Kyle Lohse
St. Louis Cardinals — No. 26
Starting pitcher
Born: October 4, 1978 (1978-10-04) (age 31) Chico, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 22, 2001 for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics (through August 27, 2009)
Win-Loss	83-88
Earned run average	4.67
Strikeouts	915
O-AVE	.281
WHIP	1.41
Teams
Minnesota Twins (2001-2006) Cincinnati Reds (2006-2007) Philadelphia Phillies (2007) St. Louis Cardinals (2008-present)

Kyle Matthew Lohse (pronounced /loʊʃ/ (born October 4, 1978) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1996 (29th round), Lohse was traded to the Minnesota Twins in 1999 in a deal involving Rick Aguilera. It was in Minnesota that Lohse made his MLB debut, with the Twins on June 22, 2001.

Lohse is a member of the Nomlaki nation.^[1] As of 2008, he is one of only three active non-Hispanic Native American players in Major League Baseball, with the others being Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox, and Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees.^[1]

[edit] High school career

At Hamilton Union High School in Hamilton City, California, Kyle Lohse played basketball, baseball, and football. While playing baseball, he was an All-Conference pick in all four years of high school.

[edit] Major leagues

2002 was Lohse's first full year as a starter, when he posted a 13-8 record with an ERA of 4.23. He followed that with success in 2003, starting 33 games and going 14-11 with a 4.61 ERA. In 2004, he did not fare as well, going 9-13 with a 5.34 ERA. Lohse has been to one ALCS, with the Twins in 2002.

Lohse has a fastball in the low 90s, with his dominant pitch being his curveball. He tends toward inconsistent pitching appearances, throwing well and going deep into the game on one start, then having little control and being pulled in the early innings the next time out. On May 17, 2006, he was sent down to AAA Rochester, and the Twins called up replacement pitcher Boof Bonser. Shortly after Matt Guerrier broke his thumb, Lohse was recalled to the Twins bullpen, on June 9, 2006. In his first 2006 relief appearance for the Twins the very next day, he pitched three innings before allowing a run, while hitting a batter, allowing three hits and walking a batter.

On July 31, 2006, Lohse was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league pitcher Zach Ward. Lohse made his first start for the Reds on August 17, 2006.

On July 30, 2007, Lohse was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for minor league pitcher Matt Maloney. After his departure from the Reds, Lohse's performance improved dramatically, and in 10 starts with the Phillies, Lohse went 2-0, receiving a large number of non-decisions due to late offensive rallies by the Phillies lineup. However, his ERA as a Phillie fell to 4.44 and the Phillies went an impressive 8-2 in his starts.

On March 14, 2008, Lohse signed a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.^[2] It's a one-year deal worth $4.25 million.^[3] The deal was a surprise considering Lohse's early demand of a four-year contract worth up to $40 million, a demand he regretted in an interview with ESPN saying he could have signed with the Philadelphia Phillies had he not made such a free agent demand and became a world series champion with the Phillies in 2008

Lohse was one of the biggest surprises for the Cardinals in the first half of the 2008 season, going 11-2 with a 3.39 ERA. His performance was good enough for him to be considered for the All-Star Game, but he ended up not making the team.

Lohse was later suspended for five games for throwing at Reds' pitcher Edinson Volquez. Lohse appealed the ruling and pitched as he awaited a decision on his appeal: however, Lohse eventually dropped his appeal and served his suspension in full.

Lohse and the Cardinals agreed to a 4 year, $41 million contract extension on September 29, 2008 ^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Kyle Lohse Profile at Native American Sports Council
• Lohse player profile page at stlcardinals.scout.com