Marc Kroon
Marc Jason Kroon (born April 2, 1973) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher. He served as the closer for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League.
| Marc Kroon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Relief pitcher | |
| Born: April 2, 1973 The Bronx, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Professional debut | |
| MLB: July 7, 1995, for the San Diego Padres | |
| NPB: April 2, 2005, for the Yokohama BayStars | |
| Last appearance | |
| MLB: June 29, 2004, for the Colorado Rockies | |
| NPB: October 8, 2010, for the Yomiuri Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 0–2 |
| Earned run average | 7.76 |
| Strikeouts | 23 |
| NPB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 14–18 |
| Earned run average | 2.68 |
| Strikeouts | 417 |
| Saves | 177 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Career
He was drafted 72nd overall by the New York Mets in 1991. The Mets traded him to the San Diego Padres in 1993 as the player to be named later in an earlier trade for Frank Seminara.[1] The Padres traded Kroon to the Cincinnati Reds for Buddy Carlyle in April 1998.[2]
Kroon retired following elbow surgeries and did not play baseball at any level in 2001 or 2002. He came out of retirement and joined the Anaheim Angels organization in 2003 after coach Mike Butcher's brother-in-law saw him giving a pitching lesson in a park.[3]
Kroon joined the Yokohama BayStars in 2005. After the 2007 season, Kroon and the BayStars failed to come to terms on a new contract, and ended up being a free agent. Kroon was later signed by the Yomiuri Giants along with two other major non-Japanese free agents: former Tokyo Yakult Swallows standouts Seth Greisinger, and Alex Ramirez.
In 2008, Kroon led the Central League in saves with 41.[4] He also broke his own record of pitching to 162 km/h (101 mph).
Kroon signed a minor league contract with an invitation for spring training with the San Francisco Giants in 2011.[5] Kroon was reassigned to triple-A Fresno Grizzlies at the end of spring training.[6]
Kroon was featured in the Showtime television production The Franchise.[7]
On March 8, 2012, Kroon retired.[8]
Personal life
His son, Matt, is an infielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
References
- Sexton, Joe (14 December 1993). "BASEBALL; No Power and No Average. Sure, He's Definitely a Met". The New York Times.
- "ESPN.com: MLB - Padres purchase contract of RHP Buddy Carlyle". A.espncdn.com. 2003-07-18. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
- Lewis, Michael C. (21 August 2003). "Unlikely hero". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. B. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- "Lions defeat Giants to win Japan Series in seven". SI.com. Associated Press. 2008-11-11. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- "Marc Kroon Signs With Giants After High-Octane Closing Stint in Japan -- MLB FanHouse". mlb.fanhouse.com. Archived from the original on 2011-01-26.
- "Marc Kroon: Kroon can opt out of contract on June 1," Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine RotoWorld (April 1, 2011).
- "Featured | 'The Franchise' takes an inside look at the Giants - Video | SFGiants.com: Multimedia". Archived from the original on 2011-04-20.
- Pentis, Andrew (2012-03-08). "Memories of a retiring Minor Leaguer". milb.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Nippon Professional Baseball career statistics from JapaneseBaseball.com
- Archived version of Marc Kroon's website while in Japan
- Marc Kroon on Twitter