Mike Cather
| Mike Cather | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: December 17, 1970 San Diego, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 13, 1997, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 12, 1999, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 5–6 |
| Earned run average | 3.42 |
| Strikeouts | 62 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Michael Peter Cather (born December 17, 1970) is an American professional baseball coach and a former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) in three seasons (1997–99) for the Atlanta Braves. In 2016, he was named minor league pitching coordinator of the Miami Marlins.[1]
Born in San Diego, California, Cather also pitched in the organizations of the Texas Rangers, Florida Marlins, and St. Louis Cardinals during a ten-year pro career.[2] He is listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Pitching career
[edit]He attended the University of California at Berkeley where he participated in college baseball. In college, he had pitched in the 1992 College World Series.[2] He was drafted in the 41st round of the 1993 free-agent draft by the Texas Rangers and was signed on June 5, 1993.[2][3] On June 14, 1995, he was released by the Texas Rangers and was purchased by the Atlanta Braves from Winnipeg (Northern) on February 2, 1996.[3]
Cather made his major league debut on July 13, 1997 at age 26 with the Atlanta Braves.[3] On that day, the New York Mets were playing against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field with 42,111 people attending the game.[4] In the top of the seventh inning, Cather was called to replace Keith Lockhart pitching and batting ninth.[4] He pitched two innings, striking out one batter and allowing only one base on balls.[2] At the end of the game, the Atlanta Braves lost against the New york Mets with the score at 7–6.[4]
He did not allow an earned run over his first eight games.[2] He earned his first major-league win on September 22 in the Braves’ 11-inning, 3–2 win against the Montreal Expos, the same night the Braves earned the National League Eastern Division title.[2] In the National League Division Series that year, he pitched two scoreless innings in Game 2 against the Houston Astros and did not allow a run over four games in the National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins.[2]
In the 1998 season, he played and made it on the Opening Day roster.[2] On August 31 of the same season, Cather was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to a circulatory problem of Cather's right arm.[2] He had surgery in October in order to remove his first rib on his right side, which was impinging on an artery (thoracic outlet syndrome).[2] He then was able to play the 1999 season, playing his last Major League Baseball game on April 12, 1999, and was granted free agency on October 15.[3] In 2000, he played Triple-A in Minor League Baseball in the Florida Marlins organization.[2] In 2001, he played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
Instructor, coach and scout
[edit]Cather became a private instructor for pitchers from 2001 to 2005. In 2006, he joined the Boston Red Sox organization as the pitching coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A Carolina League. He was promoted in 2007 to be the pitching coach for the Portland Sea Dogs of the Double-A Eastern League and spent three seasons in that post. In 2010–11, he was one of the MLB Red Sox' advance scouts.[5][6] He then returned to coaching in 2012 when he was named the roving minor league pitching coordinator of the San Diego Padres.[7]
After two years in that position, he was named the 2014 pitching coach of the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Padres' affiliate in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.[8] Then, in December 2014, Cather joined the Chicago Cubs' organization as pitching coach of the 2015 Triple-A Iowa Cubs,[9] holding that post for one season before rejoining the Marlins as minor league pitching coordinator.
On July 11, 2017, Cather was named the pitching coach for Arizona State University.[10] On June 15, 2019, Cather was relieved of his duties as pitching coach at Arizona State.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Transactions, The Associated Press, Jan. 8, 2016
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Baseball biography". www.tireball.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Baseball Reference". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ a b c "New York Mets against Atlanta Braves on July 13, 1997". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Red Sox complete 2007 Minor League managerial staff with appointment of Jon Deeble at Single-A Lowell". boston.redsox.mlb.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2007. Retrieved August 23, 2008.
- ^ "Sea Dogs 2010 Staff Announced - Sports News Story - WMTW Portland". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
- ^ "[[Portland Press Herald]], 2011-11-17". Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
- ^ milv.com
- ^ Birch, Tommy (December 17, 2014). "Will Iowa Cubs fans see Kris Bryant in D.M. next year?". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
- ^ "Sun Devil Baseball Announces Mike Cather as Pitching Coach". www.thesundevils.com. Sun Devil Athletics. July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- ^ Jack Harris (June 15, 2019). "Report: ASU parting ways with pitching coach Mike Cather". www.247sports.com. CBS Interactive Sports. Retrieved July 22, 2019.