Oct 18 2006 10:56 AM
Send all good thoughts to John Maine NOW!!!!
John Kevin Maine (born May 8, 1981 in Fredericksburg, Virginia) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Mets. He bats and throws right-handed.
Maine played college baseball at Charlotte where he was named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year in 2001 and 2002 and set the 49ers' all-time mark for career wins.
Maine decided to forego his senior season at Charlotte and was drafted by Baltimore in the sixth round of the 2002 baseball amateur draft. After two years in the minor leagues, Maine made his debut with the Orioles on July 23, 2004. After spending the latter half of 2004 and most of 2005 shuffling between Baltimore and Triple-A Ottawa, Maine recorded his first Major League win on August 13, 2005 at Camden Yards with a 1-0 shutout victory over Toronto in which he started and pitched five innings.
Maine was traded to the Mets on January 21, 2006 along with righty reliever Jorge Julio to acquire starting pitcher Kris Benson.
He was called up from Triple A Norfolk in early May 2006 after rookie Brian Bannister was put on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Maine started on May 2 against Washington and took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He was placed on the disabled list on May 6 with inflammation of his right middle finger, which he says hurt his May 2 start. He was reactivated on June 12 and was optioned back to Triple A Norfolk.
On July 3 he was recalled from the minors and has become part of the Mets' starting rotation. After a solid, if mediocre start off the DL, Maine pitched a scoreless inning in relief, and then 22 scoreless innings over three starts, recording two wins and a no decision over that span. After his second scoreless outing, Mets manager Willie Randolph designated Maine as the rotation's fifth starter over higher-ranking prospect Mike Pelfrey.[1]
Maine's scoreless-inning streak reached 26 innings before he allowed a run. Against Washington on August 12, Maine retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced before Nick Johnson hit a solo home run. The streak fell 5 2/3 innings short of Jerry Koosman's Mets franchise record. His streak was the longest ever by a Mets rookie starter, exceeding Dwight Gooden and Anthony Young's 23-inning streaks by two. His 25 scoreless innings by a starter was the longest streak since Al Leiter threw 25 1/3 scoreless in 1998. [2]
On September 29, 2006, in his final at-bat of the season, Maine recorded his first major league hit, ending a streak of twenty-eight hitless at-bats.
Overall, Maine went 6-5 with a 3.60 ERA in 15 starts in his debut season for the Mets showing flashes of dominance such as his scoreless innings streak. His efforts helped the Mets win the National League Eastern Division. Despite his solid season, he was originally not expected to make a start in the postseason. However, after injuries sidelined both Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, Maine found himself starting Game 1 of the National League Division Series for the Mets. In that game, he pitched 4 1/3 innings and got a no-decision. The Mets went on to win that game to give them a 1-0 lead in the Division series against the Dodgers. --- wikipedia.org
