| Jeff Suppan | |
|---|---|
 Suppan with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1975-01-02)January 2, 1975 (age 50) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
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 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Jeffrey Scot Suppan (/ˈsuːpɑːn/;[1] born January 2, 1975) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher and current professional baseball coach who played 17 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played for theBoston Red Sox,Arizona Diamondbacks,Kansas City Royals,Pittsburgh Pirates,St. Louis Cardinals,Milwaukee Brewers, andSan Diego Padres.
Suppan pitched atCrespi Carmelite High School in California'sSan Fernando Valley. He pitched oneno-hitter as a freshman and another as a senior againstHarvard-Westlake School in the midst of a 42-inning scoreless streak. Suppan also played first base andhit .480 with a .950slugging percentage as a senior. As a pitcher, he had a 0.73WHIP, a 0.92earned run average and a 9.07strikeout-to-walk ratio. TheLos Angeles Times named him their 1993 San Fernando Valley Player of the Year.[2]
Suppan committed to playcollege baseball atUCLA over offers fromUSC,Nevada,Cal andCal State Long Beach.[2][3] He was selected by theBoston Red Sox with the 49th pick of the1993 Major League Baseball draft[2] and signed for $190,000.[4]
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.
Suppan was selected in the1997 MLB expansion draft by theArizona Diamondbacks.[5][6][7] In his lone season with Arizona, Suppan was 1–7 in 13 starts with a 6.68 ERA.
Late in the 1998 season, he was traded to theKansas City Royals, as a player to be named later, completing a trade that sawJermaine Allensworth join theNew York Mets and the Diamondbacks acquireBernard Gilkey.[8] 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.
In 2003, he opened the season for thePittsburgh Pirates after signing a one-year deal with them in January.[9] Through 21 starts, Suppan was 10–7 with a 3.57 ERA for the Pirates.
Suppan was dealt at the trading deadline back to the Red Sox for their playoff stretch run, along withAnastacio Martinez andBrandon Lyon for prospectsFreddy Sanchez andMike Gonzalez.[10][11][12] Suppan did not perform well in his return to Boston, going 3–4 with a 5.57 ERA and surrendering 12 home runs.
The Cardinals signed Suppan as afree agent in 2004, and he embarked upon a career year, posting a 16–9 record and a 4.16earned run average, with 110 strikeouts, 65 walks, and 192 hits allowed in 188 innings. Suppan helped lead the Cards to the2004 World Series, where he started Game 3. His baserunning blunder in Game 3 was one of the defining moments of the 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 theHouston 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 Leaguehome runs, both offSteve Trachsel of theNew York Mets. His first was on September 10, 2005. The Cardinals won the game 4–2.[13] He hit his second in Game 3 of the2006 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 the2006 NLCS against theNew 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 theNational League Championship Series MVP.[14] Suppan in the 2006 NLCS had a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings pitched.
During the 2006offseason, Suppan signed a four-year, $42 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.[15]
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 declined. Milwaukee fans began a 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 atMiller Park, where he was to pitch for the Brewers in 2007.
Suppan, along with teammatesJ. J. Hardy,Bill Hall, andChris Capuano appeared in an episode ofThe Young and the Restless which aired onCBS on June 20, 2007.[16] On June 7, 2008, Suppan was placed on the 15-day disabled list, his first DL stint since 1996.[17] After being sent to the bullpen, Suppan's run with Milwaukee ended after 15 appearances. On June 7, 2010, the Brewers released Suppan.[18]
On June 14, 2010, Suppan signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals.[19] He became a free agent following the season.
On January 25, 2011, theSan Francisco Giants signed Suppan to a minor league deal.[20] On March 29, the Giants released Suppan.[21]
On April 4, 2011, theKansas City Royals signed Suppan to a minor league deal.[22][23] He spent the entire season with theOmaha Storm Chasers. He elected free agency after the season on November 2.
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Jeff Suppan" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On February 8, 2012, Suppan signed a minor league contract with theSan Diego Padres.[24][25] After a rash of injuries to the Padres rotation, Suppan was called up to the majors.[26] He made his first start on May 2, 2012. It was his first time making a start since the 2010 season.[27] He was designated for assignment on June 1. 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.[28] The announcement was timed for 2 p.m.PST, to honor his mother, Kathleen Suppan, who died six years earlier on the same day and at the same time.[29]
Suppan was the pitching coach for theIdaho Falls Chukars of thePioneer League. The Chukars were the Rookie-Advanced affiliate of Suppan's former team, theKansas City Royals.[30] In 2019, Suppan left the Chukars to become a roving minor league co-ordinator for the Royals organization.[31]
As with many older pitchers, Suppan relied comparatively little on pitch speed to get outs. He was afinesse pitcher, using a variety of pitches with good movement to create weak contact for hitters. His expansive pitch repertoire included afour-seam fastball andsinker in the mid-upper 80s, acut fastball in the low-mid 80s, achangeup around 80, a bigcurveball at 70 and aslider in the upper 70s.[32]
Suppan, whose nickname is "Soup", is also arestaurateur. His restaurant, Soup's Grill, is jointly operated with his wife. It is located inWoodland Hills, California.[33] Soup's Grill closed in January 2016 to devote his time to being pitching coach for the Idaho Falls Chukars.[34]
Suppan is a devoutRoman Catholic, appearing in the DVDChampions Of Faith and inRosary Stars Praying the Gospel. He has spoken to the National Catholic Register about his faith.[35]
He appeared in a political advertisement alongsidePatricia Heaton,Jim Caviezel,Mike Sweeney, andKurt Warner, among others, during the 2006 World Series. The advertisement aired in opposition toMissouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2006), which allows in Missouri any kind ofembryonic stem cell research that is legal under federal law. The advertisement aired shortly after the airing of an earlier advertisement featuring actorMichael J. Fox[36] The Fox advertisement had supported Amendment 2, as well as the campaign of United States Senate candidateClaire 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.
· Baseball Almanac
