Эрик Бедар: Канадтық бейсболшының мансабы

Canadian baseball player (born 1979)
the Major League Baseball player

Érik Joseph Bédard (pronounced eʁik beˈdɑʁ baydar; born March 5, 1979) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays. With Baltimore, Bédard was the staff ace, setting the franchise single season strikeouts per nine innings record at 10.93 in 2007.

Bédard was born on March 5, 1979, in Navan, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa. A Franco Ontarian, Bédard began his baseball career in the Orleans Little League and the Ontario Baseball Association. He was a pitcher on the 1992 Orleans Junior Red Sox team which defeated Glace Bay in the 1992 Canadian Championship. Bédard did not play high school baseball, which is common in Canada due to the short playing season. Although 5 feet (2 m) and as a senior, he grew seven inches and gained during the summer between graduating from high school and beginning college. He accompanied a friend to a tryout at Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut, and made the baseball team as a walk on. While in college, he added 10 miles per hour to his fastball, gained another , took the "lowest level" non credit English language course to enhance his knowledge of the language, and became a junior college All American.

As a left handed starter, Bédard was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth round of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Orioles, where he allowed only one earned run in 20.1 innings for an 0.44 ERA, 4th best among all minor league pitchers that year. He spent the 2000 season with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League, where he was 9–4 with a 3.57 ERA in 29 games (22 starts). In 2001 with the Frederick Keys of the Carolina League, he led all Orioles farmhands with a 2.15 ERA He also appeared in a game on April 21 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and allowed an RBI single to the only batter he faced (Ben Grieve). He was optioned to the Double A Bowie Baysox two days later Then teammate Kevin Millar stated that Bédard "probably has the best curveball in baseball." Bédard broke the franchise single season strikeout record on August 26. The previous record was held by Mike Mussina, who had 218 in 1997. Because the Orioles were eliminated from playoff contention later that week, manager Dave Trembley decided to shut down Bédard for the remainder of the season on September 9, prematurely ending his season by placing him on the 60 day disabled list. Bédard finished the season with a 13–5 record, posting a 3.16 ERA with 221 strikeouts. He was eligible for arbitration from the Orioles during the 2007–2008 offseason.

On February 8, 2008, Bédard was traded to the Seattle Mariners in a 5 for 1 deal sending outfielder Adam Jones and pitchers George Sherrill, Tony Butler, Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio to the Orioles. On February 13, Mariners manager John McLaren announced that he would be their Opening Day starter. Bédard then signed a one year, $7 million deal with the Mariners on February 15, avoiding salary arbitration. He was 6–4 with a 3.67 ERA in 15 starts for the Mariners in 2008 He missed the rest of the season and underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder on September 26. On February 6, 2010, Bédard re signed with the Mariners to a one year contract with a mutual option for 2011. At the start of the 2010 season, there was hope he would return to the majors as soon as May or June 2010. Since then, he suffered multiple setbacks while rehabbing his shoulder and did not pitch in the majors in 2010, though he did appear in three minor league rehab games. He appeared in 16 games for the Mariners to start the 2011 season, with a 4–7 record and a 3.45 ERA. Bedard made eight starts for the Red Sox in August and September. He never went more than six innings, and had one win, two losses and a 4.03 ERA.

On December 7, 2011, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Bédard to a one year, $4.5 million contract. He was their 2012 Opening Day Starter. Bedard had 7 wins, 14 losses and an ERA of 5.02 in 24 starts, and was released on August 28.

After their move to the American League, the Houston Astros signed Bédard to a minor league deal on January 21, 2013. He recorded his first career save on opening day, March 31, 2013, with 3 1/3 innings of relief against rival Texas Rangers. On July 21, 2013, he pitched 6 1/3 innings of a no hitter when he asked to leave his no hitter after 109 pitches. In 32 appearances (26 starts) for the Astros, he was 4–12 with a 4.59 ERA. He was released by the Rays on March 25 and became a free agent, exercising an "opt out" clause in his contract after not making the starting rotation at the end of spring training. A few days later, he changed his mind and agreed to report to the Durham Bulls, the AAA minor league affiliate of the Rays. On April 11 the Rays announced that Bédard had been called up from Durham to the major league team. He pitched for the Rays until he was designated for assignment on July 28, 2014. Bédard was released on August 3. In 17 appearances (15 starts), he was 4–6 with a 4.76 ERA. On March 23 the Dodgers announced that Bédard would miss four to six weeks after he strained his back during a spring training appearance, ending any chance he had to make the opening day roster. After spending the start of the season in extended spring training rehabilitating his injury Bedard was assigned to the Class A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on May 25. He made three starts for the Quakes with a 1–1 record and 5.02 ERA