Jake Westbrook

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**Jake Westbrook**

Cleveland Indians — No. 37
Starting pitcher
Born: September 29, 1977 (1977-09-29) (age 30) Athens, Georgia
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 17, 2000 for the New York Yankees
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Win-Loss	63-64
Earned run average	4.30
Strikeouts	580
Teams
New York Yankees (2000) Cleveland Indians (2001–present)
Highlights and awards
All-Star selection (2004)

Jacob Cauthen "Jake" Westbrook (born September 29, 1977 in Athens, Georgia) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.

Besides his sinker, Westbrook's repertoire features a cut fastball, a changeup, and a slider.

Jake was the 21st overall pick in the 1996 Major League first-year player draft out of Madison County High School by the Colorado Rockies. He tossed 5 no-hitters and one perfect game in his high school career.

As a minor league pitcher in the Colorado organization, Jake was part of a trade in 1997 with the Montreal Expos that sent Mike Lansing to the Rockies.

In 1999, Jake was traded from the Expos along with Ted Lilly to the New York Yankees for pitcher Hideki Irabu. Jake appeared in three games for the Yankees as a rookie.

Less than a year later, the Yankees parted ways with Westbrook, Zach Day, and Ricky Ledee in exchange for David Justice of the Indians.

Westbrook was named to the All-Star team in 2004, when he won 14 games with an earned run average of 3.38. After becoming a full-time starter in 2004, the sinkerballer won at least 14 games in three consecutive seasons.

In April 2007, Westbrook signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension with the Indians, which will keep him in Cleveland through the 2010 season.

On March 28, 2008, Westbrook appeared at his high school alma-mater, Madison County High School in Danielsville, Georgia, to speak and give thanks as they retired his high school #12 jersey during a home baseball game.

After being placed on the 15 day DL in April 2008, Westbrook came back to pitch his first game for the Indians on May 28th. After the start, Westbrook began to feel soreness in his elbow, but was optimistic that he would be able to make his next start. It was announced on June 7, 2008 that he would be undergoing Tommy John Surgery and will be out of action for 10-14 months, ending his 2008 Season.

[edit] Career Statistics

Year	Team	League	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	ERA	AVG
2000	New York	AL	3	2	0	0	6.2	15	10	10	4	1	0	2	13.50	.469
2001	Cleveland	AL	23	6	0	0	64.2	79	43	42	22	48	4	4	5.85	.306
2002	Cleveland	AL	11	4	0	0	41.2	50	30	27	12	20	1	3	5.83	.296
2003	Cleveland	AL	34	22	1	0	133.0	142	70	64	56	58	7	10	4.33	.281
2004	Cleveland	AL	33	30	5	1	215.2	208	95	81	61	116	14	9	3.38	.255
2005	Cleveland	AL	34	34	2	0	210.2	218	121	105	56	119	15	15	4.49	.265
2006	Cleveland	AL	32	32	3	2	211.1	247	106	98	55	109	15	10	4.17	.296
2007	Cleveland	AL	25	25	0	0	152.0	159	78	73	55	93	6	9	4.32	.276
2008	Cleveland	AL	5	5	1	0	34.2	33	13	12	7	19	1	2	3.12	.256
Major League Totals			200	160	12	3	1070.1	1151	566	512	328	583	63	64	4.31	.278