Vital Statistics:
Born: May 25, 1979
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Height: 6-10
Weight: 260
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Family: Wife, Liz
Primary position: Starting pitcher
Before The Bigs:
- Signed with Princeton, where he played both basketball and baseball and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year in both sports in 1999. He led Princeton in scoring in basketball as a sophomore and scored 20 points in a game at national power Kansas.
- Selected in the third round (89th overall) in 2000 by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Played two short seasons at Single-A Hickory so he could finish his degree in politics at Princeton in 2002.
- Was traded from the Pirates to the Expos in December 2002, and then was traded to the Texas Rangers in April 2004.
- Was called up to the Rangers to finish the 2004 season.
- The tallest player in Rangers history, he went 3-2 in seven starts in August and September of 2004 for his hometown team, and was 12-7 with a 4.26 ERA for Texas in 2005, the best win total for a rookie in team history.
- Was traded with Adrian Gonzalez and Terrmel Sledge to the San Diego Padres for Adam Eaton, Akinori Otsuka, and Billy Killian on January 4, 2006.
- Went 11-5 with a 3.46 ERA for the Padres in 2006.
- Went 25 road starts without a loss between 2005 and 2007.
- Took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Pirates on Sept. 22, 2006.
- Was elected by fans to his first All-Star team in 2007 via the fans’ final vote.
