Todd Van Poppel
| Todd Van Poppel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | |||
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Born: December 9, 1971 Hinsdale, Illinois |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 11, 1991, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 2, 2004, for the Cincinnati Reds | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 40–52 | ||
| Earned run average | 5.58 | ||
| Strikeouts | 711 | ||
| Teams | |||
Todd Matthew Van Poppel (born December 9, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics (1991, 1993-1996), Detroit Tigers (1996), Texas Rangers (1998, 2002-2003), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998), Chicago Cubs (2000-2001), and Cincinnati Reds (2003-2004). He retired during spring training with the New York Mets in 2005.
Van Poppel was 11-3 with a 0.97 earned run average (ERA) and 170 strikeouts as a senior at Martin High School in Arlington, Texas. He was drafted in the first round, 14th overall, by the Athletics directly out of high school in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft. The Atlanta Braves had seriously considered using the first overall selection on Van Poppel. However, when Van Poppel explicitly told the Braves he would not sign with them, the team opted instead to take Chipper Jones, thus becoming a hero in Braves lore.
Van Poppel was the first of four starting pitchers selected by the A's in the first 36 picks of the 1990 draft, referred to at the time as "The Four Aces". The other three draftees were Don Peters, Dave Zancanaro and Kirk Dressendorfer. All four struggled with injuries after being drafted, and only Van Poppel and Dressendorfer ever reached the major leagues.
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