30 Mind Blowing Facts Every Fan Should Know About David Price

David Taylor Price, the American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), was the recipient of the 2012 Cy Young Award, as well as the 2010 Warren Spahn Award, among others. Here are some surprising facts about the player:

1. He was born as David Taylor Price to Bonnie and Debbie Price in Tennessee on 26 August 1985.
2. Playing for the Blackman High School, he was the standout player with a 151 strikeouts and ERA of 0.43 in his school career.
3. He received the Rutherford County Male Athlete of the Year award in the year 2002, 2003 and 2004 along with the Rutherford County MVP Pitcher in 2003 and 2004.
4. His debuted with Red Sox on April 5 with a win and finished the season at 3.99 ERA with a record of 17-9.
5. He finished with 228 strikeouts in the 2016 season, the second highest in his career. He compiled more in the 2014 season split between Tampa and Detroit.
6. He signed a 7 year deal with Boston Red Sox in December 2015 for $217 million. The deal was the largest ever awarded to a pitcher.
7. In 2005 he pitched for United States National Team in 5 games finishing with 39 strikeout and 13 walks.
8. He found himself in the middle of a controversy when hall of fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley criticized about his teammate Eduardo Rodriguez’s poor performance. Price dealt with harsh words and refused to apologize.
9. He started the 2017 season with an elbow injury that sidelined him for 10 days. He joined the team on 29 May in the match against Chicago White Sox.
10. His name again appeared on the 10 day disabled list on July 28 due to his left elbow inflammation. He is replaced by another left hander Brian Johnson for the moment.
11. He throws two fastballs in the range of 93-96 mph: a 4-seamer and a 2-seamer. The later being his lead pitch used mainly against lefties.
12. He made his major league debut in September 2008 with Tampa Bay Rays against the New York Yankees. However he made his MLB start on September 22, 2008 against Baltimore Orioles.
13. In 2006 World University Baseball Championship held in Cuba he helped United States clinch gold with an ERA of 0.20 in his eight starts.
14. In 2008 ALCS game against Boston Red Sox, he was the winning pitcher in Game 2 and recorded final 4 outs in Game 7 resulting in elimination of the defending champion. Eight years later he joined the Red Sox team for a record price.
15. Derek Jeter was the first person to hit homerun in Price’s MLB debut. Ironically, Jeter made his career’s 3000th hit with a homerun in the year 2011 against none other than Price.
16. He was selected as the starting pitcher for the American League in the 2010 All Star Game. National League won the game 3 – 1, ending their winless streak of 13 games.
17. His first professional contract was signed on August 15 2007 for $11.25 million with Vero Beach Devil Rays that also includes the signing bonus of $5.6 million.
18. To right hand hitters Price uses cutters in the speed of 90-92 mph followed up with a changeup. He also uses a spike curveball in the speed of 78-81 mph mainly at lefties.
19. Just out of high school he was drafted into the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 19th round. However he didn’t sign and attended the Vanderbilt University. He was the lead pitcher for the university baseball team for 3 seasons.
20. Due to the heavy college workload he almost quit baseball to work in McDonald’s, but his coach Tim Corbin talked him out of it.
21. Baseball American and Collegiate Baseball honored him with Freshman All American in the 2005 season for compiling 92 strikeouts with 2.86 ERA in 19 games.
22. In the 2006 season he compiled 155 strikeouts and allowed only 43 batters to walk, thus creating the single season school record with 4.16 ERA in 110 innings.
23. In the 2010 season he became the first pitcher in American League to reach 10 wins on June 15.
24. In June of 2014 season he created history by striking out 10 batters in his five consecutive starts. He was the first person to do so in the MLB.
25. He also became the first pitcher since Andy Hawkins in 1990 to lose a complete game on August 21, 2014 playing for Detroit Tigers against his former team Tampa Bay Rays.
26. Against New York Yankees in 2014 he gave 8 runs and 12 hits that include 9 straight hits in the 3rd innings. He became the first pitcher to allow 9 straight hits since Bob Forsch in 1989.
27. He was retained by the Detroit Tigers for a $19.75 million salary avoiding arbitration, creating a record for largest one year deal for a player eligible for arbitration.
28. Subsequently he was named as the opening day starter for 2015 season dethroning teammate Justin Verlander who had a streak of consecutive seven opening day starters for Detroit.
29. He earned his 100th career win on September 5, 2015 against Baltimore Orioles playing for Toronto Blue Jays.
30. He was named in the All Star Games 5 times but played in only 4 of the games. He did not play in the 2014 season as he had played a game just two days prior and did not want to play another game with only 1 day rest.
31. David Price Net Worth: $220 Million