Mark McLemore was—no, not that Mark McLemore, this is a
different Mark McLemore—was a relief pitcher for the 2007 Houston Astros.
Mark Steven McLemore was born October 9, 1980, in
Sacramento, California. He lettered in baseball and football at Del Oro High
School in Loomis, California, where he had a 1.41 ERA in 1999, his senior year.
From there he went to Oregon State University, where he pitched for three years
before being picked by the Astros in the fourth round of the June 2002 free
agent draft.
On July 8 he filled out a questionnaire, in which he gave
his home as Granite Bay, California, his size as 6-2, 215, his college major as
business administration, his hobbies as movies and reading, his “most
interesting or humorous experiences in school or college sports” as “card games
with friends on road trips,” and his “greatest thrill or most humorous experience
in baseball” as “being a starter for my college team.” On July 21 he filled out
the questionnaire again; most of the answers were the same, except he was five pounds
heavier, his most interesting or humorous experience was “hanging out with
teammates on road trips,” and his greatest thrill was “getting a chance to play
professionally.”
Mark played with two different teams in the Astros’ system
in 2002, but I’m not sure in what order. He had a 14.09 ERA in 23 innings in
nine games for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the New York-Pennsylvania League,
class Short-Season A, and a 1.80 ERA in ten innings in four games for the
Martinsville Astros of the Rookie class Appalachian League. He was used as a
starter and as a reliever in both places.
Mark spent 2003 in the Class A South Atlantic League, with
the Lexington Legends. He got a mention in the Augusta Chronicle on
August 17, under the “By the Numbers” heading:
39 – Consecutive outings without a win for Lexington Legends pitcher Mark McLemore before beating Savannah on Wednesday. The skid dated to July 13, 2002.
Now, 39 appearances without a win doesn’t seem that unusual
for someone being used mainly in relief, but Mark did finish the season with a
2-11 record in 36 games, seven of them starts. He had a 4.58 ERA and struck out
101 and walked 55 in 92 1/3 innings.
For 2004 Mark was moved up to the Salem Avalanche of the
Carolina League, class Advanced A. He had 14 starts in 37 appearances, a 7-7 record
and a 3.66 ERA in 93 1/3 innings. After the season the Astros sent him to the
Arizona Fall League, an indication that he was well thought of.
In February 2005 Mark signed a one-year contract with
Houston, then during spring training was optioned to the Corpus Christi Hooks
of the Class AA Texas League. He appeared in 15 games, exclusively as a
starter, and had a 2.81 ERA in 73 2/3 innings, allowing just 59 hits.
In 2006 Mark again signed a Houston contract and went to
spring training with them, and again was optioned to the minors in mid-March,
this time to the Round Rock Express of the AAA Pacific Coast League. He again
had a 2.81 ERA, pitching just 57 2/3 innings in 21 games, nine of them starts.
He got to play in the Arizona Fall League again.
2007 started like 2006 for Mark--he was optioned to Round
Rock one day earlier than the previous year. But on May 24 he was called up to Houston
and immediately got into a game, at Arizona. He pitched the bottom of the
eighth in a 9-1 loss and retired the side in order with two strikeouts. He was sent
back down five days later without getting into another game, then spent June
and July going back and forth between Houston and Round Rock (which, by the
way, is also in Texas) before spending the last two months of the season at
Houston. His second major league appearance was on June 14, at home against
Oakland, when he struck out three batters in his one inning of work, the fifth,
but also walked two and allowed a double and an unearned run. He got his first major
league win on August 2 in Atlanta, pitching a scoreless bottom of the 13th
inning in an 11-11 tie, after which a pinch-hitter for him knocked in the
go-ahead run and Brian Moehler came in for the save.
When the season ended Mark had gotten into 29 games with the
Astros, all in relief. He had a 3-0 record and a 3.86 ERA in 35 innings, with
35 strikeouts and 18 walks. While with Round Rock, he was in 21 games, nine of
them starts (exactly the same as in 2006), and had a 2.77 ERA in 52 innings.
In 2008 Mark again signed a one-year Houston contract, and
again was sent to the Round Rock roster during spring training. But before
appearing in a regular season game he injured his elbow; he underwent Tommy
John reconstructive surgery and missed the whole year. He went to spring
training in 2009, then stayed in extended spring training until heading for
Round Rock and making his first appearance, a start, on June 1. He pitched 18
games, all starts, ending up with a 5-10 record and a 4.87 ERA in 92 1/3 innings.
The Astros let Mark go, and he signed a minor league
contract with Minnesota, but he was released toward the end of spring training
2010. He signed with the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball
League and became part of their starting rotation. From the June 17 Yuma Sun:
Although starting pitchers don’t normally make four plate appearances in one game, Chico righty [sic] Mark McLemore made good use of his at-bats.
The No. 9 hitter singled, drew a walk and scored, then drive in a run before leaving Wednesday night’s game.
And he only needed to be in the game for six innings to do so.
More importantly to the Outlaws, McLemore shut down Yuma’s explosive offense for at least one night and gave his team a chance to take the three-game series with a 14-3 win at Desert Sun Stadium.
The Outlaws finished first in the Northern Division, beat
the Calgary Vipers in three straight games to win their first round series,
then beat Maui Na Koa Ikaika in three straight for the league championship,
Mark winning the final game, 7-1. He went 7-5 for the year in 16 starts (the
team played 85 games), and had a 4.33 ERA in what was a very high-scoring
league.
Mark got back into organized baseball for 2011, signing a
minor-league contract with the Florida Marlins and being sent to their AAA
affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Pacific Coast League. He started on April
9 but only lasted an inning and two thirds, walking six batters and hitting
three. Due to an injury to another starting pitcher he came back with three
days rest, and was removed after three scoreless innings. The next day, April
14, it was reported that New Orleans was reassigning him to Class A Jamestown,
but apparently he didn’t actually leave, as on the 18th he started
again for the Zephyrs. He lasted four innings this time, allowing seven hits,
five walks, and three earned runs. On the 22nd he had been scheduled
to start, but instead pitched two perfect innings of relief. Two days later it
was again reported that he had been assigned to Jamestown, but I guess he must
have opted to retire; in any case, he didn’t play anymore, anywhere, and I
found no more news about him. It looks like he’s living in California now and working
for the state.
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