Chris Capuano
Milwaukee Brewers — No. --
Starting pitcher
Born: August 19, 1978 (1978-08-19) (age 31) West Springfield, Massachusetts
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
May 4, 2003 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Career statistics (through 2008 season)
Win-Loss	42-48
Earned run average	4.39
Strikeouts	585
Teams
Arizona Diamondbacks (2003) Milwaukee Brewers (2004-2007)

Christopher Frank Capuano (born August 19, 1978 in West Springfield, Massachusetts) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

[edit] Early life

Capuano was the valedictorian of his class at Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts and went on to earn a degree in Economics at Duke University, where he earned membership in Phi Beta Kappa. He was also a brother of the Xi Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

[edit] Career

Capuano was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 8th round of the 1999 amateur draft (238th overall). Capuano played on Team USA in the 2001 World Cup of Baseball and helped the team earn a silver medal. On May 17, 2002, he had Tommy John surgery and missed much of that season.

He made his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks on May 4, 2003. On December 1, 2003, Capuano was one of the eight players involved in a trade that sent Richie Sexson to the Diamondbacks, with Capuano traded to the Brewers. His 2005 season with the Brewers proved to be a break-out year as he posted 18 wins, the highest total for a Brewer since 1987 (Ted Higuera). He also led the National League in quality starts during the 2005 season. In 2006, Capuano continued his excellent pitching by taking over as the team's new ace with Ben Sheets injured and was named to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a replacement for Tom Glavine. Capuano, however, ended up with only 11 wins in 2006.

On September 23, 2006, Capuano surrendered Barry Bonds' 734th home run to pull him closer to breaking the all-time record held by Hank Aaron at 755 home runs.

Capuano started the 2007 season 5-0 and then the Milwaukee Brewers lost the next 22 games Capuano pitched in from May 12 to September 28.

Before the start of the 2008 season, Capuano underwent Tommy John surgery for the second time in his career and missed the entire season.

The Brewers non-tendered Capuano following the 2008 season, making him a free agent but re-signed him to a minor league deal shortly after.^[1] Capuano has stated that he hopes to start live game pitching in mid May. He became a free agent after the 2009 season, he was re-signed to a minor league contract with the Brewers on November 23, 2009.

Capuano is a finesse pitcher who relies on his deceptive delivery. He also possesses an excellent pickoff move; in 2005 he led the major leagues in pickoffs with 12 (but also tied Brett Myers for balks with 4). Capuano throws his fastball in the low 90s and high 80s, uses a slider and a good changeup.

[edit] Personal

Capuano, along with teammates J. J. Hardy, Bill Hall, and Jeff Suppan, appeared in an episode of The Young and the Restless on June 20, 2007. He is married to Sarah Clifford, whom he met at Duke. She was a contender for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, for the modern pentathlon.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube