Brandon Tyler Webb ... he and his wife, Alicia, have
a daughter, Reagan, and son, Austin ... was a 1997 graduate of
Ashland (Ky.) High School, then played his collegiate baseball in
Lexington at the University of Kentucky ... originally selected by the
Diamondbacks in the eighth round of the 2000 June draft.
2010
Missed the entire season while rehabbing from a debridement
surgery procedure performed on his right shoulder by Dr.
Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas on Aug. 3, 2009...was placed on
the 15-day disabled list on April 4, retroactive to March 26, after
not being able to resume regular pitching duties during spring training...
was later transferred to the 60-day disabled list on April 17...
threw regular bullpen sessions and simulated games while with
the club in September ... finally returned to the mound during 3 appearances
against minor leaguers in the D-backs' instructional
camp ... threw a pair of 1.0-inning outings with 25-pitch limits on
Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 in Tucson and 2.0-inning outing with a 40-
pitch limit on Oct. 7 at Chase Field.
2009
His seventh big league season was derailed by a right shoulder injury after getting the starting nod on Opening Day...Made his lone start on Opening Day, his fourth straight Opening Day start, giving up 6 runs in 4.0 innings vs. Rockies in an eventual 9-8 win...Placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder injury on April 13 (retroactive to April 7) and missed the remainder of the season...After a thwarted comeback attempt, had surgery on Aug. 3 performed by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas.
2008
His career-best 22 wins tied Cleveland's Cliff Lee for the Major League lead and tied for
the third-most wins in franchise history with Curt Schilling's 22 wins in 2001...also led the
big leagues with a 3.22 ground ball to fly ball ratio and a 76.3 ground ball percentage...
among National League pitchers, was fourth in innings pitched (226.2) and 10th in ERA
(3.30)...since 2005, his 70 wins and 927.0 innings pitched lead all pitchers in MLB...Finished second in the NL Young Award balloting for the second straight season....has
garnered the most points among all NL pitchers over the last three seasons (2006-08)
with 270 points in the Baseball Writers' Association of America's 5-3-1 voting system...Honored by the Arizona chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America as the
D-backs' Pitcher of the Year...Continued his climb up the franchise's all-time leaderboard...ranks second with 65 wins,
1,089.0 innings pitched, 163 starts and 880 strikeouts...also is third with 4 shutouts...His 24 quality starts ranked third among NL pitchers...with teammate Dan Haren, their
combined total of 47 quality starts tied for most among teammates in the Major Leagues
with San Fracnsico's Tim Lincebum and Matt Cain...his 91 quality starts since 2005 rank
fourth in the big leagues...Was named the NL Pitcher of the Month in April for the first time in his career after
leading the league with 6 wins and ranking fourth with a 1.98 ERA (9 ER in 41.0 IP)...
became the first pitcher in the Majors to finish April with a 6-0 record since Randy Johnson
did so in 2002...Won his first 9 starts of the season before losing on May 21 at Florida, the best such
streak for a D-backs pitcher to begin a season and only the sixth Major Leaguer since
World War I to win his first 9 starts in a season...tied with Sal Maglie (New York Giants,
1952), Atley Donald (New York Yankees, 1939) and George Uhle (Detroit Tigers, 1929)
behind Eddie Cicotte's 12 (Chicago White Sox, 1919) and Andy Hawkins' 10 (San Diego
Padres, 1985)...After winning his first 8 decisions in 2006, is only the second pitcher in Major League
history to win his first 8 decisions of a season as a starting pitcher more than once, joining
Roger Clemens (14-0 in 1986, 11-0 in 1997, 9-0 in 2004)...His season-opening 9-game winning streak was the longest in the NL...recorded a 2.56
ERA (18 ER in 63.1 IP) during the streak and held opponents to a .198 batting average...
also recorded an 8-game winning streak over 11 starts from June 28-Aug. 21...recorded
a 2.08 ERA (18 ER in 78.0 IP) and held opponents to a .228 batting average during that
stretch...he suffered some tough luck in two of the no decisions, leaving the game on July
13 at Philadelphia tied at 2-2 after 7.0 innings and leaving his next start on July 20 after
8.0 innings with a 4-1 lead vs. Los Angeles Dodgers....no other NL pitcher had 2 streaks
of at least 7 wins in 2008.Led the Majors with 13 wins at the All-Star break and was selected to his third consecutive
NL All-Star team...struck out 2 batters during a scoreless 14th inning in the game at
Yankee Stadium...is now tied for second in D-backs' history with Luis Gonzalez (2001-
03) in consecutive All-Star appearances behind Randy Johnson's 4 straight (1999-2002)...Struck out the Giants' Dave Roberts in the third inning on July 26 at San Francisco to
BRANDON WEBB
Right-handed Pitcher
record his 1,000th career strikeout, joining Randy Johnson as the only other D-backs pitcher to reach that mark...he
did it in his 186th career game, becoming the sixth-fastest among pitchers with less than 10 seasons of Major League
experience behind Milwaukee's C.C. Sabathia (182 games), St. Louis' Matt Clement (180), Milwaukee's Ben Sheets (179),
Boston's Josh Beckett (175) and San Diego's Jake Peavy (159)...Threw his eighth-career shutout on May 31 vs. Washington in a game that lasted only 1:52 and was the shortest game
in Chase Field history...also tossed 6.0 shutout innings at Washington on July 8 to give him 24.0 scoreless frames against
the Nationals dating back to Aug. 11, 2007, when he threw a shutout at Chase Field...has allowed 17 hits and only 3
walks while striking out 24 batters against the Nationals during that span...Earned his 20th win on Sept. 12 vs. Cincinnati to become the first NL pitcher since St. Louis' Chris Carpenter, Houston's
Roy Oswalt and Florida's Dontrelle Willis each won 20 or more games in 2005...his 20th victory ended the Dbacks'
season-long 6-game losing streak, making him the first pitcher whose 20th win of the season ended a team losing
streak of at least 6 games since the Cubs' Greg Maddux ended an 8-game skid in 1992...tied a career-high by losing
his previous 3 starts and was the first pitcher since the White Sox's Esteban Loaiza in 2003 to make 3 starts without a
victory while sitting on 19 wins...Hit .149 at the plate (10-for-67) with 2 runs scored, 4 doubles and a career-high 11 RBI, including 2 game-winning
RBI...had 5 multi-RBI games and his career-high 4 doubles eached drove in 2 runs...Was the D-backs' recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award and one of 30 Major League club nominees for the national
Roberto Clemente Award, which is given annually to the MLB player who combines outstanding skills on the
baseball field with devoted work in the community.
2007
Finished the regular season ranked second in the National League in ERA (3.01), second in wins (18), first in complete games (4), first in shutouts (3), first in innings pitched (236.1) and fourth in strikeouts (194)...Continued his climb up the franchise's all-time leaderboard...ranks second with 65 wins, 1,089.0 innings pitched, 163 starts and 880 strikeouts...third with 4 shutouts...Named to the National League All-Star team for the second consecutive season, replacing injured Brian Fuentes (Colorado)...did not appear in the game...Won 6 consecutive starts from July 25-Aug. 22, allowing only 2 earned runs over 48.0 innings pitched while striking out 40...during the win streak, he tossed a franchise and career-high 42.0 scoreless innings from July 20-Aug. 22, the longest streak since since divisional play began (Orel Hershiser, 59.0 in 1988)...broke his previous franchise-record of 30.0 scoreless innings, set in 2006 from May 20-June 5...tied Rube Foster for the 12th-longest streak in Major League history...Pitched 3 consecutive complete game shutouts from Aug. 5-7, the first time in franchise history...the last time someone had 3 straight shutouts was Roger Clemens with Toronto from Aug. 20-30, 1998.
Received a no-decision on April 18 at San Diego, striking out a career-high 13 batters over 8.0 innings...From July 25 through the remainder of the season, went 10-2 with a 2.43 ERA over 13 starts...Pitched 7.0 or more innings in 24 of his 34 starts this season...Held right-handed batters to a .199 average, ranking fifth in the Majors among starters...Was the Opening Day starter for the second consecutive season...Earned his first win of the season on April 7 at Washington, tossing 7.0 innings, allowing 1 run off 7 hits while striking out 8...Tossed his first complete game of the season, his ninth career, on May 11 at Houston, allowing 1 run off 6 hits with 10 strikeouts...Won 3 consecutive starts from May 26-June 6, allowing only 2 earned runs over 22.0 innings, striking out 23 over that stretch...Was 4-2 with a 1.76 ERA (8 ER in 41.0 IP) over 6 starts in June...Lost 3 of his first 4 starts in July, giving up 14 earned runs over 25.2 innings pitched...Tied his career-high with 2 doubles, batting .082 with 8 sacrifice bunts this season.
2007 postseason highlights: Started Game One of the NLDS vs. Chicago, earning the win by tossing 7.0 innings, allowing 1 run off 4 hits with 3 walks and 9 strikeouts...started Game One of the NLCS against Colorado, taking the loss by allowing
4 runs over 6.0 innings off 7 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.
2006
The Arizona ace, Cy Young Award candidate and the team's lone All-Star representative went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA. Unfortunately for Webb, his worst start came on the final day of the season, when the Padres tagged him for seven earned runs over five innings. Webb missed one start in August after experiencing soreness in his right forearm, just below his elbow. He posted a career-high 235 innings and issued 50 walks, which is the fewest of his four-year big-league career. His 178 strikeouts were also a career high.
2005
Had a banner year, setting a career high in wins (14). ... Right-hander dramatically improved his control from the year before. ... Won three of his last four decisions. ... Started the year 6-0. ... Struck out 11 on Sept. 21 against the Dodgers.
2004
Brandon's sophomore Major League season wasn't anywhere near as dismal as his final 7-16 ledger might indicate, as
the sinkerballing righthander worked from the second slot in the starting rotation...20 of his career-high 35 starts were "quality"
in nature, allowing 3 earned runs or less over 6.0 innings...on 5 occasions he left a contest with the lead, only to watch
the opposition rebound later in the game...Brandon's 35 starts tied 5 others for the Major League lead, while his 16 setbacks
were the most in the National League and tied with Seattle's Ryan Franklin for second in the majors behind the Royals'
Darrell May (19)...Webb's loss total also established a club record, surpassing Willie Blair's 15 defeats during the franchise's
inaugural season...control was an issue throughout the season, as he surrendered a team record 119 walks, topping the
majors, while also leading the N.L. with a franchise-high 17 wild pitches, tied with Jose Contreras of the White Sox for the
big league high...Brandon was 2-1 with a 2.10 ERA in April, but he struggled to an 0-4 mark and 6.55 ERA in his 6 starts
during May...he had a shot at a win in May on the 19th, the day after Randy Johnson's perfect game, tossing 7.0 shutout
innings and departing with a 4-0 lead, but the Braves sent the game to extra innings with Arizona eventually prevailing, 6-
4 in 11...he followed that performance by giving up 7 runs in consecutive road starts at Florida on May 24 and at Los
Angeles on May 29...Webb went 1-10 with a 4.47 ERA over 15 starts from May 8-July 21, despite permitting 3 earned runs
or less in 10 of those outings...Brandon allowed 2 earned runs or less in 6 straight starting assignments from June 3-30, but
was only 1-3 for his efforts while holding the opposition homerless over 37.0 innings...he went the distance on June 25 in
Detroit, but dropped a decision...it was his second career complete game with both occuring in the Motor City, the other
nearly a year earlier on June 28, 2003...he snapped a career-worst 6-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory in Houston on
July 26, pitching at least 7.0 frames for the third straight start and holding the Astros to a run on 6 hits with 5 K's and 4
walks...Brandon enjoyed a 4-start stretch from August 16-September 1 in which he was 2-0 with a 1.07 ERA, allowing 3
earned runs in 25.1 innings while holding opponents to a .206 average (20-for-97)...from June 3-September 1, Webb made
18 starts and compiled a solid 3.02 ERA, but went just 4-9...he closed the year by giving up 3 earned runs or less in each
of his final 5 starts...he had his shortest Major League starting assignment on September 17 in St. Louis, when plate umpire
Jerry Layne made the judgment that Webb threw at opposing hurler Woody Williams and ejected him with none out in the
third inning...Brandon had just surrendered a home run to Mike Matheny, then hit his counterpart with the next pitch...it
was the first ejection of Webb's big league career...despite the 7-16 record, Brandon's 3.59 ERA was 20th among the 86 big
league hurlers who had enough innings to qualify for league recognition...he ranked 15th among the National League's 45
qualifiers...Brandon's sinker proved effective as he led all starters with a 3.55 groundball-to-flyball ratio, easily outdistancing
Boston's Derek Lowe (2.87), the only starting pitcher Webb trailed in that category during 2003.
2003
Brandon burst onto the scene with a spectacular rookie season, one that placed him among the season's elite pitchers ... he was named by Baseball America as the Major League Rookie of the Year and will be presented with the award during the Winter Meetings on December 13 in New Orleans ... he began the year with Triple-A Tucson, but after going 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts, he was recalled when Randy Johnson went on the disabled list with a sore knee ... Webb and his "sinkerball" stabilized the Diamondbacks' starting rotation which saw Johnson and Curt Schilling miss significant time with injuries while Byung-Hyun Kim was traded to Boston in May ... Brandon's 2.84 ERA finished fourth in the National League and sixth in the Majors, while his 172 strikeouts easily led all rookies and placed him tenth in the NL as he finished seventh in the big leagues with 8.6 K's per nine innings ... he limited opponents to a .212 average (140-for-659), which was third in the NL ... he made 28 starts and led all rookies with 21 "quality starts," allowing three or fewer earned runs in a minimum of 6.0 innings ... most outings he was even better than what is necessary for a quality start, allowing two or fewer runs in 16 of his starts when he traveled at least 6.0 frames ... Brandon proved he could pitch well in hostile environments as evidenced by a 2.27 road ERA, fourth in the Majors and third in the NL ... he also excelled under the lights, posting a 2.74 ERA in night games, sixth best in the Majors ... Webb set team rookie marks in K's, starts (28) and innings pitched (180.2) ... his 10 victories tied with Oscar Villarreal for a new franchise rookie mark, while Brandon ranked behind only Villarreal (2.57) for the best ERA among all rookies for the season ... the one stat that does not accurately reflect how well Webb pitched, his 10-9 won-loss record, was due more to a lack of offensive support as he received two or fewer runs in 12 of his 28 starts ... his first big league call-up came on April 22 when Randy Johnson was sidelined and Webb made his debut that night with a scoreless frame of relief in Montreal ... he made his first big-league start five days later with a 6-1 win in the first game of a April 27 doubleheader at Shea Stadium, tossing 7.0 shutout innings, allowing only three hits and a walk while recording 10 K's ... at the time it was just the second time in his fourr-year professional career that he cracked double digits in strikeouts, also having fanned 14 while with Lancaster in the California League against Modesto on August 2, 2001 ... his 10-strikeout performance started an afternoon that saw the Diamondbacks set a Major League record for most K's in a doubleheader, as 27 Mets fanned during the afternoon ... within minutes of securing his first Major League win, Brandon received the news that he had to return to Triple-A to make room on the roster for Johnson who was coming off the disabled list to start the nightcap of the twinbill ... in a strange twist of fate, following Johnson's 12-strikeout performance that resulted in a 7-3 win, he once again experienced swelling in his right knee and required arthroscopic surgery which necessitated Webb's second recall ... Brandon's eye-opening performance in the Big Apple started a streak of 13 consecutive quality starts to begin his career, the longest streak in the majors since Montreal's Steve Rogers had 16 in a row in 1973 ... Webb was actually sharper than the statistic requires, allowing two or fewer earned runs in nine of his first 13 big-league starts ... Brandon went 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA in five starts during May before his season was interrupted by a visit to the disabled list from May 24-June 7 due to mild tendinitis in his right elbow ... he returned on June 8 and notched his third win with a 13-3 triumph over Cleveland ... Webb became the first D-Back rookie to toss a complete game shutout when he blanked the Tigers, 7-0, at Comerica Park on June 28, allowing seven hits in a 102-pitch performance to become the sixth different pitcher in team history to go the route in a shutout ... of the 27 outs he recorded, only two were hit in the air ... the sinkerballer induced 21 ground balls that translated into 23 outs (two double plays) and had a pair of strikeouts in the route-going effort ... the triumph ignited a 4-game winning streak to end the first half, spanning six starts, posting a 2.50 ERA over that span ... Brandon's 9-3 triumph over the Rockies on July 8 matched the club record for victories by a rookie ... he survived a shaky first inning on July 13 as the Giants sent 10 men to the plate, scoring four times to snap Webb's streak of 13 consecutive quality starts, the first time he allowed more than three earned runs in any big-league start ... though the "quality" streak came to a halt, his work after the first inning was some of his best of the year, giving up just two hits over his next 5.0 innings to record the 7-3 win, his seventh triumph to set a club record for wins by a rookie ... the Diamondbacks could muster only 7 runs over his first 6 starts after the All-Star break as he went 0-4 despite sporting a 2.95 ERA (12 earned runs in 36.2 innings) while limiting opposing hitters to a collective .223 average (31-for-139) ... Brandon started on Aug. 14 in Cincinnati only 2 1/2 hours from his hometown of Ashland, KY, and allowed three runs on six hits over 5.0 innings in a 3-2 loss to the Reds ... he recorded his first post-break victory on August 19 at home over Cincy, snapping a 6-start drought as he allowed just a run and four hits in 7.0 innings with a career-high 11 strikeouts in a 6-1 win, only one run less than the offense scored in his previous six starts ... he was forced from his start on August 24 vs. Chicago after being struck in the right forearm by Aramis Ramirez' batted ball in the second inning ... Webb remained in the game to pitch out of bases loaded jams in both the second and third inning, but he was removed prior to the fourth, his shortest start of the year ... the lack of run support hindered Brandon as he won only once in a 9-start stretch from July 19-August 31, going 1-4 with a solid 2.85 ERA, allowing 17 earned runs in 53.2 innings while recording 71 K's in that span, an 11.9 strikeout per nine-inning ratio ... he limited the opposition to 3 runs or less in all 9 of those assignments, unfortunately the offense came up with just 17 runs ... Webb equaled his career high with 11 strikeouts against the Giants in a 3-1 loss on Aug. 31 ... Rich Aurilia's fifth-inning sacrifice fly during that game, snapped Webb's streak of 95 consecutive outs recorded on the infield (K's, groundouts, caught stealings, pop-ups, etc.), the first flyball out against Webb since the Cubs' Sammy Sosa in the third inning on Aug. 3 in Wrigley Field ... after going 2-0 over his first 3 starts during September, Brandon struggled in his final pair of assignments, closing the year with a pair of defeats, allowing 16 runs (nine earned) in 8.0 innings against the Rockies (September 23) and Cardinals (September 28) to raise his season ERA from 2.50 to its final mark of 2.84 ... some of Webb's best work came when he faced an opponent in the second half of back-to-back starts ... he faced the same opponent in consecutive starts on six occasions, going 4-0 with a 1.71 ERA in the second meeting, allowing eight earned runs in 42.0 innings, while limiting those teams to a collective .162 average (23-for-142) ... he allowed 12 home runs in 180.2 innings at the big league level, a contrast as he surrendered only 13 home runs over 357.0 minor league innings since being drafted in 2000 ... on the year, Brandon recorded 542 Major League outs, only 55 of which were caught by an outfielder.
How obtained:
Signed asArizona's 8th round selection in the 2000 June free agent draft.
2002
Brandon got off to a fast start at El Paso (AA) and solidified his role in the starting rotation, even earning a chance to make his Triple-A debut with Tucson ... he ranked fourth in the Texas League in ERA (3.14) and strikeouts (122), fifth in strikeouts per 9.0-innings pitched for starters (7.50) and tied for fifth with 152.0 innings pitched ... overall he was 6-1 in his first 8 games through May 12, posting a 2.06 ERA (11 ER in 48.0 IP) and holding opposing batters to a .211 average (36-for-171) ... he allowed 1 hit and fanned 9 over 5.0 innings in his season-debut win over Round Rock on April 5 ... he twirled his first career complete-game shutout on April 20 at San Antonio, scattering 9 hits ... he picked up his fifth victory on May 7 at Arkansas with 7.0 shutout innings of 2-hit ball ... Webb's only relief appearance came on May 17 vs. Midland when he was scheduled to start, but wound up following Matt Mantei's final rehab outing ... Brandon tossed 8.0 innings of 1-hit, 1-run relief, retiring 20 of the last 21 hitters he faced and 23 of 26 overall ... he was one of 8 Diablos named to the Western Division squad at the Texas League All-Star Game on June 17, pitching 2.0 scoreless innings in relief, allowing 2 hits and recording 2 K's ... Brandon made his AAA debut on July 4 at New Orleans as the replacement starter for Erik Sabel, who was summoned to the big league club ... arriving an hour and a half before game time because of travel delays, he absorbed the loss after working 7.0 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits ... he labored through a 6-game stretch from July 14-August 14, going 2-4 with a 12.66 ERA (21 ER in 32.0 IP) ... he closed out his season with 3 no decisions, compiling a 1.02 ERA (2 ER in 17.2 IP) and an opponents average of .185 (12-for-65) ... he retired 13 of the first 16 batters he faced en route to 6.2 shutout innings in a 5-0 victory at Round Rock on August 8 ... on August 25 at Arkansas, he twirled 6.0 no-hit innings before allowing 3 runs in 7.2 innings ... he thrived by keeping the ball down, inducing 229 groundouts versus 69 flyouts ... righthanded hitters hit at a .223 clip (82-for-367), while lefties found more success with a .291 average (59-for-203) ... Brandon held opponents to a .207 average (31-for-150) with runners in scoring position and was even tougher with 2 outs with a .171 average against (13-for-76) ... he was 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA (1 ER in 16.1 IP), 6 walks and 17 strikeouts, including 6 in a 3.0-inning stint on October 16, in 8 games (1 start) for Scottsdale of the Arizona Fall League.
2001
He owned the California League's tenth-best ERA (3.99) and finished fourth in innings (162.1) and strikeouts (158) ... he plunked a league-high 27 batters ... he owned a 5.88 ERA through May, but posted a 3.10 ERA (38 earned runs in 110.1 innings) over his final 18 starts from June 2-September 2 ... he recorded the first double-digit strikeout total of his career as he struck out a career-high 14 batters and combined on a 2-hit shutout at Modesto on August 2.
2000
He held Midwest League opponents to a .172 batting average ... he was disabled the final month of the season with right arm soreness.