HAREN, DAN  
 
Image of    Nickname:   N/A Position:   P
Home: West Covina, California Team:   ANGELS
Height: 6' 5" Bats:   R
Weight: 220 Throws:   R
DOB: 9/17/1980 Agent: Greg Landry
Birth City: Monterey Park, California Draft: Cardinals #2 - 2001 - Out of Pepperdine Univ.
Uniform #: 24  
 
YR LEA TEAM SAL(K) G IP H SO BB GS CG SHO SV W L OBA ERA
2001 NYP NEW JERSEY   12 52 47 57 8 8 0 0 1 3 3   3.10
2002 MWL PEORIA   14 102 89 89 12 14 1 0 0 7 3   1.95
2002 CAR POTOMAC   14 92 90 82 19 14 1 0 0 3 6   3.62
2003 SL TENNESSEE   8 55 36 45 6 8 0 0 0 6 0   0.82
2003 PCL MEMPHIS   8 46 50 35 8 8 0 0 0 2 1   4.93
2003 NL CARDINALS $300.00 14 73 84 43 22 14 0 0 0 3 7   5.08
2004 PCL MEMPHIS   21 128 136 150 33 21 0 0 0 11 4   4.15
2004 NL CARDINALS   14 46 45 32 17 5 0 0 0 3 3   4.50
2005 AL ATHLETICS $324.00 34 217 212 163 53 34 3 0 0 14 12   3.73
2006 AL ATHLETICS $550.00 34 223 224 176 45 34 2 0 0 14 13 0.258 4.12
2007 NL ATHLETICS $2,250.00 34 222.2 214 192 55 34 0 0 0 15 9 0.247 3.07
2008 NL DIAMONDBACKS $4,050.00 33 216 204 206 40 33 1 1 0 16 8 0.247 3.33
2009 NL DIAMONDBACKS $7,500.00 33 229.1 192 223 38 33 3 1 0 14 10 0.224 3.14
2010 AL DIAMONDBACKS $8,250.00 21 141 161 141 29 21 1 0 0 7 8 0.285 4.60
2010 AL ANGELS   8 54 57 43 11 8 1 0 0 2 4 0.27 3.50
PERSONAL:

  • Haren is a product of the one-sport, year-round grooming of teenagers that's become more prevalent throughout the country.

    • He played one year of football, but his Dad didn't want him playing in high school, even though he was the size of a middle linebacker. His father, Dan Sr., was a hands-on father/coach who pushed his son hard. Before Haren's games as a youth, his Dad would take him across the street to a park for extra batting practice.

"I didn't like it at first," Haren said. "But my Dad always told me, 'One day you will thank me.' It's funny now because I became a pitcher."

  • Haren's dad grew up in the shadow of the stadium in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, and his grandfather ran a train that went alongside the stadium.

    "My dad told me stories of listening (to games) on transistor radios," he said.

    His sister attended Columbia University, and he has family in New Jersey.

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  • Dan has a fresh arm. He wasn't even scouted in high school and didn't know the first thing about pitching. "I went to college (at Pepperdine) to hit and got thrown into pitching because that’s something they needed," Haren said. "I just stuck with it."

    Thrust into the Waves rotation as a freshman, the 6-foot-5 Haren proved to be a quick learner. He absorbed as much knowledge as he could, and, by his junior year, had blossomed into one of college baseball’s top players. In his final season, Haren was a second-team All-American as a utility player. He batted .308-5-47 while going 11-3, 2.22 on the mound. He was the 2001 West Coast Conference player of the year.

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  • 2001: Dan and future Giants' first-round-pick, Noah Lowry, teamed up to give Pepperdine one of the best pitching tandems in college baseball.

  • A long 2001 season wore Dan down. The college and pro season took 20 pounds off his big body. He was down to 195 by the end of the summer with New Jersey.

    But he gained endurance, worked hard over the winter before 2002 spring training, and is now a workhorse on the staff.

  • In 2002, Haren led the minor leagues in innings pitched with 194.

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  • In 2003, Dan was named to the Futures Game roster, played at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago on July 13.

  • Haren goes by "Dan" or "Danny," but not "Daniel."

  • Dan grew up 10 miles east of Los Angeles. He tends to validate every Southern California stereotype. He has the shaggy brown hair draping over his eyes and ears, and he is very quiet and laid-back most of the time.

    However, Haren can also be an emotional guy. He gets excited when he watches a game and is not shy about exposing his feelings, sometimes jumping up and down in the bullpen during a come-from-behind effort by his team. But he doesn't show that much emotion when on the mound.

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  • Haren has leadership qualities. Teammates feed off his competitive nature. He is humble yet confident, easy-going and gregarious.

  • In May 2005, he volunteered to become one of the A's two union reps.

    "It's just something I've been interested in," Haren said in 2006 spring training camp, "and when they met in Las Vegas, I went out to try to learn all I could about it, especially with the new rules about steroids and amphetamines. I want to be able to explain them to anyone who needs to know so that something doesn't get screwed up, because sometimes guys get memos left at their lockers and they just throw them inside without looking at them."

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  • During the winter of 2005, Dan and his then-future wife, Jessica, spent 10 days visiting family in New York City. Every day, Haren would grab his backpack, pull on a hoodie, and head out into the Queens chill. He stood at one end of a blacktop basketball court and played long-toss against the concrete wall of the public bathroom at the other end.

    The first day, a cop told him to knock it off. On the second day, after Dan had thrown for five minutes, an irate vagrant stormed out of the men's room and cursed at the pitcher for waking him up.

    "I felt awful," Haren said. "The echoes in there must have been terrible."
    (Lindsay Berra-ESPN the Magazine-7/30/07)

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  • Dan met his wife, Jessica, when he was a student at Pepperdine.

    "But she went to UC-Santa Barbara. We met at a mutual friend's party during my sophomore year and dated from then on. But she was still going to school when I was in the minors, so my first off-season I lived in Santa Barbara with Ryan Spilborghs, who is now a Rockies outfielder. I slept in his garage so I would be able to see my wife, who was, at the time, my girlfriend. It could be absolutely freezing in there," Haren said.

    Spilborghs would let Dan take a shower in his house, but Haren says, "The treat was being able to shower at my wife's. Then I got to use all her herbal stuff and come out of the bathroom smellng like a fruit smoothie." (Kenny Mayne-ESPN the Magazine-6/15/09)

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  • On August 21, 2006, Haren made history by giving up eight runs in the first two innings of the A's game with Toronto. But the Oakland lineup bailed out the right-hander with the biggest comeback since the franchise moved to Oakland in 1968.

    It was certainly the most unusual victory of Haren's career, and one that put the right-hander into the record books. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Haren is the first pitcher in American League history to win a game after allowing eight runs in the opening two frames. The last pitcher to accomplish the feat was Hall of Famer Rube Marquard, who earned the win in a 14-11 win for the New York Giants over the Chicago Cubs on May 14, 1913.

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  • On December 11, 2007, Dan's wife, Jessica, gave birth.

  • Haren is into the old Seinfeld TV show, and said, "I own all the seasons, one through nine, and I also own every King of Queens season and every Office season. As the years have gone by I've grown to like the newer episodes of Seinfeld. The older ones the characters still had to grow into them. The old Kramer isn't as funny as in the seventh, eighth and ninth seasons."

    As far as The Office, who is his favorite character? " I obviously like Dwight and Michael, but the guy I really like—he doesn't play too big of a role—is Creed. He's got some classic lines—some of my favorite lines ever," Dan said.

    Dan says he likes to be by himself on the road. "I enjoy eating, going to the mall, doing everything by myself on the road." Why? "I don't know. I just like to do my own thing. I have certain routines that I do and I don't want to have to wait around for anyone else. I've always enjoyed going to movies by myself. The guys have given me a hard time about it, too," Haren said. (Nick Piecoro-The Arizona Republic-8/28/08)

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  • Other Dan Haren favorites:

    Music: Kanye West, John Mayer, The Killers, Lil Wayne
    Movies: Good Will Hunting, Escape From Alcatraz, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Big Fish
    Bookmarks: RotoWorld.com, Weather.com, IMDB.com
    Dinner: Chipotle burrito with chicken, black beans, and hot salsa
    Hero: My Mom. "She's never been in a bad mood—and I'm not kidding," Dan said. (Jeff D'Alessio-Sporting News-6/22/09)

  • Dan's first job was: "When I was 15, in L.A., I distributed stickers for liquor stores to put up that said, 'If you're not 18, you can't buy tobacco.'"

  • Dan's teammates say he dominates the sports pools the guys do in the clubhouse.

    "We actually did two random Kentucky Derby pools, and I somehow drew "Mine That Bird" in both of them (in 2009). I was so mad. Before the race I asked Chad Qualls, who had two different long shots, if we could pool our horses. He asked who I had, and when I told him, he said, 'Hell, no." I was starting that night so I was literally getting stretched out on a table while the race was going on. When Mine That Bird won, I jumped up and ran through the clubhouse with my arms up. As I've said, everyone hates me because I always seem to win," Haren said.

    TRANSACTION REPORT

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  • June 2001: He signed with the Cardinals after being drafted in the first round out of Pepperdine University.

  • December 18, 2004: The A's sent P Mark Mulder to the Cardinals, acquiring Haren, P Kiki Calero, and C Daric Barton.

  • September 26, 2005: Dan signed a four-year contract with the A's which was supposed to take him through the 2009 season with the club. Oakland had an option for the 2010 season. The pact called for $4 million in 2008, $5.5 million in 2009, and a team option for 2010 worth $6.75 million.

  • December 14, 2007: The Diamondbacks sent pitchers Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, and Greg Smith; outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez; and infielder Chris Carter to the A's, acquiring Haren and P Connor Robertson.

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  • August 5, 2008: Haren signed a 2-year, $31 million contract extension with the Diamondbacks. It is for 2011 and 2012 and includes a club option for 2013—with all three of the years for $15.5 million.

  • July 25, 2010: The Angels sent RHP Rafael Rodriguez, LHP Joe Saunders, LHP Patrick Corbin and a player to be named to the Diamondbacks, receiving Haren.

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    PITCHING:

    • Haren can dominate with an overpowering 90-95 mph, four-seam FASTBALL that has late life, making it bore in on righthanded batters. His sinking 2-seamer is in the 87-90 mph range, as well as a CUTTER to keep lefthanded hitters honest. He also has a dominating SPLITTER that has late sink, an 80-82 mph biting power SLIDER, a spiked-CURVEBALL, and good CHANGEUP that he disguises well.

      He has a fine feel for that change and maintains consistent arm speed with it, but his curve and splitter need work.

    • Dan is a big righthander with a quick arm and solid mechanics. He is tall, coming at hitters from a downward plane. He should develop into a good #3 or #4 pitcher in a Major League rotation. (Editor's note: That was an understatement.)
  • July 27, 2004:  Dan pitched a perfect ninth inning for the Cardinals, even though he had not pitched in relief in a regular season game since signing a pro contract in 2001. But St. Louis sees him as being a part of their starting rotation as soon as 2005.

  • Haren has above average command that enables him to work inside well. He has good mound savvy and knows how to set up hitters. He works quickly, keeping his fielders on their toes. He also has endurance, allowing him to be the workhorse of a pitching staff.

  • When Haren has his command, he can dominate the outing. Hitters go back to the dugout mumbling to themselves.

  • Dan has a bit of deception in his delivery. It is a slow movement right up until he reaches the balance point of his motion, breaking his hands—then he explodes, going right at the hitter.

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  • In 2007, Haren worked on improving his cut fastball, which he likes to throw inside to left-handed hitters to keep them off his tailing two-seam fastball.

    "I'd throw it a couple times, and if it didn't work, I'd stop throwing it," he said. "I'd like to get it to the point where I have more confidence in it."

    BREAKDOWN VS. LEFTIES AND RIGHTIES

    • 2005: This righty pitcher allowed lefthanded batters a .252 average with 13 home runs in 416 at-bats. Righty batters had a .258 mark with 13 homers in 414 at-bats.

    • 2006: Haren allowed a .246 average with 14 home runs in 407 at-bats vs. lefthanded hitters, and .268 with 17 home runs in 462 at-bats against righthanded batters.
  • 2007: Haren held lefthanded batters only a .230 average with 9 home runs in 431 at-bats, while righthanded hitters had a .264 average with 15 home runs in 436 at-bats.

  • 2008: Dan held lefthanded batters to a .241 average with 6 home runs in 406 at-bats, while righthanded batters hit .253 with 13 home runs in 419 at-bats.

  • 2009: lefthanded hitters had a .230 average with 15 home runs in 443 at-bats, while holding righthanded batters to a .218 average with 12 home runs in 413 at-bats.

  • Entering the 2010 season, Haren had a major league career record of 79-62 with a 3.61 ERA, having allowed 140 home runs and 1,175 hits in 1,226 innings.
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    FIELDING:

    • Dan is a good hitter. He was a designated hitter for Pepperdine University.

      In 2008, Haren had 16 hits, 7 of them doubles, and a .211 batting average.
     
    CAREER INJURY REPORT:

    • None.
     
     
    Last Updated 9/4/2010. All contents © 2000 by Player Profiles. All rights reserved.