Mark Seaver

Mark Allen Seaver

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 8", Weight 240 lb.
• School Wake Forest University
• High School Mount Lebanon High School
• Born April 6, 1975 in Pittsburgh, PA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical information

Mark Seaver is a former minor league baseball pitcher who played from 1996 to 2000 in the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics farm systems. He also played some independent baseball in 2001.[1]

Seaver was 6-4 with a 3.26 ERA as a sophomore in 1995. Drafted by the Orioles in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 1996 amateur draft, Seaver began his professional career that very same year and had some success. He spent time with both the Bluefield Orioles and High Desert Mavericks that year. In his stint with Bluefield, he allowed only four hits in 15 innings of work, posting a 1.20, a 1-0 record and 16 strikeouts. While with High Desert, he went 2-1 in four starts, posting an ERA of 3.42. Combined, Seaver went 3-1 with a 2.50 ERA and 32 strikeouts in seven games, six of which he started. In total, he pitched 38 2/3 innings that year.

Baseball America ranked him the #9 prospect going into 1997. He had another impressive year for the Frederick Keys in 1997, appearing in 11 games and starting 10 of those. He posted a 3-2 record with 68 strikeouts in 62 innings. His 3.05 ERA was the lowest among any of the pitchers on the team who started 10 or more games. On September 2, 1997, he was sent as a player to be named later in the trade that sent Geronimo Berroa to the Orioles. The original trade took place on June 27 of that year, and the Orioles also sent Jimmy Haynes to the Athletics.

He did not play at all in 1998.

In 1999, playing for the Modesto A's, Seaver posted the best record of his career and on his team, going 12-4. In 34 games, half of which he started, he posted a 4.30 ERA and struck out 112 batters in 134 innings of work. He led the team in wins, and was second on the team in innings pitched, runs, earned runs and home runs allowed, and strikeouts. For the most part, he trailed former college teammate Mike Holmes in all those categories: Holmes pitched 145 2/3 innings, Seaver pitched 134; Holmes allowed 100 runs, 79 earned runs and 14 home runs, Seaver allowed 85, 64 and 10, respectively. Jesus Colome outpaced Seaver in the strikeouts column however, 127 to 112.

2000 was Seaver's final season in affiliated professional baseball. Playing for the A's again, he went 8-10 with a 5.44 ERA in 29 appearances. He led the team in losses, runs allowed (100), earned runs allowed (87), home runs allowed (16) and he tied with Juan Pena for the lead in games started (27). His 5.44 ERA was the highest among all the pitchers with 15 or more starts on the team. He was second on the team in hits allowed (he had 157, Justin Lehr had 161) and walks (he had 70, Pena had 75).

In 2001, Seaver played for the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds and Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League, going 8-8 with a 3.96 ERA in 24 games (20 starts).

Overall, in his affiliated career, Seaver posted a 26-17 record in 81 games, 60 of which he started. In 378 2/3 innings, he posted an ERA of 4.35, saving two games and completing none. He allowed 395 hits, 228 runs, 183 earned runs and 34 home runs. He walked 159 batters and struck out 326. He was a perfect fielder up until 2000, when he committed the one error of his career.

References

• The Baseball Cube