Everything about Braden Looper totally explained
Braden LaVern Looper (born on
October 28,
1974, in
Weatherford,
Oklahoma) is a
pitcher in
Major League Baseball for the
St. Louis Cardinals.
High School
Looper was a scholar/athlete while a student at Mangum High School in
Mangum, Oklahoma. He graduated in 1993 with four
letters each in
baseball and
basketball and two in
football while also a member of the
National Honor Society.
College and Olympics
He focused on baseball while attending
Wichita State University and was inducted into their sports Hall of Fame in
2003. In
1996, he competed in the
College World Series and was a first-team
All-American as a junior. He was also a member of the bronze medal-winning Team USA in the
1996 Olympics in
Atlanta.
Major Leagues
Looper was selected by the
St. Louis Cardinals as the third pick in the first round of the
1996 amateur draft. He made his major league debut against the
Los Angeles Dodgers on
March 31,
1998,
striking out the side in a relief appearance. After the 1998 season, he was traded to the
Florida Marlins for
shortstop Edgar Rentería.
Looper enjoyed success with the Marlins, working his way into the role of a
closer. However, toward the end of the
2003 season, as the Marlins were in a
pennant race that culminated in a
World Series win, Looper faltered somewhat and was replaced as closer by
Ugueth Urbina. Looper did get the save in the fourth game of the series against the Yankees.
In January
2004, Looper signed with the
New York Mets as a free agent and had his best season to date going 2-5 with 29
saves and a 2.70
ERA. However, Looper had many crucial blown saves during the 2005 season, including blown saves on Opening Day, in a game that would have clinched a Met sweep at Yankee Stadium and as part of an eight-run collapse by the Mets pen against the Nationals. These performances still fresh in fans' minds, he was greeted with loud boos and "Looper sucks!" chants upon his returns to Shea with the Cardinals, most prominently during the
2006 NLCS.
In September of 2005 Looper underwent shoulder surgery to repair a blown
AC joint. This, in addition to the emergence of
Aaron Heilman and acquisition by the Mets of other relief pitchers, kept the Mets from picking up his $5 million option for 2006. Indeed, on
December 15,
2005, he signed a three-year, $13.5M contract with the Cardinals to set up star closer and former Met
Jason Isringhausen.
He was part of the
2006 World Series winning
St. Louis Cardinals team which, coincidentally, won the series the day before his birthday. As primarily an 8th inning setup man, Looper posted a 9-3 record as the team's leading "vulture", or bullpen wins leader.
Beginning in the
2007 season Looper became a
starting pitcher for the first time in his major league career. Before the season began, Looper stated that his goal was to reach 200 innings pitched in the season. In his first season as a starter, Looper reached career highs in wins (12), innings pitched (175), and strikeouts (84) in 30 starts (31 total appearances).
Personal
Looper is married with two children and resides in
Palos Heights,
Illinois.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Braden Looper'.
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