Jake Diekman

At 37 years old, Jake Diekman has this physical status:

Jacob Tanner Diekman (born January 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has appeared for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Kansas City Royals before being drafted in MLB. Diekman started as a starting pitcher and progressed through a few areas of the Phillies' farm system in his first two years as a relief pitcher, before tweaking his mechanics and raising his arm slot to throw sidearm out of the bullpen.

The change was successful and aided him in navigating the Phillies' farm system's remaining levels.

Diekman made his major league debut in 2012.

He split time between the major league Phillies and their Triple-AAA (AAA) affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, in two seasons, but even though he was with the major leagues, he was still one of the "lone bright spots" in both 2012 and 2013.

Diekman throws a fastball in the upper 90s (mph), a slider, and the occasional changeup; his fastball is one of the best left-handed relievers in the major leagues.

Personal life

Just months before the Phillies drafted him, Diekman's mother died at the age of 57. Diekman calls his father his "best friend" and one who has helped him cope with his mother's death. Billie's mother, Billie, was Diekman's "largest fan" and had to tell her husband, Paul, not to pact and watch Diekman pitch. Diekman has sought therapy to cope with the death of his mother, meditates and considers her during each game.

Diekman, who moved away from baseball, holds an associate's degree in business administration from Cloud County Community College. He loves listening to music, working out, playing golf, and long walks along the beach. During the offseason, he lives in Beatrice, Nebraska. He founded Gut It Out to help others with ulcerative colitis as a result of his struggle with ulcerative colitis.

Jake is married to former Miss Nebraska USA and former TV reporter for ten/11 News in Lincoln, Nebraska. They have one daughter. Saul Soltero, Jake's father-in-law, was a pitcher for the San Diego Padres, with a 2.58 ERA and.643 winning percentage in 159 games over a 6-year span. He reached his peak before his elbow injury resulted in Tommy John surgery that ended his career.

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Early career

Diekman was born in 1987 and Billie Diekman. Brian is his brother. Jake attended Southern High School in Wymore, Nebraska, where they lived. His alma mater was too small to field a baseball team, so he concentrated on golf instead. Diekman's later joined the American Legion baseball team, sharing in the summer with other players from Wymore and many surrounding towns, which he describes as "the best time of my life... so much fun." Diekman worked full time at a lawn mower plant to have enough funds to afford a post-secondary education.

Diekman graduated from high school and spent a season with Doane College, pitching for the school's baseball team. He then enrolled in Cloud County Community College in Kansas. Diekman attended a junior college baseball showcase, sparking a lot of enthusiasm (140 km/h) during Diekman's sophomore season. He received a full scholarship to be a Nebraska Cornhusker, something he would have accepted if the Philadelphia Phillies hadn't drafted him in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft's 30th round.

Professional career

He pitched in the Philadelphia Phillies' Minor League system from 2007 to 2010, first as a starter and then as a reliever. Despite his early success in 2007, including a 2.72 ERA in ten starts with the GCL Phillies and Williamsport Crosscutters, he struggled in 2008, posting a record of 5.09 in 27 starts, split between Williamsport and the Lakewood BlueClaws. He pitched in the Florida Instructional League at the end of both 2008 and 2009 to keep honing his skills on the ground.

In 2009, he went from a starting pitcher to a reliever, as well as several other Phillies pitching prospects. He also dropped his release point to his current low angle around the time at the suggestion of the same minor league pitching coaches who had converted him to relief. In 2009, he had a 4.04 ERA in 2009, his first year in relief, but the Phillies High-A affiliate split time between Lakewood and the Clearwater Threshers cut his ERA to 2.91. He played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League at the end of the 2010 season. He was a member of the Double-A Reading Phillies in 2011, putting together a 0–1 record and a 3.05 ERA and 3 saves in 53 games. Later, the Phillies expanded him to their 40-man roster to shield him from the Rule 5 draft.

Diekman started the 2012 season with the Triple-AAA (AAA) Lehigh Valley IronPigs after being lauded by Phillies' pitching coach Rich Dubee for his work in spring training. In the season's first month, he had a 1–0 record and a 0.59 ERA with 5 saves in 13 games. On May 11, he was added to the Philadelphia Phillies' 25-man Major League roster, and a few days later won the Houston Astros in his MLB debut. He completed the year as an established lefty specialist with a 3.95 ERA, but he was erratic in his approach.

Diekman, who was supposed to be a key part of the Phillies' bullpen after his 2012 success, did not sign up with the big league club, but he didn't break camp with the club, which was still in AAA, starting the season in AAA. He suffered in AAA, which delayed his arrival to the major leagues until June. He maintained his left-handed hitters' dominance in the big leagues, but he wasn't as strong against right-handed hitters (a 150-point difference in opponent batting average and over 300 points difference in On-base plus slugging). Diekman's control improved his command, making him a presumive participant of the 2014 bullpen, as he was one of 2013's "lone bright spots" for the otherwise poor Phillies' bullpen. In the end, he did make the Phillies' opening day roster as a member of the bullpen.

Diekman emerged as a reliable backup in the Phillies' bullpen early in the season, and was heavily used by manager Ryne Sandberg early in the season. Diekman was more effective against left-handed hitters than right-handed hitters during the season, but he was used against both in a variety of situations. Diekman was one of four pitchers in the Phillies' 7-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on September 1, 2014, a no-hitter. The Philadelphia Phillies had one of the best bullpens in the league by the season's end, and it was mainly composed of young players like Diekman. Both Phillies' workers and writers were thrilled that the bullpen would keep healthy for a long time because of young pitchers like Diekman, Ken Giles, and Justin De Fratus. In addition, Diekman and Giles could have been closer if the Phillies trade Jonathan Papelbon. Overall, Diekman emerged as one of the National League's "elite" relievers, but he was overused against right-handed batters, which hurt his stats.

Diekman was traded to the Texas Rangers with Cole Hamels in exchange for Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Alec Asher, and Jerad Eickhoff on July 31, 2015. In the Rangers' bid to the playoffs in 2016, he was a key bullpen piece. Diekman and the Rangers decided to a one-year contract worth $1.225 million on January 29, 2016, avoiding arbitration. In 66 appearances, Diekman had a 4-2 record, 4 saves, and a 3.40 ERA. Diekman underwent surgery for persistent ulcerative colitis on January 25, 2017. He made 11 appearances before the season came to an end. Diekman recorded a 3.69 average in 47 games in 2018, despite being 100% healthy. In 39 innings, he struck out 48 batters.

Diekman was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Wei-Chieh Huang and Joshua Javier on July 31, 2018. The trade took place in Arizona while the Diamondbacks and Rangers were playing off in a two-game match series. Diekman struggled after being acquired by Arizona, averaging of 7.53 in 24 appearances. Following the 2018 season, Diekman became a free agent.

Diekman, a Denver, Kansas City Royals alum, agreed to a one-year deal on February 13, 2019. According to the report, the agreement was worth $2.75 million in guarantees as well as performance incentives. Diekman had a 4.75 ERA and a 0–6 record in 48 relief appearances with the 2019 Royals, defeating out 63 batters in 41+2nd innings.

The Royals traded Diekman to the Oakland Athletics on July 27, 2019 for Ismael Aquino and Dairon Blanco. Diekman pitched in a postponed game between the Athletics and the Detroit Tigers, which culminated in a double in a scoreless inning on September 6. This appearance was recorded on May 19, the Royals' original game date against the Los Angeles Angels. Diekman threw an inning of relief for the Royals against the Los Angeles Angels. Diekman thus achieved the rare feat of pitching for two different teams on the same day, statistically. He tied for the most major league leads in holds (31) during the 2019 season. Diekman went out 21 in 2021+3 innings in 28 games for the A's.

Following the 2019 season, Diekman became a free agent after the Athletics denied his contract option. Diekman re-signed with Oakland on a two-year deal on December 3, 2019. Diekman only allowed 2 runs in 21+13 innings in the 2020 shortened season.

Diekman, a Boston Red Sox fan, agreed to a two-year contract on March 16, 2022. He had a 5–1 record and a 4.23 ERA in 44 appearances through July.

Diekman was traded to the Chicago White Sox for catcher Reese McGuire and a player whose name will be revealed later or cash considerations.

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