Mychal Givens

Mychal Givens

Givens with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles – No. 60
Pitcher
Born: (1990-05-13) May 13, 1990
Tampa, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 24, 2015, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Win–loss record 10–2
Earned run average 2.75
Strikeouts 134
Teams

Mychal Antonio Givens (born May 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2015.

Career

Givens attended Henry B. Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played for the school's baseball team as a pitcher and an infielder. In 2007, he was selected to play for the United States 18-and-under national baseball team.[1] In his junior and senior years, he was named All-State. As a senior, he had an 8–4 win–loss record and a 1.71 earned run average (ERA) with 113 strikeouts in 78 innings as a pitcher, and a .374 batting average with four home runs and 31 runs batted in as a hitter.[2]

The Baltimore Orioles selected Givens in the second round, with the 54th overall selection, of the 2009 MLB draft.[2][3] He signed with the Orioles, receiving a reported $800,000 signing bonus rather than enrolling at Oklahoma State University.[4] The Orioles began to develop Givens as a shortstop.[5] Playing for the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2010, he was batting .222 when he sprained his thumb.[6] He required surgery to correct the injury.[5]

In 2011, Givens returned to Delmarva, and hit .195. He was demoted to the Aberdeen IronBirds of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League.[7] Givens played for the Perth Heat in 2011–12 Australian Baseball League season and played in the 2011 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game. He batted .243 in Delmarva in 2012.[8]

Before the 2013 season, the Orioles approached Givens about becoming a pitcher.[2][5][8] In 2013, he pitched 40 innings for Delmarva, recording 36 strikeouts and a 4.22 ERA.[2][9] With the Frederick Keys of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in 2014, he had a 1–2 record and a 3.24 ERA.[5] The Orioles assigned Givens to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League after the 2014 season.[10] The Orioles opted not to add Givens on their 40-man roster, which would have prevented him from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft. Givens went unselected.[11]

With the Bowie Baysox of the Class AA Eastern League, Givens began the 2015 season with a 3–1 win–loss record, a 1.60 ERA and 12 saves with 54 strikeouts in  39 1⁄3 innings.

Baltimore Orioles

2015

The Orioles promoted him to the major leagues on June 20.[12][13] He made his major league debut on June 24, pitching one scoreless inning, striking out one batter, and was optioned back to Bowie the next day.[14] He was named to the Eastern League All-Star Game.[15] On July 31, he was recalled after the Orioles traded Tommy Hunter and designated Bud Norris for assignment. He pitched 1 2⁄3 innings while striking out two batters and earning his first career Major League win against the Detroit Tigers. Givens went 2-0 in 2015 with a 1.80 ERA in 22 games, with 30.0 innings pitched. Givens struck out 38 batters while only walking six and had a WHIP of 0.867.

2016

Givens made the Orioles Opening Day roster and made his first relief appearance on Opening Day. He threw 1 1⁄3 innings, giving up two runs while striking out two batters. The Orioles would eventually win the game 3-2 on a walk-off single. After allowing three runs in his first two relief appearances of the season, Givens saw his ERA sitting at 13.50. Givens would go on to throw ten consecutive scoreless innings, before giving up another run. He ended the month of April, having appeared in 12 games, throwing 12 innings, striking out 21, walking seven, and pitching to a 3.00 ERA. Givens also went 2-0 in the month. In May, Givens went 1-0, while pitching to a 1.93 ERA in 11 innings in eight appearances. Givens earned the win for the Orioles on June 2 and 3rd, making him 5-0 on the year and 7-0 for his career. According to STATS, LLC, Givens was the first Orioles pitcher to begin his Major League career with seven consecutive wins as a reliever.

Givens finished his 2016 campaign with 96 strikeouts and a 3.13 ERA in 74 2⁄3 innings in 66 appearances. He pitched to a 1.27 WHIP and an 8-2 record while striking out 11.6 batters per nine innings pitched.

Givens made his postseason debut in the Wild Card Game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He entered the game with a 2-2 tie and runners on the corners. He forced a first-pitch double play. He ended up striking out three batters in 2 1⁄3 innings pitched, in what ended up being a 5-2 Orioles loss in 11th innings.

Personal

Mychal was raised by his Great Grandmother Liduvina Padilla and her late husband Pedro Padilla. He married his longtime girlfriend Tiffani in February 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "Panther picked for national team". sptimes.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Former Plant standout Givens makes his pitch for the big leagues". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Florida high school sports – Plant's Mychal Givens remains unsigned, plans to know future with Orioles soon". tampabay.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Florida high school sports – Plant's Mychal Givens signs pro deal with Baltimore Orioles". tampabay.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Orioles' 2009 second-round pick Mychal Givens has new life as converted reliever". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Baltimore Orioles prospect Mychal Givens, team officials remain optimistic after injury". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Mychal Givens – Orioles minor leaguer Givens likely will be converted to mound – Baltimore Sun". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Steve Melewski: Mound move: Mychal Givens isn't an infielder anymore". MASNsports. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Steve Melewski: The move to the mound is looking good for Mychal Givens (plus remembering Paul Blair)". MASNsports. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Dariel Alvarez. six other Orioles minor leaguers to play in Arizona Fall League". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  11. ↑ http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/12/givens-not-assuming-hes-in-bullpen-in-2016.html
  12. ↑ "Orioles promote Mychal Givens to major leagues". Comcast SportsNet Baltimore. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ Baltimore Sun (June 22, 2015). "Ex-shortstop Mychal Givens earned promotion to O's as a pitcher by finding 'another gear'". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  14. ↑ Encina, Eduardo A. (June 25, 2015). "Orioles notebook: Mychal Givens sent to Bowie, Adam Jones might not return Friday". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  15. ↑ Baltimore Sun (July 1, 2015). "Mychal Givens, Mike Yastrzemski among four Baysox named to Eastern League All-Star Game". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.

External links

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