| Sterling Hitchcock | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1971-04-29)April 29, 1971 (age 54) Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 11, 1992, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 22, 2004, for the San Diego Padres | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 74–76 |
| Earned run average | 4.80 |
| Strikeouts | 997 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Sterling Alex Hitchcock (born April 29, 1971) is an American formerMajor League Baseball left-handedpitcher. He played from1992 to2004, mostly with theNew York Yankees andSan Diego Padres.
Hitchcock was born inFayetteville, North Carolina. He attendedArmwood High School inSeffner, Florida.[1]
The Yankees selected Hitchcock in the ninth round of the1989 Major League Baseball Draft. Though he committed to attend theUniversity of South Florida, the Yankees signed Hitchcock with a $50,000signing bonus.[1] He made his Major League debut in 1992, pitching his first full season in 1994. He was traded to the Mariners after the 1995 season withRuss Davis forTino Martinez,Jeff Nelson, andJim Mecir.[2]
The following winter, the Mariners sent him to San Diego forScott Sanders. Hitchcock is best remembered for his performance in the1998 playoffs with the Padres, in which he was named theNLCSMVP. He was thewinning pitcher in both of his starts with a 0.90ERA in the NLCS. Overall in the 1998 playoffs he was 3–0, allowing 3 runs in 22 innings (1.23 ERA) with 32strikeouts.
His successful years with the Padres were followed by struggles with injuries. He underwentTommy John surgery.[3] The Padres traded Hitchcock back to the Yankees in mid-2001 for two minor leaguers. Hitchcock was the winning pitcher for the Yankees in Game 5 of the2001 World Series. He re-signed with the Yankees after the season.[4] The Yankees traded Hitchcock to theSt. Louis Cardinals in 2003 forJustin Pope and Ben Julianel. He finished his career with the Padres in 2004.
During the regular season, Hitchcock's career-best win–loss record was 13–9 with Seattle in 1996. His career-best ERA was 3.93 with the Padres in 1998.