Dan Wheeler
American baseball player (born 1977)
Daniel Michael Wheeler (born December 10, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians from 1999 through 2012.
01Career
Early career
Wheeler attended Pilgrim High School in Warwick, Rhode Island. He was drafted in the 1996 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays out of Central Arizona College. He pitched for the Devil Rays for three years, 1999-2001, and then for the New York Mets in 2003 and part of 2004. The Mets traded him to the Houston Astros during the 2004 season for minor leaguer Adam Seuss.
Houston Astros
Wheeler was utterly brilliant during the Astros' 2004 postseason run, throwing 8 innings while striking out 9 and allowing 4 hits, no walks and no runs, posting a perfect 0.00 ERA, over the course of 5 appearances.
In 2005, Wheeler established himself as a top setup man for the Astros, going 2-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 71 games.
On October 19, 2005 during the National League Championship Series, he recorded the last out at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, a fly ball which was caught by Astro Jason Lane in right field off the bat of Yadier Molina. He played on Team USA in the 2006 World Baseball Classic in the offseason.
On April 9, 2007, Wheeler became the Astros' closer, replacing Brad Lidge. However, Wheeler lost the closer's job when Lidge overcame injury and returned to the team.
Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays
On July 28, 2007, Wheeler was traded back to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in exchange for third baseman Ty Wigginton. The organization changed their name from "Devil Rays" to "Rays" after the 2007 season.
Boston Red Sox
On December 17, 2010, the Boston Red Sox signed Wheeler to a one-year, $3 million contract with a club option for 2012.
Cleveland Indians
On January 26, 2012, Wheeler signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. He was added to the team's Opening Day roster on April 4. He struggled early, however, with an 8.76 ERA and two strikeouts in 12 games. Wheeler was designated for assignment immediately following the game on May 13, against the Boston Red Sox in which he gave up six earned runs in one inning. After clearing waivers, Wheeler was outrighted to the triple-A Columbus Clippers on May 16. He appeared in 36 games for Columbus, posting a 3-3 record and a 2.32 ERA. On October 4, Wheeler elected free agency.
Kansas City Royals
On December 11, 2012, the Kansas City Royals confirmed they had signed Wheeler to a minor league contract with an expected invite to Major League spring training, but he would never appear in another major league game. He was released on May 11, 2013.
Wheeler retired from professional baseball on February 7, 2014.
02Personal life
Wheeler is married to Stephanie, who is the daughter of long time Rays play-by-play broadcaster Dewayne Staats.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Dan Wheeler”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- 20110426-0094 Dan Wheeler.jpg by Keith Allison on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Qualls, Wheeler and Lidge.jpg by dbking, CC BY 2.0
- AAAA9988 Dan Wheeler.jpg by Keith Allison on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
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