Michael Paul Koplove (COP-luv)...resides during the off-season in Philadelphia
with wife Samantha...a 1995 graduate of Chestnut Hill Academy (PA)...played college
baseball at Northwestern and the University of Delaware...helped the Blue Hens to the
1998 America East Championship and NCAA Atlantic Regional... 2004 recipient of the
Good Guy Award by the Arizona chapter of the BBWAA...originally selected by Arizona
in the 29th round of the 1998 June draft...played for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics in
Beijing (bronze medal)...did not allow a hit over 4 appearances (5.1 IP) in the Olympics.
2009
Split the season with three Triple-A clubs with the Phillies (Lehigh Valley), Pirates
(Indianapolis) and Mariners (Tacoma)...combined to 5-4 with 11 saves and a 1.87 ERA
(15 ER, 72.1 IP)...acquired by Seattle in trade with Pittsburgh for minor league infielder
Deybis Benitez, Aug. 4, 2009...made Rainiers debut Aug. 6 with scoreless inning at
Round Rock...held opponents scoreless in 9 of 12 appearances...made 2 appearances
in PCL playoffs against Sacramento (0-0, 3.38)...elected free agency following the season
and re-signed with Seattle on Dec. 16, 2009.
2008
Went to spring training as a non-roster invitee with the Los Angeles Dodgers...spent the
season with Las Vegas (AAA)...pitched at least 2.0 innings in 10 of his 41 appearances...
hit a 3-run HR June 6 vs. Tucson (2nd professional hit).
2007
Went to spring training with Florida
and was released prior to Opening Day on March 28...signed with Cleveland as a minor
league free agent on March 29...spent most of the season with Buffalo (AAA) in the
International League...led the Bisons in ERA (2.50)...set career-high with 14 saves...held
opponent scoreless in 41 of 51 appearances...made 2 stints with the Indians, May 23-30
and Sept. 1-remainder of the season...made AL debut May 23 at Kansas City
2006
Made two appearances with Arizona, after having his contract purchased from Tucson (AAA) on August 3, and proceeded to pitch
in back-to-back days, August 3-4 at the Cubs and against the Astros...was then designated for assignment on August 5, and sent
back to Tucson on August 9...was recalled from Tucson on September 29, but saw no action. Currently ranks third all-time in games
pitched for Arizona (217) trailing Byung-Hyun Kim (243) and Greg Swindell (225)...Made 48 appearances for Tucson, working predominantly as a set-up man...helped the Sidewinders to a 91-53 record, a Pacific
Coast League title and AAA Championship...from June 22-August 11, pitched 14 consecutive scoreless relief appearances over a total of 20.1 innings.
2005
Made his 200th career appearance on June 7 vs. Minnesota...he was optioned to Tucson (AAA) on June 9 and pitched four times for the Sidewinders, going 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA, allowing two runs in 5.0 innings...he returned to the big league roster on June 18 when Russ Ortiz went on the DL...excelled in Chase Field, going 2-0 with a 3.74 ERA in 26 appearances while possessing
an 0-1 mark and a 7.88 ERA in 18 road games...was optioned back to Tucson on August 13.
2004
Mike appeared in a career-best 76 games, the third-highest total in franchise history behind Oscar Villarreal (86 in 2003)
and Byung-Hyun Kim (78 in 2001)...showing no ill effects of the arthroscopic right shoulder surgery the prevoius
September, he worked a career-high 86.2 innings of relief, the sixth-best total in the National League...early in the season
Koplove displayed the ability to work out of jams, stranding 18 of 20 inherited baserunners from April 6-May 5...on each
occasion that a runner scored, Mike had no margin for error, taking over a bases-loaded situation...his first victory of the
year was on April 15 in Colorado, entering the contest with the bases full and none out...a double play limited the damage
and Arizona went on to secure the 11-10 triumph...Mike went 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA over a 12-outing stretch from April 23-
May 14 with opponents batting only .174 (8-for-46)...he was thrust into the closer's role after Matt Mantei and Jose Valverde
succumbed to right shoulder injuries...Koplove picked up his first career save on June 30 vs. San Diego and followed it up
with another rescue the next night against Minnesota...his best work of the year was in August, posting a 0.52 ERA in 13
appearances, with the opposition hitting only .158 against him during the month...Mike was especially effective from August
14-31, with opponents batting only .083 (3-for-36)...he had a brief 5-outing hiccup from September 4-14, going 0-2 with a
10.50 ERA...he surrendered a solo homer to San Francisco's Barry Bonds on September 12, the 699th career blast by the
Giants' slugger...Koplove then finished strong, giving up only 1 run over his final 9.1 innings, spanning 6
outings...righthanded batters hit at just a .233 clip (41-for-176), while lefties batted .313 (45-for-144)...he stranded 32 of 47
inherited baserunners on the year...he converted 2 of 8 save opportunities...he was bestowed with the 2004 Good Guy
Award as announced by the Arizona Chapter of the BBWAA.
2003
Mike's year was twice interrupted by stints on the disabled list, with the second stint pulling the curtain on his campaign due to arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right shoulder ... he was initially sidelined from June 1-13, then after coming off the DL, he appeared 4 times before going back on the shelf on June 23 ... despite his efforts to return via a throwing program in July and a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tucson, Koplove was unable to throw pain-free and elected to end his season with arthroscopic surgery performed on the shoulder by Dr. Craig Morgan on September 15 ... the procedure included repairing fraying in Koplove's labrum as well as some slight fraying in his rotator cuff ... Mike began the season as manager Bob Brenly's top setup man, posting a 1.00 ERA during April allowing only 2 earned runs in 18.0 innings of work ... Koplove worked at least 1.0 inning in 26 of his 31 appearances, including 8 games of 2.0 innings of work ... he was equally effective versus both lefties (.224, 13-for-58) and righties (.225, 18-for-80) ... a native of Philadelphia, he picked up his first win of the season on May 13 in his first-ever appearance at The Vet, recording a pair of eighth inning outs then watching his teammates plate 5 runs in the top of the ninth ... Mike picked up his second win on May 23 vs. San Diego with a 1-2-3 top of the eighth to set the stage for Danny Bautista's 3-run homer in the bottom of the frame ... while he had a respectable 3.79 ERA over his 15 outings at Bank One Ballpark, his road work was more impressive, owning a microscopic 0.48 ERA in 16 appearances away from home, allowing only 1 earned run in 18.2 innings, the single tally coming as he notched his third win of the year on June 15 at the Metrodome ... first batters hit only .129 against Koplove as he allowed 4 hits ... he limited the opposition to a 3-for-30 (.100) performance when batting with runners in scoring position, fourth among NL relievers prior to his injury ... Koplove hit 5 batters in 37.2 innings, something he did not do once in 61.2 innings a year ago ... he had surrendered just 3 home runs over his first 79.0 big league innings, but allowed all 3 roundtrippers in '03 during an 18.2-inning stretch from April 14-May 18.
How obtained:
Signed as Arizona's 29th round selection in the 1998 June free agent draft.
2002
Mike opened the season in the bullpen for Tucson (AAA), but wound up one of the top righthanded set-up men in
the National League while earning team Rookie-of-the-Year honors from the Arizona chapter of the BBWAA...he opened the
year with 23 appearances in AAA, recording 3 saves with a dominant 1.17 ERA, holding PCL hitters to a collective .196
average (21-for-107) with 31 K's and 4 walks in 30.2 innings...he was recalled on June 5 and pitched against Houston
that night, retiring all 3 batters he faced in the 12th inning...Kop allowed only 1 run over his first 12 games with the
big league club, totaling 11.0 innings for a 0.82 ERA, as opponents managed only a .154 average against him...he picked
up his first big league victory on July 11 as Arizona opened the post-All-Star Break portion of the schedule with a 4-3
win at Los Angeles...Mike worked both ends of a double-dip at Shea Stadium on August 3, tossing a scoreless frame while
allowing a hit and walk in the opener, then recording a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the nightcap...he was the fourth
pitcher in club history to work both halves of a doubleheader joining Willie Banks and Alan Embree (August 20, 1998 at
Philadelphia) and Bret Prinz (August 31, 2001 at San Diego)...Mike improved his record to 3-0 with 2.0 innings the
following day in Shea as the D'Backs won their third straight on the way to a 4-game sweep of the Mets...he absorbed his
first loss of the year in his next outing after Andruw Jones belted a solo home run in the 13th inning to lead the
Braves to a 4-3 win on August 6...Mike threw 8.2 hitless innings from August 22-30, as opponents went 0-for-24 with 3
walks... he limited the opposition to a .150 average (19-for-127) in his first 33 outings after the All-Star Break...he
picked up wins in back to back outings on September 11 and 15 vs. San Diego and Milwaukee, respectively...the latter of
those 2 appearances included 3.0 scoreless frames of 2-hit ball as he notched his sixth victory, tying Robert Ellis'
club record set in 2001 for wins by a rookie...Mike allowed only 2 runs over 20.1 innings for a 0.89 ERA in 13 outings
from August 22-September 19...he was roughed up at Coors Field on September 21, yielding a career-high 7 hits and 4 runs
over 2.0 innings causing his opponents average to jump from .168 to .193...unfortunately, Kop was touched for 12 earned
runs in his last 6.1 innings, spanning 6 appearances which raised his season ERA from 1.79 to its final 3.36 mark...Mike
held the first batters he faced in his outings to a combined .154 average (8-for-52), good for seventh among National
League relievers...on the year, Koplove limited lefties to a .174 average (12-for-69) but walked 21 while striking out
18...righthanders hit .230 (35-for-152) with 2 walks and 28 strikeouts...Mike's lone post-season action resulted in a loss in the second game of the NL division series against the Cardinals...he worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning with Arizona trailing by a 1-0 count, but after the D'Backs tied the contest in the bottom of the frame, Kop was touched for a run on 2 hits in the ninth to absorb the tough 2-1 loss.
2001
Mike joined the Diamondbacks after an outstanding finish to his minor league season and was used in a variety of key situations during the pennant race due to the late-season injury to Bret Prinz ... he made his major league debut in San Francisco on September 6 allowing hits to the first 2 men he faced but they would be the only hits he surrendered over his first 5 big league outings ... his second appearance was a 3.1 inning stint against San Diego on September 8, keeping the Padres off the board while the D'Backs rebounded from a 5-3 deficit and post- ed an eventual 8-6 win in 10 innings ... Mike followed that with shutout frames in Colorado on September 18, and in Los Angeles on September 20, before running into some control problems that cost him a game in Dodger Stadium on the 22nd ... he entered the contest with a man aboard and a 5-3 lead in the 11th, but he walked 2 and hit a man as L.A. rallied for a 6-5 win, Mike 's first big league decision ... he had a streak of 28 consecutive batters without allowing a hit from the last out of his big league debut until surrendering a home run to Milwaukee 's Luis Lopez on September 26, though he issued 5 walks and hit 2 men in that span ... Koplove 's year began in El Paso (AA) , posting a 3-2 record with 4 saves and a 2.66 ERA in 34 games, then was promoted to Tucson (AAA) where he pitched in 17 games and recorded either a win or a save in 13 of his outings, going 4-1 with 9 rescues and a sparkling 2.82 ERA ... he was particularly tough on AAA righthanded hitters allowing only 8 hits in 53 at bats by righties, a .151 average ... from July 1-August 21, Mike combined 21 appearances between AA and AAA to go 5-0 with 8 saves and a 0.66 ERA.
2001 Postseason Highlights:
Mike was on the active roster for the Division Series and NLCS, but did not pitch ... he was inactive for the World Series.
2000
Mike opened the year at High Desert (A) and allowed 3 earned runs in 0.1 of an inning in his season debut ... he then surrendered only 1 earned run over his next 19 outings (none in his last 16 games) before a pro- motion to El Paso (AA) on June 3 ... was 1-0 with 2 saves and a 0.73 ERA in first 9 games with El Paso ... he held opponents to a .225 batting average, third-best average among Texas League relievers ... during the playoffs, Mike was 1-0 with a save and a 1.69 ERA in 4 appearances against Round Rock ... was 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA for the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League.
1999
Led South Bend (A) in appearances ... fell 9.0 innings short of qualifying for the organizational lead in ERA.1998 -- Paced all Pioneer League relievers with a 0.75 walks per 9-inning ratio.
1998
Made professional debut with Lethbridge (A)...led the Pioneer League in fewest
BB/9.0 IP (0.75).
