AARDSMA, DAVID  
 
Image of    Nickname:   N/A Position:   P
Home: Englewood, California Team:   MARINERS
Height: 6' 4" Bats:   R
Weight: 205 Throws:   R
DOB: 12/27/1981 Agent: Jamie Murphy, TWC Sports
Birth City: Denver, Colorado Draft: Giants #1 - 2003 - Out of Rice Univ.
Uniform #: 53  
 
YR LEA TEAM SAL(K) G IP H SO BB GS CG SHO SV W L OBA ERA
2003 CAL SAN JOSE   18 18 14 28 7 0 0 0 8 1 1   1.96
2004 NL GIANTS $300.00 11 11 20 5 10 0 0 0 0 1 0   6.75
2004 PCL FRESNO   44 55 46 53 29 0 0 0 11 6 4   3.09
2005 EL NORWICH   9 46 44 30 13 8 0 0 0 6 2   2.93
2005 SL WEST TENN   33 51 48 43 32 3 0 0 2 4 1   3.91
2006 NL CUBS $327.00 45 53 41 49 28 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.214 4.08
2006 PCL IOWA   29 36.1 31 36 15 0 0 0 8 2 3 31 3.22
2007 AL WHITE SOX $387.00 25 32.1 39 36 17 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.3 6.40
2007 IL KNIGHTS   28 35.1 26 45 11 0 0 0 15 3 2   4.33
2008 IL PAWTUCKET   2 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0   0.00
2008 AL RED SOX $403.00 47 48.2 49 49 35 0 0 0 0 4 2 0.268 5.55
2009 AL MARINERS $419.00 73 71.1 49 80 34 0 0 0 38 3 6 0.19 2.52
2010 AL MARINERS $2,750.00 49 46.1 33 48 23 0 0 0 28 0 6 0.21 3.69
PERSONAL:

  • 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)

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  • 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. Just as 2005 spring training got underway, 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.

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  • 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.
  • June 26, 2010: David's wife, Andrea, gave birth to a baby boy.

    TRANSACTION REPORT

  • 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.

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  • January 19, 2010: David and the Mariners avoided salary arbitration, agreeing on a $2.75 million contract for 2010.
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    PITCHING:

    • 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.

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  • 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.

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  • 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.

    BREAKDOWN VS. LEFTIES AND RIGHTIES

  • In 2006, the righthanded throwing Aardsma held lefthanded hitters to a .190 average with 2 home runs in 63 at-bats. Righthanded batters managed only a .225 average with 7 home runs in 129 at-bats.

  • In 2007, David allowed a .283 average in 46 at-bats vs. lefthanded batters. Righthanded batters hit .310 with all 4 home runs that he gave up in 2007, in 84 at-bats.

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  • In 2008, Aardsma allowed a .289 average with no homers in 83 at-bats vs. lefthanded hitters. Righthanded batters had a .250 average with 4 homers in 100 at-bats.

  • In 2009, David held lefthanded batters to a .197 average with one homer in 132 at-bats. Righthanded batters managed only a .183 average with 3 homers in 127 at-bats.

  • As of the start of the 2010 season, Aardsma had a career record of 13-9 with a 4.38 ERA, having allowed 22 home runs and 198 hits in 216 innings.
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    FIELDING:

    • David has the ability to control the running game.
     
    CAREER INJURY REPORT:

    • 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."
     
     
    Last Updated 9/6/2010. All contents © 2000 by Player Profiles. All rights reserved.