| Scott Erickson | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1968-02-02)February 2, 1968 (age 57) Long Beach, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 25, 1990, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 8, 2006, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 142–136 |
| Earned run average | 4.59 |
| Strikeouts | 1,252 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Scott Gavin Erickson (born February 2, 1968) is an American formerMajor League Baseballpitcher. He played for theMinnesota Twins,Baltimore Orioles,New York Mets,Texas Rangers,Los Angeles Dodgers, andNew York Yankees over 15 seasons. He was a member of the1991World Series champion Twins.
Erickson was born inLong Beach, California. He was highly involved in sports during high school while he attendedHomestead High School inCupertino, California. He playedbaseball,soccer,football, andbasketball. He was CCS Junior of the Year in baseball.
After completing his secondary education, he graduated fromSan Jose City College in 1988 with anAA degree in business. He was a Junior College 1st Team All American at San Jose. He then majored in accounting with a minor in psychology at theUniversity of Arizona. Erickson was inducted into theArizona Wildcat Hall of Fame after just one year of pitching at Arizona.[citation needed] Erickson set a school record for wins with an 18–3 record, as he led the country in wins (18), innings pitched (175), and complete games (14). Those impressive numbers earned him a unanimous First Team All-American honor. His teammates at Arizona includedTrevor Hoffman,Kevin Long, andJ. T. Snow.[1] In 1989, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theCotuit Kettleers of theCape Cod Baseball League.[2]
Erickson began his professional career after being selected in the major league draft four times. He was drafted by theNew York Mets in 1986 out of Homestead High School; theHouston Astros in 1987 andToronto Blue Jays in 1988 out of San Jose City College; and in1989 he was drafted by theMinnesota Twins in the 4th round of theamateur draft out of the University of Arizona. He finally signed his first pro contract with Minnesota. After 27 minor league starts,[3] Erickson rose to the major leagues in his second season of professional baseball with the Class AAOrlando Sun Rays.[4] He was on a five-game win streak with a record of 8–3 in the first half as an All Star in theSouthern League.
Erickson finished 1990 with a combined record of 16–7 between Double-A and the majors; he went 5–0 in September and tiedDave Stewart forAmerican League Pitcher of the Month. In1991, Erickson posted a record of 12–2 with a 1.39 ERA in the first half season and was awarded the American League Pitcher of the Month for May and June.[5] The Twins went on to win theWorld Series, and Erickson finished second toRoger Clemens for the American LeagueCy Young Award[6] and received votes for the American LeagueMost Valuable Player Award.[7]
The following season, Erickson started 32 games, going 13–12 with 5 complete games. He regressed the following year, however, leading the majors with 19 losses. On April 27, 1994, Ericksonno-hit theMilwaukee Brewers 6–0 at theHubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the first no-hitter ever pitched in that stadium. He became the third Twins pitcher, afterJack Kralick in 1962 andDean Chance in 1967, to pitch a no-hitter; the former's had been the last no-hitter in a Twins home game, that game having taken place at the Metrodome's predecessor,Metropolitan Stadium.[8]
In1995, he started with a 4-6 record and 5.95 ERA with the Twins, then was traded to theBaltimore Orioles.[9] More effective after the trade, Erickson turned in 9 wins in 16 starts for Baltimore. Between both teams, he finished 13–10 with 7 complete games. In 1996, Erickson won 13 games for the second straight year, with 6 complete games and 100 strikeouts for the 6th straight year. In 1997, Erickson turned in his best season since 1992, winning 16 games with a 3.69 ERA in 33 starts. He later signed a five-year, $32 million contract with Baltimore through2003.[10] In 1998, Erickson once again won 16 games for the Orioles, while leading the league in complete games (11) and innings pitched (251.1).
In 1999, Erickson went 15–12 with a 4.81 ERA while leading the league in shutouts (3). He also led the majors in ground balls induced with 454.
On March 3, 2000, Erickson had bone chips removed from his elbow, and was out of action eight weeks.[11][12] Erickson made 16 starts for the Orioles in 2000. He was hampered by the nagging elbow issue and visited thedisabled list twice, the second one being a season ending elbow injury.[13] After over 2000 innings pitched, the elbow injury caused him to miss the entire 2001 season. Erickson returned in 2002, becoming the first pitcher to startOpening Day after missing an entire season. That season, he made 28 starts, pitching 160.2 innings. In 2003, Erickson suffered a tornlabrum and missed the entire 2003 season.[14][15]
In 2004, Erickson signed a minor league deal with theNew York Mets.[16] Set back by injury, he made his Mets' debut in July, then was traded to theTexas Rangers at the July 31 deadline.[17]
He was in the starting rotation for theLos Angeles Dodgers in 2005.[18]
Erickson signed a deal with theNew York Yankees on February 16, 2006. He was released by the Yankees on June 19, and officially retired from baseball at the beginning of the2007 season.
Erickson was a groundball pitcher. He led the league five times in most double plays in a season and is in the Top 5 in Major League history for groundball to flyout ratio.[citation needed]
Erickson was the pitching coach for theCleveland Indians Class A Advanced affiliateCarolina Mudcats of theCarolina League in 2012 andMahoning Valley Scrappers of theNew York–Penn League He was also the President of MLM, majorleaguemechanics.com, a pitching mechanics tutorial with professional instruction. Beginning in 2015, he has been a game analyst for thePac-12 Network.
In late 2000, Erickson was featured inPeople magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" edition. In 2004, Erickson marriedLisa Guerrero, atelevision personality, actress, andinvestigative reporter with whom he founded HomeTeam Productions.[19][20] They were executive producers for the 2008 movieA Plumm Summer.[21] The marriage ended in divorce in 2019.
In 2002, Erickson was arrested and charged with second-degree assault after an argument with then-girlfriend Lisa Ortiz spilled out into the hallway outside their condominium. Investigators later dropped the charges.[22]
On January 27, 2021, theLos Angeles County District Attorney's office charged Erickson withreckless driving in connection with a 2020 hit-and-run that killed two young children.[23] Prosecutors alleged that Erickson and his then-lover Rebecca Grossman, a wealthy socialite and estranged wife of Peter Grossman, a prominent doctor and son of A. Richard Grossman, who founded the world-renowned, Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, California had been drinking cocktails at Julios, a restaurant in Westlake Village. They left Julio's in their separate SUV's and raced their vehicles through suburban streets at over 80 miles per hour (130 km/h), and struck and killed the two young brothers at aWestlake Village crosswalk.[24] During the murder trial against Grossman, her defense team argued that it was actually Erickson who struck the boys, placing the blame on him;[25][26] however the jury was not convinced, and Grossman was found guilty of doublesecond degree murder.[24] Erickson's earlier misdemeanor in connection with the crash[23] was later dismissed after he made a public service message about safe driving.[27]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | No-hitter April 27,1994 | Succeeded by |
