Jason Berken | |||
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Berken with the Baltimore Orioles in 2009
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Free agent | |||
Relief pitcher | |||
Born: Green Bay, Wisconsin |
November 27, 1983 |||
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MLB debut | |||
May 26, 2009, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
MLB statistics (through 2012 season) |
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Win–loss record | 10–20 | ||
Earned run average | 5.36 | ||
Strikeouts | 163 | ||
Teams | |||
Jason Thomas Berken (born November 27, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs.
Berken graduated from West De Pere High School. He played college baseball for the Clemson Tigers. While at Clemson, he played for the New England Collegiate Baseball League's Keene Swamp Bats. In 186 2⁄3 innings with Clemson, Berken pitched to an 18–6 record, 3.04 ERA, and 156 strikeouts.
Berken was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth round (175th overall) of the 2006 MLB draft. On May 26, 2009, after pitching just 25 2⁄3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk, he was called up to the Orioles' roster to replace injured outfielder Lou Montanez. He earned his first major league win that day, giving up two runs in five innings in a 7–2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. However, he finished the year with a 6–12 record, along with a 6.54 ERA in 119 2⁄3 innings pitched. This led to Berken being named the AL Les Sweetland award winner by SI writer Joe Posnanski for finishing the year as the worst starting pitcher in the American League.
On September 7, 2012, Berken was claimed off waivers by the Cubs.