| Cal Eldred | |
|---|---|
 Eldred with the Kansas City Royals | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1967-11-24)November 24, 1967 (age 58) Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 24, 1991, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 2005, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 86–74 |
| Earned run average | 4.42 |
| Strikeouts | 939 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Calvin John Eldred (born November 24, 1967) is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher who played for 14 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from1991 to2005. He previously worked for theSt. Louis Cardinals as a special assistant togeneral managerJohn Mozeliak, instructingminor league players for various on-field and off-field issues. He was also thepitching coach for theKansas City Royals from 2018 to 2022.
Eldred attended theUniversity of Iowa while playingcollege baseball for theHawkeyes, and was theMilwaukee Brewers' first round selection in the1989 amateur draft. He made his MLB debut for the Brewers in September, 1991, with whom he was astarting pitcher for nine seasons. He also played for theChicago White Sox and the Cardinals.
After attending theUniversity of Iowa and playingcollege baseball for theHawkeyes, theMilwaukee Brewers selected Eldred in the first round of the1989 amateur draft.
Making his major league debut with theBrewers on September 24, 1991, Eldred earned the win against theNew York Yankees with5+1⁄3innings pitched (IP). He started three games that year, winning two, and completed 16 IP. In1992, he finished with100+1⁄3 IP, a 1.79earned run average (ERA) and an 11–2win–loss record (W–L). He was the AL SeptemberPitcher of the Month and finished fourth in theAmerican League (AL)Rookie of the Year Award voting. Thenext season, Eldred led the AL in innings pitched (258) and MLB in games started (36). He also finished in the top ten in the league in wins (16),strikeouts (180),complete games (eight),hits per nine innings allowed (8.093),home runs allowed (32),hits allowed (232) andbases on balls allowed (91), each of which led the Brewers' pitching staff, except hits.[1]
The Brewers traded Eldred withJosé Valentín to theChicago White Sox forJaime Navarro andJohn Snyder on January 12, 2000. Eldred pitched for the White Sox in2000–01, but totaled just 22 starts. His record in 2000 was 10–2 and he was the AL Pitcher of the Month for June. He missed all of the 2002 season due to injury and signed as afree agent with theSt. Louis Cardinals on December 18, 2002. He pitched inrelief for theNational Leaguepennant-winning Cardinals in2004, and made two appearances in theWorld Series. Eldred announced his retirement as a player on October 27, 2005. He was the Cardinals winner of the 2005Darryl Kile Good Guy Award.[2]
Eldred also joined theBig Ten Network in the spring of 2009 as a college baseball analyst. He co-hosted the network's studio coverage of the 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament withDave Revsine. He was a pregamecolor analyst for the team's telecasts onFox Sports Midwest. He also was a special assistant to Cardinals'general managerJohn Mozeliak, instructingminor league players for various on-field and off-field issues.[3]
In November 2017, Eldred was named theKansas City Royals pitching coach.[4] He was fired on October 5, 2022, immediately after the season ended, with the 2022 team being worst in the American League for strikeouts, walks, hits allowed, runs allowed, and ERA.[5][6]
Both of Eldred's sons played collegiately. C.J. was a pitcher for theIowa Hawkeyes and Luke was a pitcher forDallas Baptist. C.J. was signed by theKansas City Royals as an undrafted free agent and has played for numerous professional teams.[7]
| Preceded by | Kansas City Royalspitching coach 2018–2022 | Succeeded by |