C.J. Nitkowski #27

Full name CHRISTOPHER JOHN NITKOWSKI...Married, wife Megan...Has two children: a son, Matthew (12/14/99) and a daughter, Brooke Elizabeth (8/23/01)...Pitched 3 seasons at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY...Lettered in baseball at Don Bosco (NJ) High School (graduated '91)...Maintains his own self-designed web page on the internet (cjbaseball.com).

1994

Made 14 starts at Chattanooga after signing with Cincinnati.

1997

Held opponents to .228 average, .186 vs. left-handed hitters...Tied major league record by hitting 3 consecutive batters, Aug. 3 vs. Fla...Was optioned to New Orleans on Aug. 10 and recalled by Astros on Sept. 1...Led American Association in strikeouts (141) and ranked 2nd in innings (174.1) at New Orleans...Was 6-4, 3.36 in final 16 starts.

2000

Was 2-7, 7.30 in 11 starts and 2-2, 3.34 in 56 relief appearances with Detroit...Finished 2nd on staff in appearances (67)...Set career high for innings (109.2)...Opponents hit .228 in relief...Opened season in rotation before moving to bullpen in late May...Was 2-0, 1.72 in 11 relief outings in June.

2003

Made 6 relief appearances with the Texas Rangers before being outrighted to AAA Oklahoma on April 25... Had his most effective outing with Texas April 9 vs. Oak. (2.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K)... Won his first game as a starter in his third start with Oklahoma June 19 vs. Tuscon, going 6.0 IP, allowing 1 ER and 7 H... Earned a 3.0 IP save on July 18 at New Orleans. ... Had a 1.59 ERA and a save in May (9 G, 11.1 IP, 2 ER)... Went 2-1 with a 4.97 ERA in 6 starts with the RedHawks and 3-3 with 2 saves and a 3.61 ERA in 27 relief appearances.

2002

Combined to go 3-5, 4.75 in 49 minor league appearances with Houston, St. Louis, and Texas...Purchased by the Rangers on Aug. 19, he had a 2.63 era in 12 games the rest of the season, the 2nd lowest era among the 27 pitchers who appeared in a game with Texas in 2002...Allowed a run in 3 of 12 games with the Rangers with one of 6 inherited runners crossing the plate...Pitched 6 scoreless innings in 1st 4 appearances, Aug. 22-Sept. 1, and worked 3.1 scoreless frames over 4 outings, Sept. 12-17...Longest outing was 2.2 innings, Aug. 29 vs. Baltimore...Lone decision was a defeat, Sept. 21 at Oakland...Opponents batted .224, .190 (4-21) vs. lefthanders and .250 (7-28) against right-handed batters...Began year at New Orleans with 2.78 era in 24 games...Posted a 1.59 era (3 ER/17 IP) in final 19 outings...Was released on May 30 and signed with Cardinals the same day...Had a 9.82 era in 16 games at Memphis...Compiled 3.38 (2 ER/5.1 IP) figure in 1st 7 appearances, then issued 5 runs in 0.2 innings vs. Tucson...Was released July 17 and signed with Texas on July 28...Posted a 1.80 era in 9 games with the RedHawks, allowing a run twice.

2001

Spent most of year with Detroit, going 0-3, 5.56 in 56 relief appearances...Had a 0.84 era (1 ER/10.2 IP) in June...Was optioned to Toledo on Aug. 22, making one appearance before trade to New York Mets on Sept. 2...Pitched 5.2 scoreless innings in 5 games with the Mets, holding left-handed batters to .231 mark...Earned season's lone victory in 1st appearance as a Met, Sept. 3 vs. Phi...Was 1st major league win since June 24, 2000.

1999

Established career best for appearances (68) in 1st season with Detroit...Made seven consecutive starts beginning on Aug. 29 vs. Bal. after 104 straight appearances in relief...Pitched in 21 of the first 35 games of the season...Went 1-3 with a 5.52 ERA before the All-Star break, improving to 3-2 with a 3.55 ERA in the second half...Was ejected and later suspended for throwing an inside pitch to Cleveland's Kenny Lofton on May 22 after both teams were warned by the plate umpire; was suspended from May 28-30.

1998

Tied for A.L. lead in balks (3)...Made 7 starts at end of season with 3.86 era...Fanned career high 10 batters in win on Sept. 25 vs. Kansas City...Spent most of season with Houston.

1996

Began the season at AAA Toledo before recall by Detroit on July 3...Won season's 1st start the following day vs. Toronto...Was on DL from Aug. 11-29 with back strain...Optioned to Toledo on Aug. 29 and recalled on Sept. 3.

1995

Jumped from double-A to the majors...Was leading Southern League in strikeouts (52) at Chattanooga when promoted to Indianapolis on May 15...Went 0-2 in 6 starts before purchase by Cincinnati on June 2...Made major league debut the following day vs. St. Louis and recorded 1st victory on June 28 against Philadelphia...Was traded to Detroit on July 31 and spent rest of season with the Tigers...Lost in 1st outing with Detroit, Aug. 3 vs. Boston.