Noah Lowry
San Francisco Giants — No. 51 | |
Starting Pitcher | |
Born: October 10, 1980 | |
Bats: Right | Throws: Left |
Major League Baseball debut | |
September 5, 2003 for the San Francisco Giants | |
Selected MLB statistics (through August 5, 2007) |
|
Wins-Losses | 38-30 |
Earned Run Average | 3.90 |
Strikeouts | 409 |
Teams | |
|
Noah Ryan Lowry (born October 10, 1980 in Ventura, California) is a left-handed starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.
He was first drafted out of high school by the Texas Rangers in the 19th round of the 1999 MLB amateur draft, but instead opted to attend Pepperdine University, where he roomed with Dan Haren. At Pepperdine, Lowry went 14-2 with a 1.71 ERA as a junior. After his college career, he was drafted and signed by the Giants in the first round (30th overall) of the 2001 amateur draft.
With only average velocity on his fastball, Lowry was not widely regarded as a top prospect, and did not make Baseball America's list of team's ten best prospects in either 2003 or 2004. However, he has found quick success in the major leagues, largely thanks to his changeup, which has been ranked among the National League's best.
Following a September call-up in 2003, Lowry enjoyed a very successful partial rookie year in 2004, going 6-0, which is second in San Francisco Giants franchise history only to that of Kirk Rueter who went 10-0 to start his rookie career. Lowry had a 3.82 ERA over 92 innings (14 starts). He was named the National League's player of the week for the week of August 9.
In 2005, he started out poorly with a 5.07 ERA in his 18 starts before the all-star break, but improved greatly in the second half, posting an 8-4 record and 2.43 ERA after the all-star break. Lowry's best month came in August, when he went 5-0 with a 0.69 ERA and earned pitcher of the month honors. He finished the season with a 13-13 record, 3.78 ERA, and 172 strikeouts in 205 2/3 innings. When Kirk Rueter was released in July 2005, Lowry was the only left-handed starting pitcher on the Giants' staff.
In spring training 2006, Lowry was rewarded for his 2005 performance with 4 year $9.25 million dollar deal. At the time, Lowry received the second largest contract for a pitcher with one full season of big-league service [1]. Lowry received a $1 million signing bonus and $385,000 salary for 2006. The contract gurantees him totals of $1.115 million for 2007, $2.25 million for 2008, and $4.5 million for 2009. The contract includes a 2010 option for $6.25 million that will be activated automatically if a certain number of starts, innings and Cy Young Award vote placement is achieved. The 2010 option also includes another $1.5 million in incentives.
2006 was a rough year for Lowry. Lowry went 7-10 with a 4.74 ERA in only 159 1/3 innings. Starting the home opener, Lowry was removed from the game in the second inning due to an oblique strain. Lowry missed the first month of the season. Lowry suffered from an elbow injury in September. On an April 19, 2007 telecast, Giants announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper told viewers that Lowry explained his problems in 2006 as being caused by bad habits and bad mechanics that were initially caused by the injuries.
Lowry throws a changeup, a fastball, a curveball, and a slider. Lowry's signature pitch is his changeup that has tailing downward action and is usually thrown with velocity in the 70's. His four-seam fastball is currently thrown between 85-89 miles per hour. On past occasions, Lowry has thrown his fastball in the low 90's. His fastball has been recorded as high as 94. Lowry's curveball is typically thrown in the mid to upper 70's with a 9 to 5 break. Lowry occasionally throws a slider in the low 80's.
Lowry, who bats right-handed, is also known as one of the best hitting pitchers in the National League, with a career batting average of .170. When he was called up in September of 2003, he hit a double in his first career at-bat. In 2005, he hit .271, drove in seven runs, and had six extra base hits in 59 at bats. On July 8th, 2006, he hit his first career home run off of Derek Lowe in an 11-7 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Lowry is only the second player named Noah to reach the major leagues, after Noah Richard "Red" Proctor, who pitched in two games and posted an ERA of 13.50 for the Chicago White Sox in 1923.
On June 8, 2007, Lowry played in right field in an extra inning ballgame when backup catcher Eliezer Alfonzo was injured in the 10th inning. Having used all of their position players, the Giants put Lowry in right field, Randy Winn at third base, and Pedro Feliz at catcher. He was the first pitcher to play in the field since Jason Simontacchi did it in 2004 [2]
He spends his offseason in San Diego, CA
Career Stats
- 2003/SFG: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 K, 2 BB
- 2004/SFG: 6-0, 3.82 ERA, 72 K, 28 BB
- 2005/SFG: 13-13, 3.78 ERA, 171 K, 76 BB
- 2006/SFG: 7-10, 4.74 ERA, 84 K, 56 BB
- 2007/SFG: 12-7, 3.32 ERA, 76 K, 72 BB IN PROGRESS
TOTALS: 38-30, 3.90, 409 K, 234 BB
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Noah Lowry at ESPN.com
- http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=430161