David Fry

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David James Fry

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Biographical Information[edit]

Utility player David Fry made his major league debut with the Cleveland Guardians on May 1, 2023. He was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 7th round of the 2018 amateur draft out of Northwestern State University of Louisiana and played in their farm system from 2018 to 2021, sitting out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was a middle infielder in first college seasons, started playing some games at catcher as a junior in 2018, and was first used by the Brewers as a catcher an corner infielder. In 2019, he hit .258 in 134 games for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League, with 41 doubles, 17 homers and 70 RBIs. In 2021, when he resumed playing, he was at both AA and AAA, hitting a combined .255/.348/.449 in 94 games, with 19 doubles and 12 homers. Just before the start of the 2022 season, he was sent to Cleveland as the player to be named later to complete an earlier trade for J.C. Mejia, then spent the season in AAA with the Columbus Clippers. He was mainly a third baseman and first baseman in his 119 games, with 12 games a s a catcher, and hit .256/.329/.450 with 17 homers and 71 RBIs. He was back with Columbus at the start of 2023 and was hitting .317 after 29 games before getting the call to Cleveland.

In his rookie season, he was used all over the field, starting games at five different positions: the two corner outfield spots, the two corner infield spots, and catcher, although overall he had few at-bats, with just 84 in his first 43 games. He was also used as a mystery pitcher in a lopsided loss to the Chicago Cubs on June 30th, pitching a scoreless inning, and on September 4th, he made one of the longest such outings in recent history when he pitched four full innings in a 20-6 loss to the Minnesota Twins, allowing 7 runs on 10 hits, three of them homers. The last position player to pitch that long in a game had been Jose Oquendo in 1988, but under completely different circumstances, as in his case, his team had run out of pitchers in an extra-inning game, and he had been asked to take the mound in the 16th - and managed to keep his team in the game for a number of frames before things imploded. In Fry's case, starter Lucas Giolito had allowed 9 runs in just 3 innings, and reliever Enyel De Los Santos had given up another 4, putting the game completely out of reach by the 6th inning, at which point Fry took over and just lobbed the ball over until the game ended, using 64 pitches. He ended the season at .238 in 57 games with 4 homers and 15 RBIs.

Fry had a break-out season in 2024, as he was Cleveland's main designated hitter and played 122 games. A very good first half got him named as a reserve for the 2024 All-Star Game and he ended the season at .263 with 14 homers and 51 RBIs, good for an OPS+ of 128. In addition to 53 games at DH, he also made double-digit starts at first base, catcher and left field. He was the hero of Game 4 of the Division Series with the Guardians facing elimination against the Detroit Tigers on October 10th. He came in as pinch-hitter for DH Kyle Manzardo in the 7th and hit a two-run homer off Beau Brieske that put Cleveland in the lead, 4-3. In the 9th, he drove in another key run with a surprise bunt against Will Vest that allowed Steven Kwan to score from third base. That run proved precious when Justyn-Henry Malloy led off the bottom of the 9th with a double off closer Emmanuel Clase; Malloy eventually came in to score, but the Tigers fell one run short, forcing a decisive fifth game back at Progressive Field.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • AL All-Star (2024)

Further Reading[edit]

  • Mandy Bell: "Giolito's rocky Guards debut sets stage for utility man's 4 (!) relief innings: David Fry throws 64 pitches to help preserve Cleveland's bullpen", mlb.com, September 4, 2023. [1]
  • Mandy Bell: "Fry saves Guards' season with pinch HR, clutch bunt to force Game 5", mlb.com, October 11, 2024. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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