Vital Statistics:
Born: January 7, 1976
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec
Height: 6-0
Weight: 240
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Family: Wife, Valerie; daughters Faye and Bluu; son Maddox
Primary position: Relief pitcher
Before The Bigs:
- Gagne grew up as a French-speaking hockey player in Quebec.
- He was selected in the 30th round (845th overall) in the 1994 draft by the White Sox, but never signed with Chicago. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dodgers a year later.
- Missed the entire 1997 season in the minors after Tommy John ligament transplant surgery.
- He was a starter in the minors, and blossomed in 1999, going 12-4 with a 2.63 ERA at Double-A San Antonio, and made his Dodgers debut that season.
- Bounced back and forth from the Dodgers’ starting rotation and the minors the next two seasons, and went 11-14.
- Became a reliever in 2002 at age 26 and was an instant success, saving 52 games in 77 appearances.
- He was even better in 2003, saving a National League-best 55 games, becoming the first player to save 50 games twice in his career. He struck out 137 batters in 82 1/3 innings, and won the NL Cy Young Award.
- Picked to the NL All-Star team in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
- On June 6, 2006, catcher Russell Martin and Gagne became the first French-Canadian battery in major-league history in a game for the Dodgers.
- Missed almost all of the 2005 and 2006 seasons with arm injuries, which required a second Tommy John surgery, one of the few players to attempt a second reconstructive surgery.
- Signed as a free agent with the Texas Rangers in 2007, and was traded to the Boston Red Sox on July 31, 2007.
- Struggled with Boston, with a 6.75 ERA in 18 2/3 innings and was barely used in the playoffs for the Red Sox, who won the World Series.
- Signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Milwaukee Brewers in December 2007.
