Anthony Reyes

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**Anthony Reyes**

St. Louis Cardinals — No. 23
Starting Pitcher
Born: October 16, 1981 (1981-10-16) (age 26)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
August 9, 2005 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Selected MLB statistics (through May 12, 2008)
Win-Loss	9-24
Earned Run Average	5.41
Strikeouts	168
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (2005–present)

Anthony Loza Reyes (born October 16, 1981 in Whittier, California) is a right-handed pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization of Major League Baseball. Reyes is known to be superstitious, often wearing a flat-billed cap and long baseball socks. Contrary to popular belief, Reyes does not iron the bill of his hat, rather, he cuts out some of the inner lining of the hat, which allows for the bill to lie flatter due to the way the hat fits his head.

1 College Career
2 Professional Career
3 References
4 External links

[edit] College Career

Reyes spent his college years at the University of Southern California from 2000–2003, and though he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 13th round of the 2002 amateur draft, he elected to return to school for his senior year. ^[1] He was on several USC teams with Chicago Cubs standout Mark Prior. In four seasons with the Trojans, Reyes compiled a 17-16 record and earned Pac-10 honors three times. ^[2] He was drafted in the 15th round by St. Louis in 2003. ^[3]

[edit] Professional Career

Reyes was eventually considered the top pitching prospect in the St. Louis farm system. He spent the 2004 season initially with the Palm Beach Cardinals, where he compiled a 3-0 record with a 4.66 ERA, and then later with the Tennessee Smokies, where he achieved a 6-2 record with a 2.91 ERA. ^[4]

After a solid 2005 season with the triple-A Memphis Redbirds, Reyes was given a chance to prove himself in the major leagues. On August 9, at Miller Park, Reyes threw 6 1/3 innings in his debut start against the Milwaukee Brewers, earning the win and giving up just two runs on two hits. He was demoted immediately after the game, having fulfilled his role of giving the regular rotation an extra day's rest by manager Tony La Russa.

Reyes opened the 2006 season with Memphis. He was recalled to St. Louis June 23 when Mark Mulder was placed on the disabled list. As a result, Reyes was asked to start the final game of a three game series against the Chicago White Sox. In the previous two games the White Sox scored 33 runs against the Cardinals. In the third game Reyes threw 90 pitches, 67 for strikes, had six strikeouts and no walks, and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The only White Sox hit was a home run by Jim Thome. The Cardinals offense could not respond in kind and the White Sox won 1-0. Reyes pitched an eight inning complete game and took the loss despite giving up only the one hit (albeit a home run) to Thome. He also struck out six and walked none.

During the Cardinals' 2006 playoff run, Reyes was left off the roster for the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. However, after advancing to the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets, the Cardinals added him to the roster in place of starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Reyes started Game 4 of the series and pitched four innings, taking a no-decision. He pitched the first game of the 2006 World Series and earned the win, pitching eight innings and retiring 17 consecutive batters from the first through the sixth inning, a World Series record for a rookie. Reyes gave up two runs and earned player of the game honors. The Cardinals went on to win the series, defeating the Detroit Tigers four games to one. ^[5]

After starting the 2007 season 0-8 with a 6.08 ERA (although he had the worst run support in the majors), the Cardinals optioned him to Memphis on May 27. Todd Wellemeyer replaced him in the Cardinals starting pitching rotation. He made three strong starts for the Redbirds and was recalled to St. Louis June 16, but was optioned back to Memphis again July 2.

Reyes was called up again from Memphis to make a spot start in a doubleheader against Milwaukee. He pitched well allowing 2 runs on two hits. Reyes has a younger brother, Erik, who pitched for Concordia University Irvine in 2007. ^[6]