Kyle McClellan

From BR Bullpen

Kyle William McClellan

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Kyle McClellan, a St. Louis native, was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 25th round of the 2002 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Scott Melvin, bypassing a scholarship to the University of Missouri, and made his pro debut that summer with the Johnson City Cardinals. Originally a starter, he had Tommy John surgery in 2005 and ulnar nerve surgery the next year before coming back as a reliever. He began the 2007 campaign with the Palm Beach Cardinals, where he posted a 1.24 ERA and striking out 24 in 16 games before being promoted to the Springfield Cardinals in June. He did not allow a run in his first 10 outings with Springfield and put up a 2.35 ERA and notched 30 strikeouts in 24 games.

McClellan made the St. Louis Opening Day roster in 2008 and made his big league debut on April 1st, retiring all 3 batters he faced. He was one of the busiest pitchers out of the Cards' bullpen over his first three seasons, pitching 68 games in 2008, 66 in 2009 and 68 in 2010, all of them in relief. Over that period, his ERA improved every season, from 4.04 to 3.38 to 2.27. In 2011, he was moved to the starting rotation at the start of the season and made 17 starts, going 6-6, 4.21, after starting the season 5-0 (one of the wins coming in his lone relief appearance of the stretch). He was moved back to the bullpen in late July and for the season was 12-7, 4.19 in 43 games, having pitched 141 2/3 innings, after not exceeding 75 2/3 innings in his first three seasons. As a result, he was basically spent by the time the postseason rolled around, and his sole appearance in the Cardinals' run to a World Series title was a third of an inning in Game 1 of the NLCS in which he gave up a run on two hits to the Milwaukee Brewers. He was back in the bullpen at the start of the 2012 season, but his season ended after his 16th appearance on May 16th, the victim of an arm injury. He was 0-1, 5.30.

McClellan signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers in January of 2013 and began the year in the minor leagues in mid-May when he was finally healthy again. He made 8 appearances in the minors before being called up on June 9th, one day after the Rangers had depleted their bullpen in an 18-inning loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched a scoreless third of an inning on the day of his return to the majors, although he gave up a hit and a walk before getting the out that ended the inning. He pitched 7 times for Texas that year, going 0-1, 7.71. These were his final appearances in the majors. He did not pitch at all in 2014 and announced his retirement at the end of the season.

After his retirement, he began working for former teammate Adam Wainwright's foundation, "Brace for Impact 46", on house building and renovation projects for underprivileged families. His first project was in Haiti, where the two had traveled together in the wake of the earthquake that had devastated the country a couple of years earlier, where the foundation helped shore up an orphanage, hospital and clean water facility around the city of Cap-Haïtien. But knowing there were areas around his hometown that also needed support of this time, he partnered with a local church pastor, Wainwright's foundation and local businesses to purchase various dilapidated properties in the North City area of St. Louis and bring them back up to standards with the help of contractors from the neighborhoods themselves. The houses then become affordable rental properties for needy families, who help supplement the rent through volunteer work and attending courses that seek to improve their circumstances.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jenifer Langosch: "McClellan uses nonprofit to revitalize St. Louis: Former Cardinals pitcher helping North City build housing, community", mlb.com, December 21, 2018. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=Kyle_McClellan&oldid=1073790"