Pat Misch

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Patrick Theodore Joseph Misch

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pat Misch.JPG

Patrick Misch pitched in the majors for six years.

Misch was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fifth round of the 2002 amateur draft but did not sign. A year later, the San Francisco Giants took him in the 7th round of the 2003 amateur draft. Pat was signed by scout Steve Arnieri and went 7-5 with a 2.18 ERA for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes that year, walking 20 in 87 2/3 IP. He was third in the Northwest League in ERA and led in innings pitched. Baseball America rated him the #20 prospect in the NWL.

In his second season, Pat was already being used as a regular in AA. He had a 7-6, 3.00 record for the Norwich Navigators with a fine 123:35 strikeout:walk ratio in 159 innings. He was 4th in the Eastern League in ERA and led in complete games (4) and shutouts (3). In 2005, he split time between Norwich (4-2, 3.52, 7 BB in 61 1/3 IP) and the Fresno Grizzlies (3-9, 6.35, .325 opponent average, 18 HR in 102 innings), where he ran into the first difficulties of his pro career.

Misch rebounded well in 2006. He had a 5-4, 2.26 line in 18 games for the Connecticut Defenders and 4-2, 4.02 in 11 games for Fresno. His 136 strikeouts tied Nick Pereira for the lead in the Giants minor league chain. Misch was a September call-up to the 2006 Giants and pitched one scoreless inning in his big-league debut, though he allowed two hits. It was his only game in MLB that season.

That fall, he was 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA for the Scottsdale Scorpions. He appeared in the first Rising Stars Game. He spent most of 2007 in the Fresno bullpen and was very sharp (2-5, Sv, 2.30 ERA, 74 K in 66 2/3 IP). He pitched 18 games for the 2007 Giants, going 0-4 despite a 4.24 ERA. He got his first major league hit off Jake Peavy in his last start of the season.

His numbers fell in 2008 both with Fresno (6-5, 5.38 in 20 G) and the Giants (0-3, 5.68 in 15 G), being used primarily as a starter again. He opened 2009 with Fresno (3-0, Sv, 2.00 in 12 G) and the Giants (4 R in 3 1/3 IP) then was placed on waivers, where he was claimed by the New York Mets. At the time, he was 5th in the 2009 PCL in ERA and tied for third in wins. He was 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA in six games for the Buffalo Bisons but did fine with the 2009 Mets (3-4, 4.12 ERA, 99 ERA+ in 22 G). His first MLB win came in a start against the Rockies, allowing four hits and two runs in seven to beat Jason Marquis.

The lefty was excellent with Buffalo in 2010: 11-4, 3.23, 24 BB in 150 2/3 IP and 0-4 despite a 3.82 ERA and 103 ERA+ in 12 games for the 2010 Mets (only 4 BB in 37 2/3 IP). He was third in the 2010 International League in ERA (behind Jeremy Hellickson and Ivan Nova) and tied for 4th in wins. Only two Met farmhands had more wins: Dillon Gee and Mark Cohoon. In the 2010 AAA All-Star Game, he relieved Nate Bump in the top of the 5th with a 1-0 deficit against the PCL. He fanned Doug Deeds, got Hector Luna on a fly and walked Jarrett Hoffpauir then struck John Lindsey. Anthony Slama then took over on the mound. The IL would rally for a 2-1 win. He would be named Buffalo's Most Valuable Pitcher that year.

Misch continued his roller-coaster career in 2011 as he was down to 8-9, 4.00 for Buffalo and 1-0 for the 2011 Mets but with 8 runs in 7 innings. That would be his last MLB stint (through 2015). A free agent, he moved to the Philadelphia Phillies and was 7-12 with a 4.98 ERA for the '12 Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He tied Pedro Villarreal for second in the 2012 IL in losses, 5 behind Tanner Roark. Only Trevor May had more losses in the Phillies chain.

For 2013, the Illinois native signed with the Detroit Tigers and spent another campaign in AAA: 3-7, 5.07 for the Toledo Mud Hens before Tommy John surgery ended his season. He missed all of 2014 while rehabbing, returning that winter with the Santurce Crabbers (0-1, 3.41 in 9 G). He was 7th in the Puerto Rican League in ERA, between Jay Rogers and Adalberto Flores. Signed by the Miami Marlins, he was 5-7 with a 3.25 ERA for the New Orleans Zephyrs, his best numbers in five years. He was also 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in two games for the independent Lancaster Barnstormers.

That 2015 work in the US intrigued the Lamigo Monkeys to sign him and he was 6-1 with a 2.96 ERA for the remainder of the 2015 CPBL campaign. He then excelled in the 2015 Taiwan Series. He won game 1 over the Chinatrust Brothers with 3 runs in 7 innings to beat Victor Garate. He was roughed up in a game 4 loss as Lamigo fell behind, 3 games to 1. They won games 5 and 6, though, and I-Chung Hong gave Misch the ball for game 7. It was a great call as Misch threw a no-hitter, fanning seven with one walk (to Cheng-Min Peng) the only thing preventing him from a perfect game. It was only the 7th no-hitter in CPBL history, the first in Lamigo Monkeys history and the first ever in the Taiwanese postseason, let alone in a Taiwan Series finale. No CPBL pitcher had even throw a no-hitter for seven years; Wei-Lun Pan had done so last. He did not claim the Taiwan Series MVP, which went to slugger Chih-Sheng Lin.

Sources: 2004-2007 Baseball Almanacs, MLB.com, 2015 Marlins Media Guide

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