Clayton Richard
From BR Bullpen
Clayton Colby Richard
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 5", Weight 225 lb.
- School University of Michigan
- High School McCutcheon High School
- Debut July 23, 2008
- Born September 12, 1983 in Lafayette, IN USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Clayton Richard was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the eighth round of the 2005 amateur draft. He was a highly-touted high school quarterback and played both football and baseball at the University of Michigan. In 2003, Rivals.com rated Richard as the best high school football prospect in the state of Indiana, and the fourth best pro-style quarterback in the country. After failing to win the starting QB job with the Wolverines, the left-hander dedicated himself to a professional baseball career. He won 9 games during his first two seasons in the White Sox organization.
The Wolverines opted to redshirt Richard during his freshman season at Michigan. He battled for the starting quarterback position during his second season, but lost to Chad Henne. He completed eight passes in fifteen attempts off the bench in 2004. The following spring, Richard appeared in 21 games for Michigan's baseball team, he was 0-1, with 5 saves and a 2.43 ERA. He signed with the White Sox in 2005.
Richard made a successful transition to professional baseball as his ERA was 2.85 in 10 games with the 2005 Great Falls White Sox. His strikeout totals have been rather low, but he has induced high groundball rates and kept hitters in the park - allowing just five home runs in his first 35 games. Richard went 8-12 with a 3.63 ERA with Winston-Salem in 2007. He made his debut with the White Sox in 2008, going 2-5, 6.04 in 13 games. In 2009, he started the year with the White Sox, then was sent to the San Diego Padres as part of the Jake Peavy trade. He was 4-3, 4.65 in 25 games as a swingman for Chicago, then 5-2, 4.08 as a full-time starter with San Diego. He had a breakout season for the Padres in 2010, making 33 starts with a record of 14-9, 3.75 and his first career shutout. He pitched over 200 innings and recorded 153 strikeouts that year.
Clayton was limited to 18 starts in 2011, and although his ERA was decent at 3.88 (a 92 ERA+), he was playing in a pitcher's park in front of an anemic offense, resulting in a record of only 5-9.
Although he has had generally poor results as a hitter in the major leagues, Richard is known to put quite a show in batting practice, launching long balls frequently, and generally showing the excellent athleticism that made him a successful quarterback in high school and college. In spite of hitting around .100 as a pitcher, he was successful in his first two lifetime opportunities as a pinch-hitter. The second, on May 20, 2012, was particularly dramatic: he was called to hit with 2 outs in the 13th inning against David Pauley of the Los Angeles Angels, and broke out of an 0-for-16 slump for the season by getting a single; he then came in to score the winning run when the next batter, Will Venable, launched a hit to left that was misplayed by the out-of-position Howie Kendrick.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2010)
