Mike Halperin

Michael James Halperin

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
• School University of Central Florida
• High School Barron Collier High School

• Born September 8, 1973 in Naples, FL USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Mike Halperin peaked at AAA.

Halperin pitched 72 1/3 consecutive shutout innings in high school in 1991, putting him second on the career list through 2013 as per the National Federation of State High School Associations; only Joey Porter (80 in 1973) had more, and Porter never played professional baseball. As of May 7, 2014, Brendan McKay was challenging Halperin and Porter, moving into 4th place at 58 IP (#3 Jerry Jordan had also not played in the pros). Halperin was picked by the California Angels in the 34th round of the 1991 amateur draft, one round after Orlando Palmeiro, but did not sign.

Mike was 7-1 with two saves and a 2.70 ERA as a college freshman, 4th in the Sun Belt Conference in ERA. He failed to make the league All-Star team as Javi DeJesus and Jon Lieber were picked as the pitchers. In 1993, he fell to 6-8, 3.47. He was nearly identical (6-8, Sv, 3.50) as a junior. The Toronto Blue Jays snagged him in the 10th round of the 1994 amateur draft, one pick after Wes Helms.

He had a strong pro debut with the St. Catharines Blue Jays (2-2, Sv, 1.12 ERA, .67 WHIP in 9 G) and Hagerstown Suns (2-1, 1.20 in 6 G). He was 3-5 with a 3.62 ERA for the 1995 Dunedin Blue Jays. He was 13-7 with a 3.48 ERA for the AA Knoxville Smokies in 1996. He tied for second in the Southern League in wins (behind Brian Moehler) and was 7th in ERA (between Moehler and Brad Kaufman). Among Blue Jays farmhands, only Roy Halladay won more games. That winter, he was 1-1 with a 6.58 ERA and 20 BB to 8 K in 26 IP for the Cardenales de Lara of the Venezuelan League.

Toronto dealt him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a major deal in the off-season. He was shipped with José Silva, Craig Wilson, Abraham Nunez, José Pett and Brandon Cromer in exchange for Orlando Merced, Dan Plesac and Carlos García. He split the summer between the Carolina Mudcats (6-7, 3.87 in 17 G) and Calgary Cannons (1-0, 6.43 ERA, 2.43 WHIP in 15 G). In 1998, he pitched for Carolina (0 R in 2/3 IP) and the Nashville Sounds (0-2, 5.79 in 11 G). He was then shipped back to Toronto, this time one-up for Jeff Patzke. He pitched for Knoxville (5-1, 2 Sv, 2.92 in 35 G) after the deal. Injuries in 1999 ended his career.

He had gone 32-24 with 3 saves and a 3.49 ERA in 136 games (68 starts) as a pro, with 470 hits and 210 walks in 463 2/3 IP, striking out 350. He was 3 for 15 at the plate.

Sources

• May 7, 2014 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• 1993-1999 Baseball Almanacs
• Purapelota