Robert T. Cramer was originally signed by Tampa Bay scout Craig Weissmann...attended Fullerton College
from 1998-99 and also lettered in baseball at Long Beach State in 2000 and 2001.
2010
Began the season with Quintana Roo in the Mexican
League but finished it in the starting rotation in Oakland...
was a combined 15-5 with a 2.71 ERA and 158 strikeouts
in 29 games, 27 starts, with Quintana Roo and Triple-A
Sacramento when he was selected by Oakland Sept. 10...
went 2-1 with a 3.04 ERA in four starts with the A's...
allowed five home runs in 23.2 innings, with nine of the
20 hits he yielded going for extra bases (four doubles)...
held the opposition to a .233 batting average but had a
.453 slugging percentage...his opponents batting average
broke down to .214 (15 for 70) against right-handed hitters
and .313 (5 for 16) against left-handers...yielded a .283
batting average with the bases empty and .115 with runners
on base...opponents were 1-for-11 (.091) with runners
in scoring position, including 0-for-6 with RISP and two
outs...allowed a .156 average the first time through the
lineup, .242 the second time through and .333 with three of his five home runs after that...all five of his
home runs were solo shots, with each of the first four runs he allowed coming on home runs...the A's
were 2-2 (.500) in his starting assignments...tossed at least 5.1 innings in all four starts, allowed two
runs or fewer three times and walked two batters or fewer three times.
OAKLAND: Made his Major League debut Sept. 13 at Kansas City at the age of 30 years, 320
days, to become the fourth oldest player to make their ML debut in Oakland history...was the oldest
Athletics pitcher to make a start in his big league debut since Steve Gerkin started the second game
of a doubleheader for the Philadelphia A's against St. Louis May 13, 1945 at the age of 32 years, 175
days...was the winning pitcher against the Royals, allowing just one run on four hits and a walk while
striking out four in 5.1 innings...according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is just the fifth pitcher since
1950 to start and win their Major League debut at age 30 or older...the other four were all Japanese
veterans (Masato Yoshiii, Hiroki Kuroda, Koji Uehara and Kenshin Kawakami) making Cramer the
first American-born pitcher to start and win his debut at the age of 30 or greater since John "Jocko"
Thompson did it for the 1948 Phillies at the age of 31...is the oldest pitcher in Athletics history to start
and win his debut...also won his second start Sept. 19 at Minnesota to become the fourth pitcher in
Oakland history to win each of the first two games of his career, along with Dave Hamilton (4 in 1972),
Bill Krueger (2 in 1983) and Vin Mazzaro (2 in 2009)...lost his third start, his only home game Sept. 24 against Texas, and had a no decision in his final start Sept. 29 at Los Angeles, despite allowing just
one run in 6.2 innings.
QUINTANA ROO: Was loaned by the Athletics organization to Quintana Roo March 16 and went 13-3
with a 2.95 ERA in 22 games, 20 starts for the Tigres en route to earning Mexican League Pitcher of the
Year honors...led the league in wins, strikeouts (123), complete games (5), shutouts (3) and winning
percentage (.813), ranked third in ERA and opponents batting average (.244) and was fourth in innings
pitched (128.0)...averaged 1.81 walks per nine innings as a starter, which was the lowest in the ML...
pitched in relief in his first two outings before moving into the rotation March 21, finishing the season
with 20 starts...was 4-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 10 games, eight starts, through May 2...then finished the
regular season with a nine-game winning streak, posting a 2.68 ERA and .226 opponents batting average
over that 12-start stretch...the Tigres were 16-4 (.800) in his 20 starting assignments...tossed at least
seven innings in 10 of his starts, allowed two runs or fewer 12 times and walked two batters or fewer
18 times...struck out 10 in 6.0 innings March 27 at Oaxaca and followed that by fanning a season-high
11 in a seven-hit shutout over Minatitlan April 2...matched his season-high with 11 strikeouts in a fivehitter
June 5 at Veracruz...fired a three-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over Yucatan to begin a 25.0-inning
scoreless streak that ran through July 13...tossed a two-hit shutout in a seven-inning game in the second
game of a doubleheader July 7 against Tabasco...then went 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA in three games, two
starts, in the postseason.
SACRAMENTO: Was returned to the Athletics organization Aug. 3 and assigned to Sacramento where
he went 2-2 with a 1.94 ERA in seven starts...allowed a .252 batting average and combined for a
.246 batting average with the Tigres and River Cats...that included a .232 (119 for 513) mark against
right-handed hitters and .304 (38 for 125) against left-handers...all six of his home runs were hit by
right-handers...did not allow a home run in 41.2 innings with Sacramento, holding the opposition to a
.179 average with runners in scoring position...the River Cats were 4-3 in his starting assignments...
tossed six or more innings four times, allowed two runs or fewer all seven starts and walked one batter
or fewer six times...tossed 8.0 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits to defeat Salt Lake Aug. 21...
was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for his effort...issued six of his 11 walks with
Sacramento in one start, Aug. 31 against Las Vegas.
2009
2009-Re-signed by the Athletics organization January 22 and combined for a 5-5 record and a 3.88
ERA in 20 games, nine starts, with Triple-A Sacramento, Double-A Midland and Single-A Stockton...
allowed just two home runs 62.2 innings...opponents batted .295, including .239 by left-handed hitters
and .316 by right-handers...surrendered both of his home runs to righties...yielded a .237 batting
average with the bases empty and .361 with runners on base...including .342 with runners in scoring
position...was 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA in his nine starting assignments and 2-1 with a 4.43 ERA in 11 relief
appearances...allowed 3 of 4 (75.0%) inherited runners to score and was 0 for 1 in save opportunities...
began the year at Sacramento and went 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA in five relief appearances before he was
transferred to Stockton April 24...had a win and a 1.59 ERA in two relief outings with the Ports and
returned to Sacramento May 4...started that day against Reno and had a no decision in a 5-3 River Cats
win (4.0 ip, 6 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 bb, 6 so)...that gave him a 1-1 record and a 6.43 ERA in six games overall
with Sacramento and he was transferred to Midland May 9...went 3-4 with a 3.35 ERA in 12 games,
eight starts...inserted in the Rockhounds rotation and was 3-4 with a 3.52 ERA in eight starts before
landing on the disabled list June 17 with a strained left elbow...was reinstated July 12 and posted a 1.93
ERA in four relief appearances before returning to the DL July 20...missed the remainder of the season...
was named Texas League Pitcher of the Week May 25 after striking out a season high eight batters
in 6.1 innings in a 5-2 win at Frisco...pitched for Obregon in the Mexican Winter League following the
season and was 1-0 with a 2.75 ERA in four games, three starts.
2008
Began the season on the Midland disabled list with right shoulder impingement syndrome...was
reinstated from the DL and released May 20...signed with Orange County of the independent Golden
Baseball League and went 7-4 with a 3.88 ERA in 19 games, 13 starts...ranked fourth in the league in
ERA...struck out 95 and walked just 16 in 92.2 innings...held the opposition to a .266 batting average...
pitched for Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League and was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 11 games,
three starts...did not surrender a home run in 26.0 innings...allowed a .205 opponents batting average, including .167 against right-handers and .286 against left-handers...yielded a .264 mark with the bases
empty and .114 with runners on base.
2007
Was signed by the Athletics organization as a free agent May 18 and combined for a 9-2 record
and a 2.77 ERA in 21 games, 15 starts, with Single-A Stockton and Double-A Midland...ranked fourth
in the A's farm system in ERA and tied for eighth in wins...allowed four home runs in 97.1 innings,
an average of one per 24.3 innings...struck out 91 and walked just 20...averaged 1.8 walks per nine
innings...yielded a .239 opponents batting average, including .198 against left-handed hitters and .256
against right-handers...his opponents average dropped to .185 with runners in scoring position...was
assigned to Stockton after signing and went 4-1 with a 3.80 ERA in nine games, eight starts, with the
Ports...his only loss came June 14 at Modesto and he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA over his final three starts
before he was transferred to Midland July 4...went 4-0 with a 1.12 ERA over his first 10 appearances
with the Rockhounds, giving him a six-game winning streak overall...that streak ended August 26 at
Frisco when he struck out a season high nine in 6.0 innings, but yielded five runs in a 6-0 loss...went 5-1
with a 1.89 ERA in 12 game, seven starts, overall with Midland...yielded a .107 average with RISP...
was transferred to Sacramento Sept. 4 and made one postseason start for the River Cats, a no decision
(2.0 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 2 er, 4 bb, 4 so)...also made two starts for Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League and
was 0-2 with an 11.37 ERA.
2006
Was out of baseball for the second consecutive season.
2005
Was released by the Tampa Bay organization April 1 and did not pitch.
2004
Spent the entire season at Single-A Charleston-SC and was 6-4 with four saves a 3.32 ERA in
35 relief appearances...struck out 48 and walked just 12, an average of 1.7 walks per nine innings...
allowed a .218 opponents batting average...was named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for
the week of July 30-Aug. 5...had two wins in three appearances and did not allow a run (7.1 ip, 3 h, 5
so)...was placed on the disabled list August 18 with a radial nerve injury in his left elbow and missed
the remainder of the season.
2003
Split his first professional season between Hudson Valley and Bakersfield and was 0-1 with one
save and a 2.70 ERA in 10 games, two starts...held the opposition to a .224 batting average...signed
by Tampa Bay April 18 as a non-drafted free agent and began the year in extended spring training...
was placed on the disabled list at Hudson Valley of the Short-Season Single-A New York-Penn League
June 17 with a left elbow strain...was reinstated July 25 and went 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA in five games,
two starts, before he was transferred to Single-A Bakersfield of the California League Aug. 11...posted
a 3.55 ERA in five relief appearances.
