Kip Wells

Infobox MLB player
name = Kip Wells

---

width = 300
caption = Kip Wells as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2007
team = Kansas City Royals
number = 40
position = Pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1977|4|21
birthplace = city-state|Houston|Texas
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = August 2
debutyear = 1999
debutteam = Chicago White Sox
statyear = August 18, 2008
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 65-93
stat2label = Earned run average
stat2value = 4.64
stat3label = Strikeouts
stat3value = 892
teams =
*Chicago White Sox (by|1999-by|2001)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2001-by|2006)
*Texas Rangers (by|2006)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2007)
*Colorado Rockies (by|2008)
*Kansas City Royals (by|2008-present)

Robert "Kip" Wells (born April 21, 1977 in Houston, Texas) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals. He bats and throws right-handed.

High School Career

Wells attended Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas and was a baseball star and an honor roll student. In baseball, he won All-State and All-America honors after his Senior year (1995) [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/sbusa5.htm All-USA high school baseball (June 21, 1995) ] ] . He was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 58th round of the Major League Baseball Draft that June. He did not sign with the Brewers; instead, he went to Baylor University.

College career

He posted a career record of 21-14 for the Baylor Bears with a 5.17 ERA and 288 strikeouts in three collegiate seasons and was by|1998 2nd Team All-America, 1998 Big 12 1st Team, 1998 All-Region, by|1999 Pre Season All America 2nd Team. He also played with the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League during the summer of by|1997 [ [http://www.brewsterwhitecaps.com/majors.htm Brewster Whitecaps ] ] . He went 5-6 with a 1.92 ERA, 49 strikeouts and five saves to earn the league's Outstanding Pro Prospect Award.

Pro career

Wells was the first round (16th overall) draft pick of the Chicago White Sox in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his first major league appearance with the White Sox the following year. In his debut against the Detroit Tigers, Wells went 5.1 innings, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs and 1 earned run while walking 2 and striking out 4 for his first Major League victory [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET199908020.shtml August 2, 1999 Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

After the mlby|2001 season, in which he split time between the starting rotation and the bullpen, Wells was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As of the end of the mlby|2005 season, Wells had a 55-69 record and a 4.36 ERA after 188 games over the course of seven seasons. Wells led the league in losses in 2005, going 8-18 on a Pirates team that went 72-90.

On March 1, mlby|2006, Wells announced he would have surgery to remove a blood clot in his right arm [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2345257 ESPN - Wells leaves camp to see blood clot specialist - MLB ] ] . The surgery was performed on March 6, and he returned to the field on June 19, 2006.

At the trade deadline in 2006, Wells was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Texas Rangers for Jesse Chavez. [http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/transactions.jsp?c_id=pit] During his time with the pirates, Wells once hit a 450 foot home run to dead center field at PNC Park.

On November 28, 2006, Kip Wells signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. He struggled in the first half, going 3-11 with an ERA of 5.92 and getting demoted to the bullpen right before the All-Star break. After the All-Star Break, he was a little better, posting a 4-6 record. He made a promising start against the Florida Marlins on July 18, when he threw eight shutout innings in a 6-0 Cardinals win [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/FLO/FLO200707180.shtml July 18, 2007 St. Louis Cardinals at Florida Marlins Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com ] ] . At the conclusion of the mlby|2007 season, Wells' record was 7-17 with an ERA of 5.70.

On December 13, 2007, he signed with the Colorado Rockies. Wells began the mlby|2008 season compiling a 2.29 ERA in ten games with 16 strikeouts as the primary long relief pitcher out of the bullpen. However, on April 30, Wells was place on the disabled list with blood clots in his pitching hand. On August 10, 2008 the Rockies designated him for assignment and was eventually released.

Wells signed with the Kansas City Royals on August 18, 2008.

References

External links

* [http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player.jsp?player_id=150337 MLB Profile]
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* [http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/players/playerpage/146207 Profile at CBS.Sportsline.com]