• Aardsma was born in Denver, and spent his childhood moving back and forth between Colorado and California. He didn't get involved in Little League until second grade, when his Dad relocated the family to Orange County. But they moved back to Colorado during middle school.

  David is a 2000 graduate of Cherry Creek High in Englewood, Colorado—the school that also produced big leaguers Brad Lidge and Josh Bard. Aardsma went 6-1 with a 1.04 ERA as a senior, earning All-State honors and was Colorado's Gatorade Player of the Year. David then accepted a scholarship to Penn State, even though he had his heart set on Pepperdine.

• After high school, David spent a year at Penn State, then transferred to Rice University in Houston.

  "Penn State was an awesome campus if you weren't playing baseball. Baseball's not a priority there—it's definitely football," Aardsma said. "I wanted to go somewhere where I'd become a better player, and I wouldn't be here (the Majors) if I stayed at Penn State."

  By this time, his parents had movved again, this time from Colorado to Texas. Among their new friends in Texas were the parents of a baseball player at Rice University. Aardsma worked out with him during winter break and word of David's fastball spread around the team. So, before his sophomore year he left the northeast for Houston and Rice University. (Jessica Camerato-DieHard Magazine-November 2008)

  In the 2003 College World Series, Aardsma earned two wins and a save as the Owls won their first national championship.

• David's sister, Amanda, has been an actress for about as long as Aardsma has been a pitcher. She has appeared on "CSI" and "Judging Amy." And, starting in February 2009, was cast for a recurring role in "The Young and The Restless."

  But, as her brother said, "She's still looking for that real breakout role."

  Amanda was also co-host of the game show "Temptation" (a remake of "Sale of the Century"). And her image is used as the "Screaming Girl" on the movie posters for the film "Prom Night."

  She's a former Miss Teen Colorado and a semifinalist for Miss Teen USA in 1997.

  "She had some lines in 'Shaft,' " David said proudly, referring to the Samuel Jackson 2000 remake. "Unfortunately, her lines got cut out, but you still see her on screen for a minute.

  "She does amazing stuff. I can't believe she hasn't made it huge yet. She's a very hard worker. She instilled a very good work ethic in me. I definitely look up to her. What she does is 100 times harder than what I do."

• Before 2004 spring training, Baseball America rated Aardsma as the #3 prospect in the Giants' organization. Before 2005 spring training, the magazine had David ranked 9th-best in the San Francisco system.

• On April 7, 2004, Aardsma made his Major League debut in the second game of the season for the Giants. David pitched two scoreless innings in front of about 45 family members and friends in Houston. His family just happened to be in town already, celebrating his great-grandmother's 90th birthday.

• Aardsma is now the first player listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia, ahead of Hank Aaron.

  “It’s pretty amazing, but on the other side of that, that’s not all I want to be known for,” Aardsma said. “I want to go on and have a long career and at the end I hope people will say, ‘Oh yeah, and he's also ahead of Aaron,’ instead of it being the first thing they say.”

• In 2004, as a rookie with the Giants, David was in charge of keeping the bullpen snack bag filled with snacks: candy, sunflower seeds, gum, etc. The bag itself is adorned with characters from the 1980s girls' cartoon, "My Little Pony. 
• Aardsma is laid back. His relaxed demeanor gives off a quiet confidence. 
• On June 26, 2010, David's wife, Andrea, gave birth to a baby boy.

• 2015 Comeback? What if you could search, "Fix my pitching mechanics," and it really worked? What if we ask David Aardsma?

  "That's pretty much how it happened," Aardsma said after reporting to the Dodgers' Major League spring camp. He showed up with a high-tech comeback story. He ought to secure the domain for www.resurrect-a-career.com.

  When the 2014 season ended, David started surfing the Internet for video of pitchers who maintained fastball velocity through their mid-30s. He watched videos of Mariano Rivera, Roger Clemens, Nolan Ryan.

  One of the videos had a link that led Aardsma to another video of Cuban flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. The video was housed on the website of Brent Pourciau, who was demonstrating to a college pitcher how Chapman's flawless mechanics leveraged his throwing movements into the highest velocity.

  Pourciau, among other things, has been a biomechanics consultant for the Tampa Bay Rays, former employer of new Dodgers president Andrew Friedman.

  Intrigued by the video demonstration, Aardsma contacted Pourciau, and they agreed Aardsma would be best served by working intensely at his clinic, Guerilla Baseball Academy.

  But as with many Internet connections, logistics was an issue. Pourciau's clinic is in New Orleans. Aardsma -- along with wife Andrea and young sons DZ and JD -- lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.

  "My wife told me to go," Aardsma said. "She said, 'It's your career. It can save your career.' I went there for four months. I moved in with one of the trainers. I recognized I had a problem and I wasn't going to give up, and I found somebody to help and I have a family willing to allow me to."

  So Aardsma went to New Orleans  "He was able to articulate how to emulate the other pitchers' mechanics," Aardsma said.

  "I've always had the mindset that I have to earn a job," he said. "I'm confident in what I've done during the offseason that I've put myself in position to control my own destiny. All I ask for is the chance to show what I can do, and they'll make the decision."

  And when baseball is over, Aardsma has a plan for that, too. While rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery, he served an internship with the Yankees focused on studying advanced analytics. More recently, Aardsma served an internship in sports management and events at the Fairmont Princess Hotel in Phoenix.

  Aardsma has a few more classes to fulfill his degree requirements at Rice University, where he helped the Owls win the 2000 College World Series. To that end, last year he took a course in sports analytics -- online. (Ken Gurnick - MLB.com - Spring, 2015 )

  TRANSACTIONS

• June 30, 2003: After being drafted in the first round out of Rice University, Aardsma signed with the Giants, receiving a bonus of $1,425,000. Scout Tom Koronek is credited with signing David.  
• May 28, 2005: The Cubs sent P LaTroy Hawkins to the Giants, acquiring Aardsma and P Jerome Williams.
• November 16, 2006: The White Sox sent P Neal Cotts to the Cubs, acquring Aardsma and P Carlos Vazquez.
• January 28, 2008: The Red Sox sent righthanded pitchers Willy Mota and Miguel Socolovich to the White Sox, acquiring David.
• January 20, 2009: The Mariners sent LHP Fabian Williamson to the Red Sox, acquiring Aardsma.
• January 19, 2010: David and the Mariners avoided salary arbitration, agreeing on a $2.75 million contract for 2010.
• October 31, 2011: The Mariners released Aardsma, making him a free agent.

• February 22, 2012: Aardsma signed a one year contract with the Yankees. It called for $500,000, plus incentives if he actually pitches in 2012. (He pitched exactly one inning for the Yankees that year.)

  The Yankees also held a club option on Aardsma's services for the 2013 season and they picked up that $500,000 option on October 29, 2012.

• April 13, 2013: David signed with the Marlins.
• May 15, 2013: Aardsma got his release from the Marlins.May 20, 2013: David signed with the Mets.

• January 23, 2014: Aardsma signed with the Indians.

  But on March 21, 2014, the Tribe released David.

  March 26, 2014: Aardsma signed with the Cardinals organization.

• February 19, 2015: David and the Dodgers agreed on a contract.

  June 4, 2015: The Dodgers released Aardsma, as per his contract.

  June 6, 2015: Aardsma signed a Minor League deal with the Braves and will join Triple-A Gwinnett.

• August 24, 2015: The Braves designated David for assignment.
• February 5, 2016; The Blue Jays signed free agent Aardsma.

• Aardsma has an explosive 92-98 mph FASTBALL with an exciting late hop, which has explosive movement, especially when he gets it up in the zone. He actually has both a sinking two-seamer and a rising four-seam fastball. His SLIDER has developed into a very good one. He has a KNUCKLE-CURVE (or spike-curve). But both the knuckle-curve and his CURVE are too inconsistent. 

  He also has a CHANGEUP.

• In 2003, he added his spike-curve, not long before signing with the Giants. He was fiddling with his breaking ball during a bullpen with Rice University coach Wayne Graham observing his star pitcher. Aardsma moved his finger up on the ball—not quite like a knuckle-curve, but almost—like a spike-curve.

  "In the second that I threw my curveball, coach Graham saw me throw it, asked me what I did, and said, 'Don't ever throw your slider again.'" 

  To this day, David almost never does.

• He is a tall, thin righthander.
• David is aggressive with his pitching approach. He throws strikes, and he has the arm and control to back it up. He pitches from a good, downward plane. He has a three-quarters delivery and quick, easy arm action. But he has to make sure his elbow is stable in his delivery and not flopping around.
• Aardsma needs to improve his mechanics in order to maintain his velocity and command. His motion has been referred to as that of "a pie thrower." When he gets his elbow up, his stuff flattens out. It puts a lot of strain on that right elbow.
• Normally, David is able to locate his pitches well. And that is key to his success: throwing strikes and not walking hitters.
• He works fast, keeping his defense on its toes.

• Aardsma exhibits a good mound presence.

  YEAR BY YEAR

• During the summer of 2002, Aardsma's stock rose considerably with a superb pitching performance for Falmouth of the Cape Cod League. He went 3-0 with a 0.68 ERA, seven saves and 45 strikeouts in 27 innings while allowing only seven hits.
• In 2003, David set Rice's school record with 12 saves as a senior, finishing seven-three with a 2.97 earned-run average in 40 games.
• In the 2003 College World Series, David retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced, going 2-0 with a save. He was the winning pitcher in Rice's victory over Stanford in the first game of the championship round. The Owls went on to become College World Series champions.
• After the 2004 season, in 16 appearances in the Arizona Fall League, Aardsma sported a 1-1 record and a 2.93 ERA, with 17 strikeouts for the Grand Canyon Rafters.
• During 2008 spring training, Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell sat down with Aardsma and changed David's arm motion, changed his approach, and success was almost immediate.

• Aardsma was one of the most accomplished closers in baseball from 2009-10, saving 69 games for the Mariners and recording a 2.90 ERA and 129 strikeouts in 121 innings.

• As of the start of the 2014 season, Aardsma had a career record of 15-17 with a 4.23 ERA, having allowed 35 home runs and 271 hits in 306 innings.

• David has the ability to control the running game.

           POST CAREER POSITIONS

• February 2018:  The Blue Jays have added a veteran reliever… as their new player development coordinator!

• July 19-August 8, 2008: Aardsma was on the D.L. with a strained right groin. It was the first injury of his career. He had never missed a game in high school or college, not even Little League.
  
  August 23-September 10, 2008: David was back on the D.L. after re-injuring his right groin.
  
  "It was getting a lot better, and it jumped back up on me," Aardsma said. "It's the end of my motion, right when I'm trying to explode. The other day it was a lot, today it wasn't as bad, but it was still there. It's a matter of we need somebody up here who can throw. Right now I'm not 100 percent, so I can't help."
• January 3, 2010: Aardsma had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip in Vail, Colorado by Dr. Marc Phillipon. He got off his crutches late in February, 2011.

• March 22, 2011: David began the season on the D.L. with a torn hip labrum.
  
  Then, on May 10, 2011, the Mariners announced Aardsma had a Grade 2 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
  
  Then on July 17, 2011, it was announced that an MRI determined that Aardsma needed Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum on July 22.

• 2012: Aardsma began the season on the D.L. while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He finally was activated on September 25, with only a week left in the season.
  
  "When I first got hurt in 2010, it was devastating," Aardsma said. "I didn't know how to take it. It was the first time I'd really been hurt. Trying to come back, I was having little setbacks, other injuries happen."
  

• June 17-August 20, 2014: David was on he D.L.