Hunter Strickland

Hunter Drew Strickland (born September 24, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Angels organization.

He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds.

Strickland was born on September 24, 1988, in Thomaston, Georgia, United States.

Strickland was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 18th round, 564th overall pick, of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft.

He made his professional debut with the GCL Red Sox, logging a 6.04 ERA in 9 appearances.

The next year, he played for the Low-A Lowell Spinners, and pitched to a 5-3 record and 3.18 ERA in 15 games.

He was assigned to the Single-A Greenville Drive to begin the 2009 season, and posted a 5-4 record and 3.35 ERA in 83.1 innings of work.

On July 22, 2009, Strickland was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Argenis Díaz in exchange for Adam LaRoche.

He finished the year with the Single-A West Virginia Power, registering a 4-2 record and 3.77 ERA in 8 games.

He split the 2010 season between West Virginia and the High-A Bradenton Marauders, accumulating a 2-5 record and 5.53 ERA with 25 strikeouts.

However, his season was cut short due to a right elbow strain.

He missed the entire 2011 season with a rotator cuff injury that required surgery.

In 2012, he split the year between the Double-A Altoona Curve and Bradenton, logging a 4-4 record and 3.70 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 33 appearances.

On November 20, 2012, the Pirates added Strickland to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.

On March 27, 2013, Strickland was designated for assignment by the Pirates.

On April 2, 2013, Strickland was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco Giants.

Strickland underwent Tommy John surgery in May and was designated for assignment on July 23, 2013, and released the next day, but re-signed on a minor league contract with the Giants 5 days later.

He was re-added to the Giants' 40-man roster on November 20, 2013.

After recording a 2.02 ERA in 38 appearances for the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels, Strickland was called up to the majors for the first time on September 1, 2014.

He pitched one scoreless inning of relief against the Colorado Rockies later that day.

In the 2014 regular season, Strickland appeared in 9 games, allowing 5 hits and no runs in 7.0 innings pitched.

In Game 1 of the 2014 National League Division Series versus the Washington Nationals, Strickland entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning and struck out Ian Desmond to preserve the Giants' lead.

In Game 2, Strickland recorded the save in the longest (by time, tied for longest in innings) playoff game in Major League history, as the Giants defeated the Nationals 2–1 in 18 innings.

However, Strickland set a postseason record for a reliever by allowing six home runs, even though the Giants went on to defeat the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 World Series.

He received widespread criticism for his role in starting the brawl, as sports analysts and Harper have suggested that the intentional hit-by-pitch was the result of a grudge from the two home runs by Harper against him in the 2014 National League Division Series, a series the Giants ended up winning in 4 games en route to a World Series championship.

The next day, on May 30, he was suspended for six games.

With Mark Melancon heading to the disabled list at the beginning of the season, Strickland was named the Giants closer.

He earned his first save in a 1-0 victory on Opening Day against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

While playing against the Miami Marlins on June 18, Strickland allowed three runs, blowing a save, and the Giants lost 5–4.

Shortly after a pitching change, Strickland punched a door out of frustration, which wound up fracturing his right hand.

Strickland underwent surgery the next day, when the pinkie finger on his right hand was repaired.

Strickland was ruled out for 6-8 weeks.

Strickland started the 2015 season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, posting a 1.66 ERA in 21.2 innings, before being called up on May 24, 2015.

Strickland did not yield a home run until August 3, a string of 188 batters between Triple-A and the majors.

In 2015, Strickland appeared in 55 games, recording a 2.45 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 51.1 innings pitched.

Strickland's 0.857 WHIP was the third-lowest among relievers with at least 50 innings pitched.

In 2016, Strickland was named to the opening day Major League roster for the first time in his career.

He remained in the Giants bullpen throughout the season, collecting an ERA in the low 3's.

In a May 29, 2017, game against the Washington Nationals, Strickland hit Bryce Harper's right hip with a 98-mph fastball, which resulted in a benches-clearing brawl.

Strickland had to be physically removed from the field by teammates after exchanging several punches with Harper.