Marián Gajdoš

Marian Gajdoš

• Bats Right, Throws Left

• Born February 16, 1977

Marian Gajdoš has pitched for the Czech national team.

Gajdoš was 5-0 with a 1.37 ERA in the 1999 Extraliga while playing for Draci Brno, the pennant-winners. He tied for the league lead in wins and was 4th in ERA. Marian faced two batters in the 1999 European Championship, walking both, and was charged with two runs.

In 2000, Gajdoš hit .286/.348/.429 for Draci Brno and went 1-0 but allowed 16 runs in 9 1/3 IP. The next season, he did not play in the Extraliga. He was 5-3 with a 5.66 ERA for MZLU Express Brno in 2002, finishing 9th with 47 strikeouts. In 2003, the left-hander had a 4-5, 4.48 record for MZLU. He tied for 9th in wins, was 5th in innings (72 1/3), 5th in strikeouts (63).

Gajdoš batted .209/.320/.233 for MZLU in 2004 and was 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA. He was only 1-4 in 2005 but saved 8 games and struck out 82 in 67 innings while posting a 1.88 ERA, his best in six years. He led the circuit in saves, was 4th in strikeouts (despite not finishing in the top 10 in innings) and was 8th in ERA.

Marian pitched for the Czech Republic in the 2005 Baseball World Cup. He allowed only one hit in 4 1/3 IP and was charged with two runs (one earned) while fanning four. Only Michal Kočí had a lower ERA on the Czech squad. Radek Procházka, Kočí and Gajdoš were the only Czech pitchers with ERAs under 6, in fact.

In 2006, Gajdoš tied Jiří Marek for third in the Extraliga with 7 wins, trailing only Petr Minařík and Roman Yatsyuk. He was also second with five saves, behind former minor leaguer Pavel Budský. He was 6th with 59 strikeouts and did not lose a game.

Marian moved back to Draci Brno in 2007 and again won seven games, tying for the league lead. He lost one game and saved two. He was 5th in innings (67) and ERA (1.48). In the 2007 European Championship, he pitched three games, allowing one run in three innings.

Gajdoš was with MZLU again in 2008. He was 4-1 with 3 saves and a 3.00 ERA to finish 10th in ERA. During the '09 campaign, the veteran southpaw was 1-0 with two saves and a 2.14 ERA.