Jeremy Affeldt

Jeremy David Affeldt (/ˈæfɛlt/; born June 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball player. He pitched and batted left-handed and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.

Affeldt was a third-round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals in 1997 MLB draft. He made the team in 2002, and started part of the year for them. In five seasons with the Royals, Affeldt bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. In 2006, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline, and was a member of the Rockies 2007 World Series team. After one season with the Cincinnati Reds, he signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2009, where he was a member of the 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Series championship teams.

Jeremy David Affeldt was born on June 6, 1979, in Phoenix, Arizona, to David and Charlotte Affeldt. His father was a member of the United States Air Force, and Affeldt lived in Guam, Merced, California, and Spokane, Washington, growing up. While in Merced, Affeldt and his father would frequently attend Oakland Athletics games, and Affeldt enjoyed watching Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Dave Stewart. Affeldt attended Northwest Christian High School, a Division 2-B school in Colbert, Washington. He participated in three sports while there, but it was baseball that drove several major league scouts to the school to see him pitch. He graduated in 1997.

Affeldt was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the third round of the 1997 MLB draft. Affeldt ultimately decided not to accept a scholarship offer to play college baseball for his hometown Gonzaga University. He spent 1997 pitching for the rookie–league Gulf Coast League Royals. While with them, he went 2–0 with a 4.50 ERA in ten games (nine starts).

Affeldt improved with the GCL Royals the next year, going 4–3 with a 2.89 ERA in twelve games (nine starts). His performance even earned him a promotion to the single-A Lansing Lugnuts. Affeldt did not do well in his time with them, though, as he went 0–3 with a 9.53 ERA in six games (three starts).

In 1999, Affeldt spent the entire season with the Royals' single-A affiliate, which had changed to the Charleston Alley Cats during the offseason. Although he only went 7–7, he had a 3.83 ERA in twenty–seven games (twenty–four starts).

Affeldt pitched with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the single-A advanced Carolina League in 2000. While with Wilmington, he led the entire Kansas City Royals' organization (and the Carolina League) with fifteen losses (to go with only five wins). He also threw seventeen wild pitches. However, his ERA was 4.09, and the Blue Rocks were only a half–game ahead of the worst team in the league (the Potomac Cannons).

2001 was a better season for Affeldt, as he went 10–6 with a 3.90 ERA in twenty–five starts for the double-A Wichita Wranglers. He was selected to pitch in the Texas League All-Star Game, and he was named to the postseason All–Star team.