Stephen Fife

Stephen Joseph Fife

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
• School Everett Community College, University of Utah
• High School Borah High School
• Debut July 17, 2012
• Final Game May 4, 2014
• Born October 4, 1986 in Boise, ID USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Stephen Fife reached the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.

Amateur Career

After playing in the 1999 Little League World Series, Fife was All-State as a high school senior in 2005, when Borah won a state title. He had a 9-2 record in junior college, then transferred to Utah. He was 6-2 with a 4.43 ERA and 31 walks in 63 innings as a sophomore in 2007. He went 7-5 with a 3.72 ERA and 78 strikeouts as a junior. He was named All-Mountain West Conference. He was then chosen by the Boston Red Sox in the third round of the 2008 amateur draft (between Zach Stewart and Brent Morel). The 85th total pick, he was the second MWC player taken after Andrew Cashner. He was signed by scout Matt Mahoney for a $464,000 bonus and made his pro debut that summer with the Lowell Spinners.

Minors

Fife was 1-1 with a 2.33 ERA and .198 opponent average for Lowell in '08, allowing just one homer in 38 2/3 IP. He then tossed four shutout innings in the postseason. He split 2009 between the Greenville Drive (0-3, 2.70) and Salem Red Sox (3-2, 4.44), with a combined 14 walks to 86 whiffs in 87 1/3 innings. He had a mediocre 2010 with the Portland Sea Dogs at 8-6, 4.75.

He began 2011 sharper with Portland, going 11-4 with a 3.66 ERA. He was leading Boston farmhands in wins at the end of July. On July 31st, 2011, Fife was traded twice in one day. First, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners as part of a deal for Erik Bedard; then he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with Tim Federowicz and Juan Rodriguez for Trayvon Robinson. After the deal, he was 3-0 with a 4.00 ERA for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He started 2012 with the Albuquerque Isotopes, and after going 7-5 with a 4.53 ERA in 18 starts, he was called up to the majors when Chad Billingsley went on the disabled list.

Majors

He made his big league debut on July 17th, giving up one earned run on four hits and 3 walks in 6 innings while striking out one in a start against the Philadelphia Phillies, but had a no-decision. He left with a 2-1 lead over Roy Halladay but his bullpen blew it, with Ronald Belisario giving up two 8th-inning runs. He made five starts for the Dodgers, and while he put up a very solid 2.70 ERA in 25 2/3 innings, he ended up with a record of 0-2 due to lack of offensive support. He started 2013 back in the minor leagues with the Isotopes, made a one-off start in the majors against the Baltimore Orioles on April 21st in which he had a no-decision, spent some time on the disabled list, and finally returned to the big leagues on June 3rd, when he picked up the first win of his career with a solid effort against the San Diego Padres. In 5 1/3 innings, he gave up only 1 run on 5 hits before giving way to Peter Moylan and a string of other relievers, but the Dodgers' 2-1 lead held to the end.

Sources

• 2012 Dodgers Media Guide
• Utah bio
• 2009 Baseball Almanac

Related Sites

• Stephen Fife on mlb.com