#61 Bronson Anthony Arroyo
Birthdate: 2/24/77, Key West, FL
Height/Weight: 6’5”/ 195
Position: Starting Pitcher
Team: Cincinnatti Reds
Bats/Throws: R/R
MLB Debut:: 06/12/2000
Arroyo's fastball is in the 87-92 miles-per-hour range. While it's considered average among major league pitchers, it has excellent movement and Arroyo is adept at "spotting" it. He also throws a hard slider that moves away from right-handed batters, and a straight changeup as well. Arroyo's best pitch is his curveball. He throws the pitch from multiple arm angles and is not afraid to throw it in any count. The angle of the curveball itself can vary from a straight 12-6 to a sweeping 1-7. Arroyo's delivery is somewhat unique; he incorporates a leg kick in his pitching motion, extending his front leg completely straight and lifting it up to a level above his waist before delivering the ball. His kick often appears to reach head level and deceives hitters with its exaggerated motion. From the set position, his leg-kick is much less pronounced and his delivery to home plate is very quick by major league standards. As a result, Arroyo is one of the better pitchers at holding runners on base.
Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 1995 draft, Arroyo made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 2000. He came to the Boston Red Sox after being selected off waivers before the 2003 season. Arroyo improved in 2004, while jumping from middle relief to starting, to strengthen his role as the Red Sox No. 5 starter. He compiled a 10-9 mark with a 4.03 ERA in 178.2 innings, while posting a very respectable 3.02 strikeout-to-walk ratio (142-to-47). His most productive season came in 2005, when he posted career-highs in wins (14), starts (32), innings (205.1) and pitching appearances (35). He also excelled at holding runners, as he only gave up five stolen bases.
Before the 2006 season, Arroyo signed a three year $11.2 million contract with the Red Sox. Arroyo said the deal was a "hometown discount" and agreed to the terms against the advice of his agent. Arroyo was later traded during spring training of the 2006 season for Cincinnati Reds outfielder Wily Mo Peña. [1]
This has certainly been his best season but not as of late. He led the MLB in ERA before June 5th with a record of 8-4, but he stumbled soon after. Following his ninth win on June 19, Arroyo took nearly two months to win his 10th, finally recording that double-digit victory on August 16.
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2008 Highlights:
Was the only member of the Reds' rotation to make every scheduled start...for the third straight season led the staff in starts (34) and for the second time in 3 years led the club in innings pitched (200.0)...for the fourth straight season recorded at least 32 starts and 200 innings... his 18 quality starts and career-high 15 wins were second on the staff to All-Star Edinson Volquez' 17 victories and 20 quality apps...3 times was the victim of blown saves...ranked among the National League leaders in starts (34, T1st), hits allowed (219, 3rd), HR allowed (29, T6th), earned runs allowed (106, 2nd) and runs allowed (116, 1st)...in his 34 starts the Reds went 18-16 and scored 172 runs (5.06 r/g)...was 1 of only 5 Reds pitchers to participate in more winning games than losing games (Jared Burton, Francisco Cordero, Edinson Volquez, David Weathers)...in 2 starts on 3 days' rest went 1-0, 0.69 (5/14 vs Fla, 5/28 vs Pit)...for the period ending 8/31 was voted National League Co-Player of the Week along with Wsh's Cristian Guzman...was his first career weekly award...in 2 starts that week went 2-0, 1.69 with a complete game in the 2-1 win on 8/26 at Hou...was the Reds' first CG of the season in the 132nd game...in the 14-1 loss on 6/24 at Tor made the shortest start of his career (1+ip, 11h, 10er) and became only the sixth starting pitcher in Major League history to allow at least 10 earned runs in a game in which he retired 3 batters or fewer...in his 17 starts after that appearance went 11-4, 3.42...in his last 8 starts of the season went 5-1, 2.88, including 0-1, 7.62 in his last 2 apps to raise his ERA from 4.57 to season-ending 4.77...didn't win until his sixth start...started a season 0-3 for the second time in his career (2000)...from 6/29-7/23 became the first Reds pitcher to win 5 straight starts (5-0, 3.09) since Steve Parris won 7 straight from 8/13-9/9, 2000...from 5/10-5/19 put together a 14.0-inning scoreless streak, the longest by a Reds starter all season...as a batter from 7/23-8/4 produced a 3-game hitting streak (4-7, .571, 2 2b, 3rbi), the longest by a Reds pitcher in 2008...also had the pitching staff's only 2-hit games (6/12 vs StL, 7/23 vs SD) and its only stolen base (8/31 vs SF)...in the 18-inning loss at SD on 5/25 singled off Josh Banks to become the first Reds pitcher to record a pinch hit since Eric Milton singled off Geoff Geary on 8/11/06 at Phi...was his only pinch-hit appearance...was used as a pinch runner 3 times.
Reds.com
2007 Highlights:
Led the club in quality starts (22) and losses (15)...for the second straight season tied Aaron Harang for the staff lead in starts (34)...also tied Harang for the team lead in HR allowed (28)...ranked second to Harang in wins (9), innings pitched (210.2) and strikeouts (156)...5 times was the victim of blown saves, most on the staff...ranked among the National League pitching leaders in losses (6th), starts (T2nd), innings pitched (8th), hits allowed (232, 6th), HR allowed (T8th) and hit batters (13, T5th)...in his 34 starts the Reds went 12-22 and scored 135 runs (3.9 r/g)...Reds batters scored 2 runs or fewer in 15 of his 34 starts and a team-high 4 times were shut out, including each of his last 2 starts...in his last 9 starts of the season went 4-2, 3.16 and produced quality starts in 6 of his last 7 apps...twice produced a staff-best 5 consecutive quality starts (4/9-5/1, 6/24-7/17)...in 9 starts from 5/11-6/24 went 0-7, 7.28... the 7-game losing streak was a career high and the longest by a Reds pitcher since Danny Graves went 0-8 from 7/5-9/2, 2003... went 1-6, 5.36 in 7 day starts and 8-9, 3.93 in 27 starts under the lights...on 5/1 at Hou, in his sixth start earned his first victory of the season (11-2 win)...on 5/16 at SD, in the 3-2 loss threw his only complete game of the season but walked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning...threw 129 pitches, the most by a Reds pitcher in 2007...in his next start, on 5/21 vs Wsh, threw just 2.0 innings and received no decision in the 8-7 victory (2ip, 6h, 6er, 3bb, 2k, Kearns 2-run HR, 62 pitches)...in the 9-5 loss on 5/26 vs Pit did not record a strikeout for the only time all season...made a start without striking out a batter for the only time since 9/12/05 at Tor...on 7/5 vs SF, snapped his career-high 7-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory and in the second inning gave the Reds a 2-0 lead with his third career homer, a solo shot off Matt Morris...on 7/12 at NYM, in the first game of the second half suffered the 3-2 loss...allowed homers to the first 2 batters he faced (Jose Reyes, Ruben Gotay)...for the first time in their history the Mets' first 2 batters of a game homered...on 8/1 at Wsh, in the shortest start of his career suffered the 7-2 loss (1.2ip, 7h, 7er, 2bb, 1k, Kearns 2-run HR, 58 pitches)...followed that appearance by throwing 6.2 shutout innings in a 4-0 win vs LAD on 8/7...on 9/22 at SF, threw 7.0 shutout innings but received no decision in the 2-0 loss (5h, 5bb, 2k, 110 pitches)...tied his career high by issuing 5 walks but stranded 9 baserunners.
Reds.com
Career Highlights:
* On August 10, 2003, Arroyo pitched the fourth nine-inning perfect game in the 121-year history of the International League as the Pawtucket Red Sox beat the Buffalo Bisons 7–0 at McCoy Stadium. He needed 101 pitches to throw his masterpiece (73 strikes), struck out nine, and got 10 fly outs and eight ground balls from the Buffalo 27 batters. He went to a three-ball count to just three hitters all game. At the end of the month, he was with the big club for good.
* July 24, 2004- A struggling Red Sox team is energized when Bronson Arroyo throws a curveball that hits Alex Rodriguez, and incites a brawl that starts with catcher Jason Varitek throwing his glove in A-Rod's face. After the brawl, the Red Sox win on a walk off home run by third basemen Bill Mueller. Many Boston writers consider this game, and especially the fight, to be the turning point in the 2004 season.
* Arroyo will always have a place in Red Sox lore for holding the ball that Alex Rodriguez illegally knocked away in Game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series. The umpires met and reversed the on-field ruling, forcing Derek Jeter to return to 1st base. Rodríguez was automatically out on the play. Arroyo then recorded the final out of the inning by retiring Gary Sheffield.
* Arroyo hit his first career home run on April 5, 2006 off Chicago Cubs left-hander Glendon Rusch at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. On April 11, 2006, he struck his second career longball against Rusch and the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Much light of this was made in the Boston media; fan favorite Arroyo had more home runs at that point in the season than the power hitter for whom he was traded, Wily Mo Pena.
* On May 1, 2006, Arroyo pitched his second career complete game: a 4-hitter at home against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds won 6-1, bringing Arroyo's record on the young season to 5-0. Arroyo pitched 8 scoreless innings, at home against the Washington Nationals on May 11, to lower his season ERA to 2.03.
* Arroyo was named to his first All-Star team in 2006. Arroyo was hand-picked by NL All-Star team manager, Phil Garner, after being at or near the top of every pitching category in Major League Baseball.
