

Despite having been plagued by injuries, Pavano became an important part of Florida's starting rotation and had a highly successful postseason in for the World Series champion Marlins.

He started Game 4 of the Series against the Yankees, holding New York to one run over eight innings in a game the Marlins would go on to win, 4–3, in extra innings.

Pavano followed up his playoff exploits with his best season to date in, posting an 18–8 record and a 3.00 ERA.

He was a member of the 2003 World Series champions and appeared in the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Pavano became a free agent following the season and, despite receiving bigger offers from Boston, Detroit, and Cincinnati, chose to accept a four-year contract worth $39.95 million with the New York Yankees on December 20, 2004.

He signed with the Yankees in 2005, where he became known for his frequent injuries during his four year stint with the team.

Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Pavano graduated from Southington High School in Southington, Connecticut, the alma mater of former major league pitcher Rob Dibble.

Pavano began the 2005 season with quality starts in seven of his first 10 appearances, compiling a 4–2 record and a 3.69 ERA.

However, in June of that year, he injured his right shoulder and went on the disabled list.

Pavano made 17 starts and finished 4–6 with a 4.77 ERA.

The Yankees expected him to be healthy for the 2006 season, but Pavano began the season on the disabled list after bruising his buttocks in a spring training game.

He did not pitch at all in the Majors in 2006, making only minor league rehab starts.

On August 15, 2006, Pavano broke two ribs in an automobile accident after he hit another vehicle with his Porsche in West Palm Beach, Florida.

His girlfriend at the time, Gia Allemand, was with him in the car.

However, he did not tell the Yankees about the incident until August 28, the day they informed him that they planned for him to come off the disabled list to play that Thursday.

In spring training in 2007, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina said that Pavano needed to prove that he wanted to pitch for the team.

Mussina said he did not believe he was the only Yankee who felt this way.

"It didn't look good from a player's and teammate's standpoint," Mussina said of Pavano's injuries.

"Was everything just coincidence? Over and over again? I don't know."

Manager Joe Torre explained that the amount of work Pavano needed to do in repairing his clubhouse image was "sizable."

Later that season, after ace Chien-Ming Wang injured his right hamstring late in spring training, the Yankees chose Pavano to start on Opening Day against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Yankee Stadium.

On April 15, 2007, Pavano was placed on the 15-day DL with what was described as an "elbow strain".

On May 23, 2007, it was reported that Pavano would opt for Tommy John surgery on his elbow.

In December 2007, the Yankee organization asked Pavano to accept a minor league contract to clear space on their 40-man roster.

Pavano's retired jersey (number 14) still hangs (unretired as of 2011).

Pavano was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 13th round (355th overall) of the amateur draft.