Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Red Raiders in Major League Baseball
October 04, 2010 | Baseball
Oct. 4, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech baseball program had six former players on Major League Baseball rosters during the 2010 season. Overall, 20 former Red Raiders have played in the big leagues. Here is a look at how the current Tech alums did during the past regular season which ended Sunday.
Josh Bard (Catcher - Seattle Mariners)
- In his ninth big-league season, Bard played in 39 games for the Mariners behind the plate. He batted .214 (24-for-112) with nine runs, seven doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI. It marked his sixth season in the American League. Bard has played for five organizations, including Cleveland, San Diego, Washington, Boston and Seattle. He has played in 560 career games with a .256 batting average. Bard owns 435 career hits, 105 doubles, 37 home runs and 209 RBI. Bard was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the third round of the 1999 MLB Draft.
Dallas Braden (Starting Pitcher - Oakland Athletics)
- The 2010 season marked Dallas Braden's fourth in the big leagues, but it will be remembered as his breakthrough campaign. Braden, a 24th round draft pick by Oakland in 2004, pitched the 19th perfect game in Major League Baseball history on May 9, 2010, against the Tampa Bay Rays in a 4-0 victory. He claimed perfection throwing 109 pitches (77 strikes) with six strikeouts. It was the first perfect game in MLB history against an opponent who entered the day with the best record in baseball. It was the second perfect game by an Oakland pitcher (Catfish Hunter, vs. Minnesota - 5/8/68) and the sixth no-hitter for the A's, and first since Dave Stewart on June 29, 1990 against Toronto. He later threw two complete games in a two-week span, dominating the Chicago White Sox (9.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 5 SO) on July 31 and then defeating Seattle 5-1 (9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 6 SO) on Aug. 11. Both of those performances were on the road. Then he pitched a complete-game shutout (5-0) on the road against the Texas Rangers while throwing 120 pitches (86 strikes) with one strikeout and not allowing a walk. He wasn't done with dominating performances as he delivered a one-hitter through eight innings with seven strikeouts against the Rangers - this time in Oakland on Sept. 23. The A's defeated the Rangers 5-0. He finished the season 11-14 with a 3.50 ERA in 192.2 innings pitched. He tallied five complete games, two shutouts and had 113 strikeouts while allowing 43 walks. Braden got the win in the A's season finale, pitching 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts. The Athletics defeated Seattle 4-3 on the final day of the season to claim second place in the American League West.
Jeff Karstens (Starting Pitcher - Pittsburgh Pirates)
- In his fifth major league season - third with the Pittsburgh Pirates - Jeff Karstens went 3-10 with a 4.92 ERA in 19 starts (26 appearances) while tossing 122.2 innings. A 19th round draft pick by the New York Yankees in 2003, Karstens made his big-league debut Aug. 22, 2006, as a member of the Yankees at age 23. In 2010, Karstens made 11 starts pitching at least six innings, including seven during the final four months of the season. During his MLB career, Karstens has 12 wins, a 5.07 ERA in 339.1 innings pitched with 50 starts (89 appearances).
Dustin Richardson (Relief Pitcher - Boston Red Sox)
- Richardson made 26 appearances this season, his second in the big leagues. He made his MLB debut in 2009 with the Red Sox and this season logged 13.0 innings with a 4.15 ERA while allowing 15 hits and 14 walks with 12 strikeouts. Richardson owns a career 3.31 ERA in 16.1 innings with 29 appearances. Richardson has spent his entire professional career in the Red Sox' organization after being selected by Boston in the fifth round of the 2006 draft.
Chris Sampson (Relief Pitcher - Houston Astros)
- Chris Sampson closed his fifth major league season - all with Houston - as he pitched in 35 games in 2010 with a 5.93 ERA with a 1-0 record in 30.1 innings. An eighth round draft pick out of Texas Tech by the Astros in 1999, Sampson owns a 20-15 career big-league record in 174 appearances (33 starts). He has pitched in 358.2 innings with 176 strikeouts and has allowed 87 walks.
Josh Tomlin (Starting Pitcher - Cleveland Indians)
- After making his big-league debut on July 27, 2010, Josh Tomlin emerged as one of the top starting pitchers for the Indians during the final two months of the season. In fact, in his second to last outing, Tomlin pitched his first career complete game. He held Kansas City to just three runs on four hits in the victory. Tomlin made 12 starts with a 6-4 record and 4.56 ERA in 73.0 innings this season. He struck out 43 batters during his rookie campaign with 19 walks allowed. Tomlin was a 19th round draft pick by Cleveland in the 2006 MLB Draft.
