Craig Michael Kimbrel is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball. He previously played for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Chicago Cubs. He is an eight-time All-Star, two-time Reliever of the Year, and a 2018 World Series champion.
Craig Kimbrel: Stance| Daughter| Salary| Sucks| Fangraphs
Stance:
Kimbrel’s pitching stance is notorious — he bends his torso parallel to the ground and dangles his arm at a 90-degree angle. But he doesn’t do it for kicks. It became too painful for him to hold his arm behind his back in 2010, when he suffered from biceps tendinitis.
Craig’s signature pitching pose isn’t exactly new — people have noticed it throughout much of his professional career. As you might expect, plenty of people have come up with their own theories for why Craig strikes a pose before pitching. He’s well aware of that, too. “There’s many theories behind it,” he said in a 2015 interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune. “Some guys say I’m flexing. Some guys say the better I pitched, the cockier I got, the further and further out my arm got.”
Daughter:
Craig Kimbrel’s daughter Lydia Joy is at the MLB All-Star Game.
Lydia Joy was born with a heart condition in November and underwent surgery at 4-days-old. She underwent a second surgery during spring training. Kimbrel spent approximately three weeks in Boston away from the team with his daughter.
Salary:
Craig Kimbrel signed a 3 year / $43,000,000 contract with the Chicago Cubs, including $43,000,000 guaranteed, and an annual average salary of $14,333,333. In 2021, Kimbrel will earn a base salary of $16,000,000, while carrying a total salary of $16,000,000. Kimbrel’s adjusted salary with the Chicago White Sox is $5,591,430
| Contract: | 3 yr(s) / $43,000,000 |
| Signing Bonus | – |
| Average Salary | $14,333,333 |
| Free Agent: | 2023 / UFA |
Sucks:
I wanted Kimbrel signed because our bullpen looked atrocious. And because he was on a HoF track that is pretty much completely detailed at this point. I expected he might struggle waiting out so long. But I thought he would get better as the season went on. I thought worst case scenario we would be seeing an ERA in the 4’s.
Fangraphs:
When Carlos Rodón hit Roberto Pérez in the left foot with one out in the ninth inning of Wednesday night’s game, just about everybody watching who wasn’t pulling for Cleveland let out a collective groan. With one errant pitch, the 28-year-old lefty had lost his shot at completing just the 24th perfect game in major league history, and the first since the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez in 2012.
