Denny Stark #20

Dennis Stark...graduated from Edgerton H.S. in 1993...was named all-league and all-state in baseball and basketball...attended University of Toledo where he majored in physical education and health...played in Cape Cod summer league.

2003

Looking to build off an excellent rookie campaign in 2002, Stark missed the first 84 games this year due to a strained upper back muscle and never really got his 2003 season going...counted on as one of Colorado's top starters, Denny injured the back while throwing on the side during spring training on March 21...was placed on the 15-day disabled list March 29 with what was diagnosed as a strained right lat muscle...after aggravating the muscle again during a bullpen session on April 12 in San Diego, Denny was shutdown and eventually transferred to the 60-day DL May 1...began his rehab assignment June 1 and made six starts overall before being activated July 1...although he would remain with the Rockies for the final three months, he clearly was not his old self...started 13 games for the Rox with four relief appearances, going 3-3 with a 5.83 ERA (78.2 ip, 51 er)...the opposition hit .305 vs. Stark (98-for-321) after hitting just .225 a year ago...never were his struggles more evident then at his home park of Coors Field...after going 8- 1 with a 3.21 ERA and a .210 average against at Coors in 2002, Stark was just 1-1 with a 7.15 ERA and a .376 average against in Denver this season...worked 6.0 innings in Denver only once in 2003 after going 6.0-plus in 10 of his 12 starts at Coors last summer...was better on the road, posting a 2-2, 4.54 record and .223 average against in eight road appearances...as a starter, the right-hander was 3-3 with a 6.08 ERA (71.0 ip, 48 er) and the Rockies were 7-6 when he took the mound...posted a 3.52 ERA in relief (7.2 ip, 3 er) but retired only 1-of-4 first batters faced and allowed all 6 inherited runners to score...was hitless in 22 at-bats at the plate and is 0-for-his-last-31 dating back to Sept. 12, 2002...did drive in 4 runs, however, via a pair of bases loaded walks (Aug. 13 and July 26), an RBI groundout (Aug. 1 at Pit.) and a sac fly (July 26)...was 0-3 with a 3.86 ERA in six combined rehab starts at High A Visalia, AA-Tulsa and AAA-Colorado Springs...made one start for Visalia, one for Tulsa and then four for Colorado Springs...activated off the disabled list July 1, Stark made his 2003 debut that night in a no decision vs. Arizona...worked only 4.2 innings, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits but the Rox rallied for a 7-4 victory to snap Arizona's 12-game winning streak...bounced back to allow just 4 earned runs in his next four starts covering 18.1 innings (1.96 ERA)...gave up 1 run over 6.0 strong innings in an bND' at Milwaukee on July 6 and then 2 er in 5.1 innings of another no decision July 11 vs. Los Angeles...first decision was a fine 4-1 victory at Dodger Stadium July 21...allowed a run on 4 hits over 7.0 innings, retiring the first seven batters he saw on the night and 22-of-26 for the game...the righty was 1-0 with a 3.13 ERA after his first four starts but would then go 2-3 in his final 11 starts with a 7.50 ERA (48.0 ip, 40 er)...did not factor into the decision in six of his first seven starts but the Rockies kept winning, going 5-2 in those outings...first loss was a 6-5 defeat at Montreal on Aug. 13...held a 2-0 lead and later a 4-3 lead before Brian Schneider hit a 3-run homer off Stark with no outs in the sixth...came back with perhaps his best start of the season, as he allowed just 1 run on 4 hits over 7.0 strong innings in a 10-2 victory over the Marlins Aug. 19...Florida's only run came off an infield single in the third but from that point on, Denny sat down 14 of his last 15 batters faced, including his final 10 before being pulled at 104 pitches...Stark just couldn't seem to gain any momentum from his victories...he followed that solid win by losing consecutive starts for the first time in his major league career...lost a 12-6 decision to Russ Ortiz on Aug. 24 vs. Atlanta, only his second defeat ever at Coors Field (8/11/02 vs. Cubs)...then held Los Angeles hitless for the first 5.0 innings of his Aug. 30th start at Chavez Ravine before yielding 4 runs in the sixth thanks to 3 walks, including one with the bases-loaded...Denny allowed a season-high 6 walks for the evening en route to a 5-0 defeat, his second straight loss...after giving up a career high 12 hits in only 5.0 IP (6 runs) on Sept. 5, Denny was sent to the bullpen...made four relief appearances from Sept. 13-20 before getting one last start on Sept. 27 vs. San Diego...Denny hopefully provided what's to come in 2004, as he earned a 10-2 victory over the Padres, allowing 2 runs and 2 hits in 6.0 innings with 4 strikeouts.

2002

Denny Stark teamed with Jason Jennings to produce one of the most prolific NL rookie pitching duos in almost 20 years ... Denny was 11-4 with a 4.00 ERA (128.1 ip, 57 er) in 32 games, 20 starts in his first season with the Rockies ... the 11 wins ranked second on the team to only Jennings (16), as the two combined for the most victories by an NL rookie tandem since Tom Browning (20) and Ron Robinson (7) won 27 for the 1985 Reds ... received one third place vote for NL Rookie of the Year, an award his teammate won in a landslide ... Stark's .733 winning percentage led all major league rookies and ranked fourth in the NL behind only Randy Johnson (.828), Wade Miller (.789) and Curt Schilling (.767) ... among NL rookies, he ranked third in batting average against (.225), seventh in ERA, tied for sixth in wins and ninth in starts ... at Coors Field, Stark compiled an exceptional 8-1, 3.21 (84.0 ip, 30 er) record, setting franchise marks in both home ERA by a starter and home winning percentage, .889 (min. 7 decisions) ... the opposition hit just .210 off Stark at Coors, as opposed to a .254 average on the road ... worked at least 6.0 innings in 10 of his 12 starts in Denver ... away from home, Denny was 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA (44.1 ip, 27 er) ... for the year, he worked 6.0 or more innings in 12 of his 20 starts ... was at his best against the best, going 7-1 vs. teams with a winning record, including a 4-1 mark against playoff clubs ... as a starter, Stark was 10-4, 4.21 ERA (113.1 ip, 53 er) ... also made 12 relief appearances, compiling a 1-0, 2.40 (15.0 ip, 4 er) mark with one relief hold and one blown save ... gave up 12 runs in relief but only 4 of those earned ... retired 8 of 12 (.667) first batters faced and allowed only 1 of 7 inherited runners to score ... with the bat, Denny hit .171 (7-for-41) with 4 runs, 3 doubles, a home run and 4 RBI ... the Rockies, 11-9 in his 20 starts ... began the year with AAAColorado Springs after battling for the final spot in the rotation during spring training ... after seven Triple Astarts, Stark was recalled on May 13 and made his Rockies debut that night against the Marlins ... faced just two over the minimum, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing 2 hits with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts for his first NL victory ... both hits given up were singles and only two Marlins reached as far as second base (both on steals) ... left after 76 pitches and the Rockies leading 6-0 in a 7-3 final ... won his second game in as many starts, defeating the Braves by the same score on May 18 ... only made one mistake on the day, allowing a home run to his counterpart Kevin Millwood ... but that was the only run the righty would give up and he then got even with Millwood in the fifth ... in Denny's fourth major league plate appearance, he hammered a two-run home run to left, giving the Rockies the lead for good ... won his third game in as many starts on May 24, defeating the Giants 8-5 at Coors ... became just the fifth pitcher in club history to win his first three starts in a Rockies uniform, joining Brian Bohanon (5 wins, 4/8-5/3/99), Roger Bailey (4 wins, 8/17-9/2/95), Jason Jennings (3 wins, 8/23-9/3/01) and Bryan Rekar (3 wins, 7/19- 7/29/95) ... suffered his first losing decision as a Rockie in his next start, walking a career high 7 in an 11-3 loss at San Diego on May 29 ... made one more start in the first half, a no decision June 3 against the Dodgers at Coors, despite leaving with a 4-2 lead in the seventh ... moved into the bullpen after Shawn Chacon was activated on June 7 ... made 12 relief appearances, including all three games in the Yankees series (June 18-20), the first time in his career he's thrown in three consecutive contests ... notched his first career relief win June 20, as all four of his previous ML wins came as a starter ... had one blown save opportunity, June 23 vs. Tampa Bay, when an error led to a run that tied the game in the sixth ... returned to the rotation when Denny Neagle was sent to the 'pen prior to the All-Star Break ... in his first start back, July 15 at Qualcomm, Stark allowed just one hit over 6.0 innings in 5-0 combined shutout ... extended his career-best scoreless innings streak to 10.2 ip by holding Milwaukee hitless over the first 4.0 innings in his next start on July 20 ... Richie Sexson broke up the no-hitter, shutout, and scoreless streak with one swing, a solo HR to leadoff the fifth ... Denny still gave up just 3 runs in 6.1 ip for his second straight win ... improved to 6-0, 2.30 ERA at Coors Field with a win on Aug. 6 vs. Cincinnati, this time taking a shutout into the sixth inning until a Adam Dunn HR with two outs ... finally suffered his first home defeat to the Cubs on Aug. 11, yielding a season-high 4 home runs ... was 2-0 in his last three starts in August, allowing just 5 earned runs in 16.0 ip ... tossed 5.0 scoreless ip in a victory Aug. 17 at Atlanta and then upped his record to 7-1 at Coors Field with a 14- 6 win Aug. 22 vs. Montreal ... capped off his rookie campaign with a strong September ... went 2-1 with a 3.93 ERA (34.1 ip, 15 er), earning Rockies Player of the Month honors ... posted his 10th win on Sept. 12 vs. LA at Coors, marking the first time in club history that two rookies won 10 games in the same season ... recorded his 11th and final victory in probably his most dominant performance, Sept. 24 at Dodger Stadium ... held LA to just 1 hit and no runs over 7.0 innings in Colorado's seventh 1-0 victory in franchise history ... allowed a walk and a single in the first but didn't let an LA runner reach as far as second base the rest of the game ... received the loss in the season finale at Arizona on Sept. 29, snapping his four-game winning streak ... with Colorado Springs, Stark was 1-2 with a 3.82 ERA (37.2 ip, 16 er) ... made his debut with the Sky Sox on April 4 against Oklahoma, a no decision in a 5-3 loss ... won his only game in his very next start, April 9 vs. Portland where he gave up just one run in 6.0 full innings ... did not get a decision in his last three starts but allowed just 6 runs in his final 18.0 ip (3.00 ERA).

2001

Appeared in just eight games with New Haven after suffering right shoulder strain...was 4-3, 2.19 in 8 starts...lost a 1-0 complete game in the second game of a doubleheader on April 20 at Norwich...placed on the DL on May 20 for the season with right shoulder strain.

2000

Appeared in just eight games with New Haven, having his year cut short with a shoulder injury ... in eight starts, he was 4-3 with a 2.19 ERA ... lost a 1-0 complete game in the second game of a doubleheader on April 20 at Norwich ... placed on the DL on May 20 for the remainder of the season with a right shoulder strain.

1999

made his ML debut as a September call-up in 1999 after spending majority of season with double-A New Haven...was 9-11, 4.40 in 26 starts with New Haven...two of last three starts with New Haven were complete games...tossed a 3-0 CG-SHO, allowing just 3 hits and no walks while striking out 12, Aug. 27 at Portland in last outing with New Haven...recalled from New Haven Sept. 1...made ML debut Sept. 15 with 0.1 IP at Tampa Bay (3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 K)...worked 2.0 innings Sept. 30 in Texas, his longest outing with Seattle (2.0,2,2,2,1,1)... tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in season-finale, Oct. 3 in Oakland (2 H, 1 K).

1998

was limited in 1998 to just eight games (29.1 IP) by tendinitis in his right bicep...made five starts with Lancaster, compiling a 1-2 mark...had issued a league-high 17 walks through April 22...placed on disabled list April 26 with a stress fracture of the right humerus...reinstated July 30...on rehab assignment at Peoria Aug. 17-Sept. 24...finished with a combined 34 K's in 29.1 innings pitched...

1997

spent most of 1997 with Wisconsin but also appeared in three games with Lancaster...was dominating with the Timber Rattlers, compiling a 1.97 ERA in 16 games, 15 startsb& allowed just 5 ER over 5 GS May 8-30 (29.1 IP, 1.53 ERA)...named to Midwest League mid-season All-Star team...retired final 20 batters (12 on strikeouts) June 20 at Peoria in CG win...struck out 105 while walking only 33...was promoted to Lancaster July 2...allowed only two hits and one run in first game with JetHawks; retired final 14 batters he faced...

1996

Began pro career with Everett in 1996...struck out 49 in 30.1 IP...