Jeff Suppan

Jeff Suppan
Suppan with the Milwaukee Brewers
Pitcher
Born: (1975-01-02) January 2, 1975 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 17, 1995, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
May 28, 2012, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	140–146
Earned run average	4.70
Strikeouts	1,390
Teams
Boston Red Sox (1995–1997) Arizona Diamondbacks (1998) Kansas City Royals (1998–2002) Pittsburgh Pirates (2003) Boston Red Sox (2003) St. Louis Cardinals (2004–2006) Milwaukee Brewers (2007–2010) St. Louis Cardinals (2010) San Diego Padres (2012)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2006) NLCS MVP (2006)

Jeffrey Scot Suppan (/ˈsuːpɑːn/;^[1] born January 2, 1975), known as Jeff Suppan, is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres.

Baseball career

Suppan was drafted out of high school (Crespi Carmelite High School) by the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 1993 amateur draft, and rapidly ascended to the Majors making his debut at the age of 20.

Boston Red Sox

He played with the Red Sox through the 1997 season. In his first three seasons, Suppan compiled a 9-6 record, his 1997 season marked his only season in Boston in which he made more than 10 starts. Although his record was 7-3 in 1997, his ERA was 5.69 in 22 starts.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Suppan was picked up by the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. In his lone season with Arizona, Suppan was 1-7 in 13 starts with a 6.68 ERA.

Kansas City Royals

Late in the 1998 season, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. Suppan was a mainstay for the Royals rotation, averaging 33 starts and 10 wins through his 4 seasons with the team. From 1999 to 2001, Suppan won 10 games in each season. In 2002, Suppan suffered his worst season as a Royal, going 9-16 in 33 starts.

Pittsburgh Pirates

In 2003, he opened the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates after signing a one-year deal with them in January.^[2] Through 21 starts, Suppan was 10-7 with a 3.57 ERA for the Pirates.

Second Stint with Boston

Suppan was dealt at the trading deadline back to the Red Sox for their playoff stretch run. Suppan did not perform well during Boston's stretch run. He went 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA and surrendering 12 home runs.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals signed Suppan as a free agent in 2004, and he embarked upon a career year, posting a 16–9 record and a 4.16 earned run average, with 110 strikeouts, 65 walks, and 192 hits allowed in 188 innings. Suppan helped lead the Cards to the 2004 World Series, where he started Game 3. His major base running mess up in game 3 was one of the defining moments of the World Series.

In 2005 he improved on his previous year's performance, going 16–10 with a 3.57 ERA. He started Game 4 of the National League Championship series against the Houston Astros, allowing one run over five innings but came away with a no-decision after the Astros took the lead later in the game.

Suppan has hit two career Major League home runs, both off Steve Trachsel of the New York Mets. His first was on September 10, 2005. The Cardinals won the game 4–2.^[3] He hit his second in Game 3 of the 2006 National League Championship Series. The Cardinals would win the game 5–0 to take a 2–1 lead in the series.

Suppan started Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS against the New York Mets. He did not factor in the decision, giving up only one run in seven innings, but the Cardinals won 3–1, earning him the National League Championship Series MVP.^[4] Suppan in the 2006 NLCS had a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings pitched.

Milwaukee Brewers

During the 2006 offseason Suppan signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.^[5]

Initial excitement in Milwaukee quickly waned as Suppan's performance declined over time. From 2007 to 2009, his walk rate, home runs allowed, and ERA climbed while his strikeouts have declined. While pitching in Milwaukee fans began an odd practice of wearing paper bags over their heads and throwing soup cans on to the field during Suppan's starts. Between 1995 and 2006, Suppan held a career ERA of 1.76 at Miller Park, where he was to pitch for the Brewers in 2007. Suppan is one of only 8 ballplayers who pitched in the NL in 2007 who won at least 12 games in each year from 2004–07, the others being Carlos Zambrano, Greg Maddux, Roy Oswalt, Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, Jason Marquis and Johan Santana.

Suppan, along with teammates J. J. Hardy, Bill Hall, and Chris Capuano appeared in an episode of The Young and the Restless which aired on CBS on June 20, 2007.^[6] On June 7, 2008, Suppan was placed on the 15-day disabled list, his first DL stint since 1996.^[7] After being sent to the bullpen, Suppan's run with Milwaukee ended after 15 appearances. On June 7, 2010, the Brewers released Suppan.

Second Stint with St. Louis

He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals on June 14.^[8]

San Francisco Giants

On January 25, 2011, the San Francisco Giants signed Suppan to a minor league deal.^[9] On March 29, the Giants released Suppan.^[10]

Suppan pitching

Second Stint with Kansas City

On April 4, 2011, the Kansas City Royals signed Suppan to a minor league deal.^[11] He remained the entire season in Omaha.

San Diego Padres

He signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres on February 8, 2012. After a rash of injuries to the Padres rotation, Suppan was called up to the majors. He made his first start on May 2, 2012. It was his first time making a start since the 2010 season.^[12] Suppan opted for free agency over a minor league assignment with the Padres on June 5, 2012, according to the Padres' official website.

Suppan announced his retirement as a player on January 2, 2014, his 39th birthday. The announcement was timed for 2 PM PST, to honor his mother, Kathleen Suppan, who died six years earlier on the same day and at the same time.^[13]

Pitching style

As with many older pitchers, Suppan relies comparatively little on pitch speed to get outs. He is a finesse pitcher, using a variety of pitches with good movement to create weak contact for hitters. His expansive pitch repertoire includes a four-seam fastball and sinker in the mid-upper 80s, a cut fastball in the low-mid 80s, a changeup around 80, a big curveball at 70, and a slider in the upper 70s.^[14]

Restaurant

Suppan, whose nickname is "Soup," is also a restaurateur. His restaurant, Soup's Grill, is jointly operated with his wife. It is located in Woodland Hills, California^[15]

Religion and activism

Suppan is a devout Roman Catholic, appearing in the DVD Champions Of Faith and in Rosary Stars Praying the Gospel. He has spoken to the National Catholic Register about his faith.^[16]

He appeared in a political advertisement alongside Patricia Heaton, Jim Caviezel, Mike Sweeney, and Kurt Warner, among others, during the 2006 World Series. The advertisement aired in opposition to Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2006), which allows in Missouri any kind of embryonic stem cell research that is legal under federal law. The advertisement aired shortly after the airing of an earlier advertisement featuring actor Michael J. Fox.^[17] The Fox advertisement had supported Amendment 2, as well as the campaign of United States Senate candidate Claire McCaskill. The Suppan advertisement did not explicitly mention the Senate race. The timing of both ads during a World Series that featured the St. Louis Cardinals was intended to draw the particular attention of Missouri voters.

Career highlights

• 2006 World Series Champion
• 2006 National League Championship Series MVP

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Suppan player profile page at Scout.com
• Jeff Suppan's restaurant