Clayton Richard

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23 innings at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. Richard compiled a 5–2 record with a 4.08 ERA over 12 starts in his partial season with the Padres. [6]

Richard started 33 games for the Padres in 2010, building a 14–9 record and a 3.75 ERA over 20123 innings. [6] On September 21, 2010, Richard threw his first career shutout, giving up eight hits, two walks, and recording six strikeouts in a win against the Los Angeles Dodgers along with a golden sombrero at the plate, striking out four times. [9]

In 2011, Richard regressed slightly, posting a 5–9 record with a 3.88 ERA in 18 starts, while his strikeout-to-walk ratio dropped to 1.39 K/BB from 1.93 K/BB in 2010. [6] A left shoulder strain forced Richard to the disabled list in July and later required arthroscopic surgery, ending his season. [10]

In 2012, Richard resumed his role in the Padres starting rotation. At the end of the season, he was the unanimous pick as the Padres Pitcher of the Year by writers covering the team. He had a 14–14 record with a 3.99 earned run average. [6] His 33 starts were tied for second in the National League (NL) and he was fourth with 218+23 innings pitched. [11]

On February 16, 2013, Richard and the Padres avoided going to arbitration, both sides agreeing on a $5.24 million deal for one season. [12]

Richard opened 2013 as the Padres number two starter, but had a rough beginning to the season, posting an 8.54 ERA in his first six starts. [13] An intestinal virus forced Richard to push back a start in late April, and he was then placed on the disabled list on May 5 when the virus flared up again. [13] Richard returned on May 27, [14] but continued to struggle. On June 1, Richard pitched two innings in relief to earn his first win of the season in a 17-inning affair against the Blue Jays that the Padres won 4–3. [15] On June 21, Richard injured his left shoulder and left the game after making only two pitches. He underwent shoulder surgery on July 15, ending his 2013 season. [16] He finished with a 2–5 record in 12 games (11 starts) with a 7.01 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 5223 innings. [6] On October 28, 2013, he refused an outright assignment and elected free agency.

Richard underwent Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery in February 2014. [17]

Arizona Diamondbacks

On July 30, 2014, Richard agreed to a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. [18] Richard made three starts for the Double-A Mobile BayBears, posting an 0–2 record and 6.60 ERA, and allowed three runs in 6.1 innings in one start for the Triple-A Reno Aces. He became a free agent after the 2014 season. [4]

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 3, 2014, Richard signed a minor league deal with an invite to spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates. [19] Through nine starts for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, Richard had a 2.09 ERA in 50 innings of work, also pitching in one game for the High-A Bradenton Marauders. [4]

Chicago Cubs

On July 3, 2015, Richard was traded to the Chicago Cubs for cash. [20] His first start for the Cubs was a 7–2 victory against the Miami Marlins on July 4. [21] After going 1–0 in three appearances (two starts), Richard was outrighted to AAA. After one start in AAA, Richard was called up to start on August 2 against the Milwaukee Brewers. Richard got the victory, pitching six innings of one-run ball, striking out three and walking none. He was designated for assignment a second time a day later. [22] After electing for free agency, Richard re-signed with the club two days later to take a bullpen role when reliever Rafael Soriano developed a sore shoulder. [23] Richard pitched to a 3.38 ERA over 2113 innings with two walks and one home run out of the bullpen over the rest of the year, and finished the 2015 season 4–2 with a 3.83 ERA in 23 games (three starts). [6] [24]

In 2016, Richard was used as a situational leftie out of the bullpen until he was placed on the disabled list on June 21 with a blister on his finger. [25] He returned to the bullpen in July but was designated for assignment on July 26 when Aroldis Chapman was added to the roster and then released on August 3. [26] [27] With the Cubs in 2016, Richard was 0–1 with a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings over 25 games. [6] The Cubs went on to win the World Series, and Richard was presented with a World Series ring when he returned to Wrigley Field with the Padres in 2017. [28]

Return to San Diego

On August 6, 2016, the Padres signed Richard to a major league deal. He made his Padres return debut in the San Diego bullpen upon the first week of August. [29] After two appearances out of the bullpen, Richard joined the San Diego rotation and made nine starts over the remainder of the season. With the Padres in 2016, he went 3–3 with a 2.52 ERA over 5323 innings with 34 strikeouts. [6] On December 20, Richard signed a one-year contract to stay with the Padres. [30]

Richard was a fixture in the San Diego rotation in 2017, leading the team with 19713 innings over his 32 starts, including two complete games. He allowed a league-high 240 hits with a 4.79 ERA, but was third in the Major Leagues with a 59.2% ground ball rate and posted a personal best 6.9 strikeouts per 9 innings. [31] In 2017, he led the major leagues in allowing opposing batters the highest batting average on balls in play (.351). [32] He tied for the major league lead in pickoffs, with seven, while allowing four stolen bases and having 10 caught stealing. [33] Richard was the Padres' nominee for both the Heart & Hustle Award and the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award. In September, the Padres extended Richard through 2019 with a two-year deal. [34]

On August 28, 2018, he was ruled out for the season after undergoing knee surgery. [35] He ended the season 7–11 with an ERA of 5.33 in 27 starts. In 158+23 innings, he struck out 108. [6]

On December 20, 2018, Richard was designated for assignment. [36]

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 30, 2018, Richard was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for minor league outfielder Connor Panas. [37]

On March 29, 2019, he was placed on the injured list, with an injury to his right knee. [38] On May 23, he made his season debut against the Boston Red Sox. He pitched four innings, allowing one run on two hits in a no decision. [39] Pitching for Toronto in 2019, he was 1–5 with a 5.96 ERA in 10 starts covering 45.1 innings, and pitching for their AAA affiliate Buffalo he was 0–0 with a 5.06 ERA in two starts covering 5.1 innings. [4] [6] On September 12, 2019, his 36th birthday, the Blue Jays released Richard. [40]

After the season, on October 10, he was selected for the United States national baseball team in the 2019 WBSC Premier 12. [41]

Second Stint with White Sox

On August 3, 2020, Richard signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox organization. [42] He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.

Post-playing career

On May 30, 2021, Richard joined the football coaching staff at Lafayette Jefferson High School as a quarterbacks coach. On July 6, 2021, Richard was announced to be the head coach for baseball at Lafayette Jefferson High School. [43]

Playing style

Richard is a pitch to contact pitcher, inducing groundouts at over a 49% rate through 2012. He also has pitched well at Petco Park, posting an ERA under 3.30 each year from 2010 to 2012. [44]

From 2009 to 2013, Richard's pitching repertoire consisted of a four-seam and a two-seam fastball (90–95 MPH), a changeup, a slider, and an occasional curveball. Since 2011, he has relied more on his two-seam fastball than his four seam, with this he has induced more than a 50% groundball rate each year since 2011. [45]

Personal life

Richard and his wife Ashley reside in Lafayette, Indiana with their two sons and daughter. [46]

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References

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Clayton Richard
Clayton Richard 2012.JPG
Richard with the San Diego Padres
Pitcher
Born: (1983-09-12) September 12, 1983 (age 40)
Lafayette, Indiana, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 23, 2008, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
July 13, 2019, for the Toronto Blue Jays