Bio

Not many players get to be the starting pitcher in game one of Major League Baseball’s World Series. The number of pitchers to fire a complete-game victory in the NCAA Division III Championship is also quite small. Jarrod Washburn is able to say that he’s accomplished both of these feats.

Washburn came to UW-Oshkosh from Webster High School and red-shirted his first baseball season with the Titans. One year later, Washburn was handed the ball for the biggest game of the 1994 season. He responded with eight strikeouts to lead UW-Oshkosh to a 6-2 triumph over Wesleyan University (Conn.) in the title game of the NCAA Division III World Series. UW-Oshkosh finished that season with a 41-4 record as Washburn was named to the NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region second team. In helping the Titans win a WIAC championship, Washburn achieved a 6-1 record with a 2.03 earned run average and 52 strikeouts in 48.2 innings pitched.

In his sophomore year of 1995, Washburn got even better, earning NCAA Division III All-America second team honors. UW-Oshkosh compiled a 39-5 record and took third place at the NCAA Division III World Series. The Titans earned another conference title as Washburn posted a 9-1 record with a 1.93 earned run average in 70 innings pitched. He also fanned 89 batters, including 17 during a victory over UW-Whitewater and 16 during a win over Concordia College (Minn.). Washburn was named to the NCAA Division III All-Midwest Region first team thanks to owning the fourth-best strikeout rate in the country (11.4 per nine innings).

Washburn played just two years at UW-Oshkosh, but he left his mark with a 15-2 record on the mound. His collegiate numbers also included a 1.97 earned run average, six complete games and two shutouts. Washburn struck out 141 batters in 118.2 innings as the Titans won 80-of-89 games during his tenure. Those statistics impressed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who took Washburn with the 31st overall pick in the 1995 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Washburn was the third-highest selection ever from UW-Oshkosh and went on to have the most productive professional career of any Titan pitcher.

Moving up the minor league system, Washburn debuted and started 11 games for the Angels in 1998. He posted a 6-3 mark in his rookie season and went 7-2 during the 2000 campaign. Anaheim then made the American League playoffs three times over a four-year span, including a World Series Championship in 2002. That was Washburn’s best season, as he went 18-6 with a 3.15 earned run average to finish fourth in the Cy Young Award voting. He pitched 206 innings and won a team-record 12 consecutive games early in the year. Washburn spent eight seasons with Anaheim before entering free agency in 2005.

The Seattle Mariners saw how Washburn recorded a 3.20 earned run average the season before, so they agreed to a four-year deal with the left-hander. He saved his best work for his final season in 2009, when he started 8-6 with a 2.64 earned run average. During July, Washburn went 4-1 with a 1.44 earned run average to capture the American League Pitcher of the Month Award. Washburn’s magical month included a one-hit shutout over the Baltimore Orioles in which he retired 27 of the 28 batters he faced. A few weeks later, the Detroit Tigers, looking to make a playoff run, acquired Washburn.

Washburn was always a workhorse, tossing at least 149 innings every year from 2001 to 2009. His career numbers feature 312 appearances, including 300 starts, and 1,863.2 innings. He notched nine complete games, with four shutouts, and posted one save. Washburn owns a 107-109 record with a 4.10 earned run average, to go along with 1,103 career strikeouts.

Washburn currently is the owner of the Clam River Whitetails, LLC, a deer farm that features approximately 200 deer. He and his wife, Kerrie, a former track and field All-America performer at UW-Oshkosh, live in Webster with their children, Jack, Owen and Ava.