Tyler Clippard
From BR Bullpen
Tyler Lee Clippard
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 170 lb.
- High School J.W. Mitchell High School
- Debut May 20, 2007
- Born February 14, 1985 in Lexington, KY USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Tyler Clippard became the 7th rookie to start a game on the mound for the 2007 Yankees in mid-May.
Clippard was chosen by the New York Yankees in the 9th round of the 2003 amateur draft and signed. He debuted that year with the GCL Yankees, going 3-3 with a 2.89 ERA. In 43 2/3 IP, he allowed 33 hits and 5 walks while striking out 56. Moving up to the Battle Creek Yankees in 2004, Clippard had a 10-10, 3.44 record with a K:BB ratio of 4.53:1.
The right-hander was 10-9 with a 3.18 ERA for the 2005 Tampa Yankees. Opponents hit .219 against him and he struck out 169 in 147 1/3 IP while walking 34. He also made one appearance each for the Charleston RiverDogs (0-1, 7.50, 10 K in 6 IP) and the Columbus Clippers (one scoreless inning, 2 K). He led Yankees farmhands in strikeouts and finished fifth in the affiliated minor leagues, behind Francisco Liriano, Joel Zumaya, Rich Hill and Chuck James. He also led the Florida State League in strikeouts and was 7th in ERA. He failed to make the FSL post-season All-Star team and Baseball America did not rank him as one of the league's top prospects.
Moving up to AA in 2006, Tyler again led Yankee farmhands in strikeouts (175). He allowed just a .200 batting average and had three times as many strikeouts as walks. Clippard was 12-10 with a 3.35 ERA for the Trenton Thunder. He threw the first no-hitter in franchise history on August 17, shutting down the Harrisburg Senators. He also won 9 straight games at one point, breaking the club record of 8 shared by Tomo Ohka and Carl Pavano. He teamed with Philip Hughes to form the top 1-2 duo in the Eastern League. Clippard again was fifth in the affiliated minors in strikeouts, trailing Yovani Gallardo, Francisco Cruceta, Matt Maloney and Franklin Morales. He led the EL in strikeouts and was 7th in ERA, between Devern Hansack and Chris Begg. Baseball America ranked him as the #10 prospect in the EL between Humberto Sanchez and Jonathan Sanchez.
Clippard began 2007 with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA in his first 8 starts, striking out 41 in 39 2/3 IP but allowing 40 hits and 17 walks. When Darrell Rasner broke his finger in May, Clippard was called up to New York. He became the 7th rookie to start a game for the 2007 Yankees, following Hughes, Matt DeSalvo, Rasner, Chase Wright, Kei Igawa and Jeff Karstens.
In his major league debut, Clippard allowed one run on 3 hits in 6 innings against the Mets with a second-inning homer by David Wright the sole tally against him. Tyler also doubled off of Scott Schoeneweis in the sixth inning. It was his third plate appearance since high school; the other two had come earlier in the game. Clippard was 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA in six starts for New York, walking 17 in 27 innings. In the minors, he was 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and 2-1, 5.40 for Trenton.
In the winter of 2007, Clippard was sent to the Washington Nationals in return for Jonathan Albaladejo.
Sources: 2007 Yankees Media Guide, 2004-2007 Baseball Almanacs, A story on Clippard's MLB debut
