Luke Hochevar | |||
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Hochevar with the Royals in 2016
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Free agent | |||
Relief pitcher | |||
Born: Denver, Colorado |
September 15, 1983 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 8, 2007, for the Kansas City Royals | |||
MLB statistics (through 2016 season) |
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Win–loss record | 46–65 | ||
Earned run average | 4.98 | ||
Strikeouts | 702 | ||
WHIP | 1.34 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Medal record | ||
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Men’s baseball | ||
Representing United States | ||
World University Championship | ||
2004 Tainan | Team |
Luke Anthony Hochevar (/ˈhoʊtʃeɪvər/; born September 15, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball at the University of Tennessee, and has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals.
Luke Hochevar was born in Denver, Colorado, raised in Wiley, Colorado, and later moved to Fowler, Colorado, with parents Brian and Carmen Hochevar along with one brother and one sister. His father was a college basketball player at the University of Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo) who had an unsuccessful tryout with the Denver Nuggets and who later turned to coaching, including serving as Luke's baseball coach at Fowler High School. While at Fowler High, Hochevar was named Colorado Division 2A Player of the Year his senior year and was a three-time all-state selection. He was a multi-sport athlete, earning all-state honors in basketball. Hochevar excelled in the classroom as well, and was named an academic all-state four consecutive years.
Hochevar was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round (1,191st overall) of the 2002 MLB amateur entry draft but chose to attend college at the University of Tennessee instead. Hochevar was used primarily as a relief pitcher during his freshman year for the Volunteers, striking out 73 batters and walking 24 in 77 innings of work. His sophomore season was injury plagued for Hochevar; he missed a total of eight weeks playing time. However, he was good enough to be selected for the USA Baseball National Team, earning the victory in the FISU II World University Baseball Championship against Japan. Hochever bounced back as a junior, striking out a school record 154 batters, posting a 15-3 record, and 2.26 ERA for the season. For his efforts he was named the Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year and won the Roger Clemens Award.