Lee Gronkiewicz
Lee Matthew Gronkiewicz (born August 21, 1978) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2007. He is the current head coach of the Columbia Blowfish and the pitching coach for the University of South Carolina Lancaster, and is also involved with USA baseball on the college national team selection committee. College career. A native of Los Angeles, California, Gronkiewicz attended college first at Spartanburg Methodist College, and then transferred to the University of South Carolina. In 1999, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the  Cape Cod Baseball League. In , he was selected to the All-SEC team and was a First-team All-American. He led the country in saves that year with 16, and had a 1.42 ERA. Minor league career. Gronkiewicz signed with the Cleveland Indians in as an amateur free agent. He spent four years in Cleveland's minor league system before he was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays in the Rule 5 draft. In seven minor-league seasons, Gronkiewicz has a career 18–16 record, pitching almost entirely in relief with just one start for the Syracuse Sky Chiefs, putting  up a 2.48 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP along the way. He struck out nearly four times as many batters as he walked (421 strikeouts and 111 walks through 2007). Major league career. Gronkiewicz' major league debut (and only major league appearance to date) was on June 19, , when the Blue Jays hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed one run—a home run to Dodgers catcher Russell Martin—on two hits, walking two and striking out two, over four innings of work. In November 2007, he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox. In April , after  a stellar month in Triple-A where he allowed 1 run in 11 innings, he was placed on the DL with elbow soreness. It was later determined to be damage to his UCL and he underwent Tommy John surgery, ending his season. He became a free agent at the end of the season. After his baseball career he became a Pundit thanks to the guidance of Doyle.