Tyler Clippard: 2015 NL Champion Mets Pitcher (2015)
Golfer: In high school he was also a star golfer, named one of the ten best Golfer's in Pasco County in his sophomore year.
The six-foot three right hander was signed out of high school in New Port Richey, Florida by the AL New York team in the 9th round in 2003.
He went through the ranks of the minor leagues rather quickly, arriving in the big leagues by 2007. At the time he was ranked the tenth best prospect in the Eastern League by Baseball America.
He went through the ranks of the minor leagues rather quickly, arriving in the big leagues by 2007. At the time he was ranked the tenth best prospect in the Eastern League by Baseball America.
MLB Debut: On May 20th, 2007, Clippard made his MLB debut it was against the New York Mets in an interleague game. In that game he gave up one run, a HR to David Wright, with three hits in six innings. In the 6th inning, he singled off Scott Schoeneweis, it was just his third plate appearance since high school.
By mid-June he was 3-1 with an ERA over six while pitching in just six games. He was sent back down to the minor leagues & then traded to the Washington Nationals at the end of the season.
Nationals Career:
In 2010 he had his biggest year to date, winning eleven games in relief (11-8) with a 3.07 ERA 23 holds & a career high 112 strike outs in 91 innings.
Nationals Career:
In 2010 he had his biggest year to date, winning eleven games in relief (11-8) with a 3.07 ERA 23 holds & a career high 112 strike outs in 91 innings. That year he became the first pitcher since Mike Marshall in 1979 to have ten decisions (7-3) in the team's first 40 games. It was the first of five straight seasons (to date) that Clippard appeared in over 70 games.
In 2011 he followed up with an even better year, going 3-0 with 38 holds in 72 appearances, while posting a career best 1.83 ERA with 104 strike outs.
Nat's. In the game he came on in the 4th inning, relieving Cliff Lee with two on & one out.
The only batter he faced was Adrian Beltre who singled to left, but the runner Jose Bautista was thrown out at the plate by Hunter Pence. Soon after the NL scored three runs & Clippard was credited with the NL's victory.
That season got him the closing role for 2012, Clippard saved 32 games (7th in the NL) going 2-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 74 appearances. He also finished 42 games which was tenth best in the NL.
That season got him the closing role for 2012, Clippard saved 32 games (7th in the NL) going 2-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 74 appearances. He also finished 42 games which was tenth best in the NL.
In 2013 he went 6-3 with a 2.41 ERA collecting 33 holds. He followed that up with a 7-4 season in 2014 making another All-Star game.
He helped the Nats to the NL East crown & a post season appearance, posting a 2.18 ERA, striking out 82 batters while walking 23, in 75 appearances (4th in the NL).
Since 2010 he had made 350 appearances & had an ERA of 2.60 in that time. Only two other relief pitchers in a five-year stretch could be found throughout history with such a low ERA in that many appearances.
2014 Post Season- NLDS: In the NLDS he appeared in three games while the Nat's lost to the San Francisco Giants.A's Career: In January of 2015 he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Yunel Escobar. In Oakland he took over the closer role when the teams main closer Sean Doolittle went down with injury. Clippard saved 17 games going 1-3 with a 2.79 ERA in 37 appearances.
Mets Career: On July 27th he was traded to the New York Mets for Casey Meisner. He was acquired by the Mets to help tighten up the late innings for the Met bullpen. As soon as Clippard arrived in New York, reliever Jenrry Mejia tested positive for PED use, he had just been back for seven games before his last suspension. The Clippard trade was certainly a big plus.
On July 28th, Clippard made his Mets debut finishing up a 4-0 Mets win over the San Diego Padres.
On July 28th, Clippard made his Mets debut finishing up a 4-0 Mets win over the San Diego Padres.
Quotes- Tyler Clippard: on being with the Mets in a pennant race against his former team: "They're beatable. There's no perfect team in baseball right now. Everybody can go on skids. Everybody is vulnerable. Obviously, they've battled the injury bug this year. I think they're getting a couple of guys back today"."But you never know. It's one of those things -- you've got to play the season out and see what happens. "But everyone was talking before the season that their rotation was one of the best in the game, if not the best. And from what I've seen this year, this rotation here in New York compares -- if it's not better -- than what they've got over there. There's something to be said for that."
Clippard made an immediate positive impact in the Mets bullpen as setup man to Jeurys Familia. He debuted with the Mets on July 28th finishing up a 4-0 Noah Syndergaard win over the San Diego Padres at Citi Field. The next day Clippard was credited with his first Mets hold. On August 2nd, he stepped in to give Jeurys Familia a much-needed break & he collected his first Mets save. He would earn another on August 26th against the Phillies at Philadelphia.
On August 7th, he served up a solo HR to the Rays Evan Longoria in Tampa. This tied up the game at two, but Michael Conforto & Wilmer Flores RBI hits in the 9th earned Clippard his first Mets win.
On August 30th he relieved Hansel Robles in the 7th inning with the game tied up against the Boston Red Sox at Citi Field. Clippard then benefited from a Michael Cuddyer RBI single in the home 7th to earn himself his second Mets win.
On September 12th Clippard allowed a three run HR to the Braves pinch hitter Adonis Garcia, tying up the game. This time Kelly Johnson & Yoenis Cespedes both drove in runs in the top of the 9th to earn Clippard another win, albeit a blown win. On the final game of the regular season, he earned the 1-0-win Mets win over the Washington Nat's after pitching a scoreless 8th.
Overall, he was 4-1 with two saves & eight holds for the Mets in 2015 appearing in 32 games posting a 3.06 ERA. Although he did pitch well there were some troubled spots in certain games & Mets confidence in him was a bit shaky.
2015 Post Season- NLDS: In the 2015 NLDS win over the Dodgers he made two appearances. In the Game #1 win, he was credited with a hold, although he allowed the only Dodgers run.In the Game #4 loss at Citi Field, he pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
2015 NLCS: In the NLCS sweep of the Chicago Cubs he made three more appearances,
2015 NLCS: In the NLCS sweep of the Chicago Cubs he made three more appearances,
In Game #2 at Citi Field, he was credited with a hold & in the Game #3 win at Wrigley Field another hold. In the final Game #4 he served up a two run HR to Kris Bryant in the 8-3 Mets win advancing to the World Series.
In the Game #1 loss, he came on in the 8th inning with the Mets clinging to a one run lead. He gave up a leadoff double to Ben Zobrist, then struck out Lorenzo Cain & Eric Hosmer. He walked Kendrys Morales & was relieved by Jeurys Familia.
Familia put out the fire getting Mike Moustakas to ground out. But Familia gave up a 9th inning game tying HR to Alex Gordon. The Royals won it in the 14th inning.
Clippard got Alcides Escobar to ground out. But then he walked Ben Zobrist & Lorenzo Cain, getting removed by manager Terry Collins.
Jeurys Familia came in, then Eric Hosmer reached on Daniel Murphy's error as Zobrist scored the tying run. Singles by Mike Moustakis & Salvador Perez gave KC a 5-3 lead. The two runs were charged to Clippard who was the losing pitcher of record. The Royals won the game & the Championship.
Overall, in the 2015 Post Season he allowed five earned runs on seven hits, he struck out four & walked three in 6.2 innings of work.
Post Mets Career: For 2016 he signed on with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He appeared in 40 games going 2-3 with 13 holds, a save & posting a 4.30 ERA.
On July 31st, 2016, he was traded to the A.L. New York team for Vicente Campos, there he appeared in 29 games going 2-3 with 12 holds, two saves & a 2.49 ERA.
In 2017 he went 1-5 in New York with a 4.95 ERA, then in July he was traded to the Chicago White Sox along with two minor Leaguers in exchange for Todd Frazier & David Robertson. In 11 games there he was 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA.He was then given to the Houston Astros for cash & a player to be named later.
He went 0-2 then posted an ERA over six in 16 games but ended up earning a World Series ring when the Astros won their first franchise Championship. He did not see any post season action & was granted free agency at the end of the season.
In 2018 he was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays, in 73 appearances (4th most in the AL) he saved seven games going 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA. At the end of the season, he was granted free agency.In 2019 he joined the Cleveland Indians, making 53 appearances posting a 2.90 ERA going 1-0 with eight holds. He was granted free agency & signed on with the Minnesota Twins for 2020. There he was 2-1 in 26 appearances with a 2.77 ERA in the Covid 19 shortened season.
Clippard moved on to Arizona in 2021 appearing in 26 games going 1-1 with six saves & finishing off 15 games. He was back with the Nationals in 2022 appearing in just four games.
Career Stats: In his sixteen-year career Clippard was 56-48 with 74 saves & a 3.16 career ERA in 807 appearances while making nine starts. He has 956 strike outs while walking 344 batters in 872.1 innings pitched.
Family: Tyler & his wife Brittany have two children.