Jeff Samardzija Jeffrey " Jeff " Alan Samardzija ( Serbian Latin : Džef Samardžija ; born January 23 , 1985 ) is an American pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball ( MLB ) . He played college baseball and football for the University of Notre Dame , and was recognized as an All - American wide receiver . He has played for the Chicago Cubs since 2008 . Early years . Jeff ' s father , Sam Samardzija , was a semi - professional hockey player , and his older brother , Sam Samardzija Jr . , was an All State football and baseball player who attended Indiana University and is now a sports agent of Major League Baseball . When Samardzija was in high school his mother , Debora Samardzija , died of a fatal respiratory disease . Samardzija grew up in Valparaiso , Indiana , where he attended Washington Township Elementary School and Valparaiso High School , and was a letterman in volleyball , basketball , and baseball . In volleyball , he was a three - time first team All - State honoree , and was twice named the team ' s Most Valuable Player . After his senior year , he switched to football and was invited to participate in the Indiana football All - Star game . In baseball , he was a first team All - State honoree . He graduated from Valparaiso High School in 2003 . College years . Samardzija accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Notre Dame , where he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team from 2003 to 2006 , and the Fighting Irish baseball team from 2004 to 2006 . He made his first impact at Notre Dame as a right - handed pitcher for the baseball team , finishing second in the Big East Conference in both earned run average ( ERA ) ( 2 . 95 ) and opponents ' batting average ( . 209 ) , and being named a Freshman All - American by " Collegiate Baseball Magazine . " He continued to play baseball at Notre Dame until he was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 5th round ( 149th overall ) of the Major League Baseball Draft . In football , he was a reserve for his first two seasons , catching a total of 24 passes . He first started at the 2005 Insight Bowl at the end of his sophomore season . He emerged as a star in the 2005 season , ending the regular season with 77 catches - 15 of them for touchdowns - for 1215 yards and making numerous All - America Teams . He set single - season school records in both receiving yardage and touchdown receptions . Samardzija caught a touchdown pass in each of Notre Dame ' s first eight games in 2006 , giving him the school record for consecutive games with a touchdown reception . Samardzija made 78 catches for 1 , 017 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games in the 2006 season to finish as the all - time Fighting Irish leader in reception yards with 2 , 593 . He made the Football Writers Association of America All - America Team following the 2006 season . Samardzija was selected as one of the three finalists for the Fred Biletnikoff Award , for the nation ' s top wide receiver in both 2005 and 2006 . Although initially planning to play both in the NFL and MLB , Samardzija announced after being selected in the Major League Draft that he would take his name out of the NFL Draft and play baseball . Professional career . On January 19 , 2007 , Samardzija announced he would forgo the National Football League Draft and commit to a baseball career . Samardzija signed a five - year deal to play baseball with the Chicago Cubs . The deal has a no - trade clause and a club option for a sixth and seventh year . If the club option is exercised , the total value of the deal would be $ 16 . 5 million . On June 23 , , Samardzija was promoted to Triple - A Iowa after posting a 3 - 5 record in Tennessee with a 4 . 86 ERA . In his career in Triple - A Iowa , he has posted a 4 - 1 record and a 3 . 13 ERA , with 40 strikeouts and 16 walks . On July 25 , 2008 , Samardzija was called up to join the bullpen of the Chicago Cubs to replace Kerry Wood , who was placed on the DL . He made his MLB debut the same day against the Florida Marlins , striking out the first batter he faced in the 7th inning . Chicago Cubs Manager Lou Piniella was impressed with Samardzija ' s major league debut , saying he may never see the minors again . On July 27 , 2008 , Samardzija recorded his first career major league save against the Florida Marlins . In 2009 , Samardzija was optioned to the Triple - A Iowa Cubs after failing to make the team out of spring training . However , he was quickly called back up only a few games into the season . He quickly returned to Des Moines to pitch for the Iowa Cubs , after posting a 8 . 10 E . R . A . in 5 appearances . He made his first major league start on August 12 against Pedro Martinez of the Philadelphia Phillies , a 12 - 5 loss . In March 2010 Samardzija returned to the Cubs and pitched his first game in exhibition on March 13 , 2010 . He pitched in four regular season games in April and compiled an 18 . 90 ERA before being sent back down to the Triple - A Iowa Cubs in order to make space for Ted Lilly on the Cubs roster . In 2011 , Samardzija made the opening day roster as a reliever . During the 2011 season Samardzija , statistically had his best season posting an 8 - 4 record and an ERA of 2 . 97 In 2012 Jeff was named a pitcher in the Cubs rotation and was solid going 9 - 13 with a 3 . 81 ERA and 180 strikeouts . On March 3rd , 2013 Samardzija was named the opening day starter . He threw his first major league shutout on May 27 , 2013 against the Chicago White Sox , allowing two hits and two walks . Pitching style . Samardzija has thrown as many as seven types of pitches in his career , but as of 2012 , he uses five . They are as follows : a four - seam fastball ( 94 – 97 mph , tops out at 99 ) , two - seam fastball ( 93 – 96 ) , cutter ( 90 – 93 ) , slider ( 82 – 85 ) , and splitter ( 85 – 87 ) . He is comfortable throwing all of his pitches to right - handed hitters , but he tends not to throw the cutter to left - handed hitters . Against both right - handed and left - handed hitters , the splitter is by a wide margin his most commonly thrown pitch in 2 - strike counts . Personal . Samardzija is of Serbian heritage . His Serbian grandparents emigrated from Europe in the 1940s . Several of Samardzija ' s Notre Dame baseball teammates affectionately nickname d him " Shark " early during his career at Notre Dame .