| Rick Helling | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born:December 15, 1970 Devils Lake, North Dakota, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| April 10, 1994, for the Texas Rangers | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| September 9, 2006, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 93–81 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.68 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 1,058 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Ricky Allen Helling (born December 15, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher.
Helling attended Lakota High School in Lakota, North Dakota for three years, before graduating from Shanley High School in Fargo, North Dakota. He was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was a three-time All-Conference honoree. In basketball, he led the state in scoring. [1]
Helling accepted a scholarship to play college football at North Dakota but redshirted as a freshman and transferred to Kishwaukee College during his first semester in order to play college baseball. He performed well enough at Kishwaukee to earn a baseball scholarship to Stanford University. [1] [2] While at Stanford he joined Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1st round of the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft.
Writer Chuck Klosterman describes Rick Helling as his personal archenemy. [3]
Helling was an early critic of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball, warning the Players Union as early as 1998 that drugs were a problem in the sport; he served as a Union Executive Board Member from 1999 to 2007. [4]
Helling was a member of two World Series Championship teams: the 1997 World Series Champion Florida Marlins and the 2003 World Series Champion Florida Marlins. Despite being traded to the Texas Rangers earlier in the 1997 season, which meant he did not participate in the Marlins' World Series win that year, he was awarded a World Series ring by his former teammates because of his half-season contribution.
On August 13, 1996, Helling pitched a perfect game while with the Rangers' Triple-A Oklahoma City 89ers against the Nashville Sounds. He struck out four batters in the nine-inning game. [5]
In 1998 he won five straight games on the road; no Texas pitcher matched that accomplishment until Scott Feldman surpassed it in 2009. [6] Helling had his best season in 1998 going 20–7, tying for the American League lead in wins with David Cone and Roger Clemens. His 11 road victories in 1998 set a club record, later matched by Vicente Padilla (2008) and surpassed by Feldman (2009). [7] [8] [9]
In 1999, Helling started 35 games for the Rangers, going 13-11 while leading the majors with 41 home runs allowed.
In 2000, Helling broke a 30-year-old record by giving up 66 doubles. One year later, he broke his record by allowing 68 doubles.
In 2001, Helling led the majors in hits allowed (256), earned runs (124) and home runs allowed (38).
Helling signed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks in 2002. [10] [11] [12] In his lone season with Arizona, Helling went 10–12 in 30 starts. After the season, Helling signed with the Baltimore Orioles. [13] [14]
Helling spent half the season in Baltimore before being traded back to the Florida Marlins.
Helling did not pitch in 2004 due to injury. On June 20, 2006, Helling struck out three batters on nine pitches—Curtis Granderson, Plácido Polanco and Iván Rodríguez—in the first inning of a 10–1 loss to the Detroit Tigers, thereby becoming the 38th pitcher in major league history to throw an immaculate inning.
On February 5, 2007, he announced his retirement to spend more time with his family. [15]
On March 17, 2009, he was hired as a special assistant to the head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Donald Fehr. [16]
He currently resides in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. He also coaches football at Minnetonka High School. Notable former players include K'Andre Miller of the New York Rangers in the NHL. K'Andre considers Helling as a mentor. [17]
James Kevin Brown is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2005 for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees. Brown led the American League in wins once and led the National League in earned run average twice. He was a six-time MLB All-Star and threw a no-hitter in 1997.
Kevin Austin Millwood is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners.
Michael Stanley Myers is an American former professional left-handed relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007.
Adam Alexander Loewen is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Vicente de la Cruz Padilla is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. Padilla played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
Bradley Wayne Penny is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Penny played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and Detroit Tigers, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He was an All Star in 2006 and 2007.
Edwin Jackson Jr. is a German-born American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2019 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays.
Matthew Raymond Lindstrom is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox.
Robert Andrew Witt Sr. is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Luis Ignacio Ayala Hernández is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. He is 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighs 190 pounds (86 kg). He bats and throws right-handed.
Joshua Aaron Wilson is an American former professional baseball infielder. Wilson is a Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania native. He was part of the 1998 Pennsylvania state championship baseball team and Pennsylvania Player of the Year. Wilson played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers.
Brian Douglas Shouse is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher and Minor League pitching coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays. Starting in 2001, Shouse pitched with a distinctive sidearm delivery, which replaced his earlier, more traditional, overhand delivery.
Scott Richard Anderson is an American former professional Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Texas Rangers in 1987, the Montreal Expos in 1990, and the Kansas City Royals in 1995.
Scott Wynne Feldman is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cincinnati Reds.
Timothy Dayle Wood is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball.
Chaz Daniel Roe is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays.
Nathan Masler Adcock is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, and Cincinnati Reds.
Nathan Edward Eovaldi is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers. Eovaldi made his MLB debut in 2011. He was a World Series champion with the Red Sox in 2018 and the Rangers in 2023 and has been selected as an All-Star in 2021 and 2023.
Shelby Charles Miller is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers.
The following are the baseball events of the year 2013 throughout the world. They include Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and major events in baseball.
