Jeff Samardzija

Infobox MLB player
name=Jeff Samardzija


caption=
width=200
position=Relief pitcher
team=Chicago Cubs
number=29
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1985|1|23
birthplace=city-state|Merrillville|Indiana
debutdate=July 25
debutyear=2008
debutteam=Chicago Cubs
statyear=September 30, 2008
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=1-0
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=2.28
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=25
stat4label=Saves
stat4value=1
teams=
*Chicago Cubs (by|2008-present)|

Jeffrey Alan Samardzija (born January 23, 1985 in Merrillville, Indiana) is an American baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs. He is also a former American football wide receiver at the University of Notre Dame.

Early years

Samardzija grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana where he attended Valparaiso High School, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In football, he was a three-time first team All-State honoree, and was twice named the team's Most Valuable Player. After his senior year, he was invited to participate in the Indiana football All-Star game. In baseball, he was a first team All-State honoree. He is also a former American football wide receiver at the University of Notre Dame. graduated from Valparaiso High School in 2003 with a 3.40 GPA. Athletics were something of the norm early in his life. Father Sam Samardzija was a semi-pro hockey player, and older brother Sam Jr. was also an All State football and baseball player for Valparaiso High School.Fact|date=August 2007

Professional career

On January 19, 2007, Samardzija announced he would forego the National Football League Draft and commit to a baseball career. Samardzija signed a five-year deal to play baseball full-time, starting with the Chicago Cubs. The deal has a no-trade clause and a club option for a sixth and seventh year. If the club option is exercised, the total value of the deal would be $16.5 million. [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2736354]

Samardzija started the season pitching for Single-A Daytona. The right-hander went 3-8 with a 4.95 ERA. He was called up to Double-A Tennessee on August 3, 2007. He made six starts with a 3-3 record with a 3.41 ERA. [ [http://web.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071130&content_id=2314222&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs: News: Chicago Cubs News ] ] [Miles, Bruce, [http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/story.asp?id=336901 Samardzija steps up in class to AA] , Daily Herald, Retrieved on August 4, 2007] .

"The numbers, obviously, I'm not too happy about them," Samardzija said. "But I look at the whole season. I learned from it. The middle of the season, I got a little down. It was good to learn from, and to learn how to quickly fix things. I was very happy with how the season ended."

On June 23, by|2008, Samardzija was promoted to Triple-A Iowa after posting a 3-5 record in Tennessee with a 4.86 ERA. [cite web|title=Samardzija promoted; Hill, Pie, to Mesa|url=http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080623&content_id=2990452&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc| accessdate=2008-06-24] In his career in Triple-A Iowa, he has posted a 4-1 record and a 3.13 ERA, with 40 strikeouts and 16 walks. [cite web|title=Jeff Samardzija AAA Iowa stats|url=http://iowa.cubs.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Jeff%20Samardzija&pos=P&sid=t451&t=p_pbp&pid=502188| accessdate=2008-07-24]

On July 25, 2008, Samardzija was called up to join the bullpen of the Chicago Cubs to replace Kerry Wood, who was placed on the DL. [cite web|title=Cubs recall right-handed pitcher Jeff Samardzija|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080725&content_id=3191743&vkey=pr_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc |accessdate=2008-07-25] He made his MLB debut the same day against the Florida Marlins, striking out the first batter he faced in the 7th inning. Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella was impressed with Samardzija's major league debut, saying he may never see the minors again. [Van Dyck, Dave, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-27-cubs-bits-chicagojul27,0,6803293.story Samardzija shows staying power] , Chicago Tribune, Retrieved on July 27, 2008] On July 27th, 2008, Samardzija recorded his first career major league save against the Florida Marlins. [Ginnetti, Tony, [http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1077403,CST-SPT-cub28.article Samardzija comes up big as Cubs sit alone in first] , Chicago Sun-Times, Retrieved on July 28, 2008]

Pitching style

Samardzija throws a 4-seam fastball mixed in with a slider and a changeup. [http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=3254&position=P] Samrdzija's fastball is clocked between 94.5mph-98mph and his changeup is resides in the mid 80s and his slider is around the low 80s.Fact|date=September 2008

Personal

Several of Samardzija's Notre Dame baseball teammates affectionately nicknamed him "Shark" early during his career at Notre Dame. [http://old.irishsports.com/stories/subscription/2005/10/16/isr_football.20051016-isr-TRIB-SS20-Samardzija_more_than.fff.sto] Samardzija and fellow teammate Mark DeRosa, a former University of Pennsylvania quarterback, often play catch before games. [cite news | first=Mark | last=DeRosa | coauthors= | title=Catching up with Jeff Samardzija | date=2008-08-10 | publisher=mlblogs.com | url =http://markderosa.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/08/catching_up_with_jeff_samardzi.html | work = | pages = | accessdate = 2008-08-11 | language = ]

References

External links

* [http://www.jeff-samardzija.com Official Website]
* [http://und.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/samardzija_jeff00.html College Football Profile]
* [http://und.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/samardzija_jeff00.html College Baseball Profile]
* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Jeff%20Samardzija&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=502188 Jeff Samardzija Minor League Baseball Pitching Statistics]
* [http://nfl-draft-site.blogspot.com/2007/01/wr-jeff-samardzija-turns-his-back-on.html Jeff Samardzija Turns his Back on the NFL]