Jeremy Bonderman
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Jeremy Bonderman (born October 28, 1982, in Kennewick, Washington) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. Bonderman is six feet, two inches tall (1.93 m), weighs 220 lb (100 kg), and bats and throws right-handed.
Bonderman, who never went to college, was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in his junior year of high school with the 26th pick in the 2001 MLB draft. He was traded along with Franklyn German and Carlos Peña to the Detroit Tigers from the Oakland Athletics on July 6, 2002, as the "player to be named later" for pitcher Jeff Weaver.
In Michael Lewis's book Moneyball, he is given as an example of an unwise first round draft pick. However, he debuted in the major leagues when he was 20 years old; most other rookies in baseball are several years older. After a rocky first season in which he had a 6-19 record (the Tigers as a team nearly eclipsed the New York Mets' record for most losses in an MLB season), he fared better in 2004 by going 11-13 with a 4.89 ERA. He was benched for the final week of the 2003 season to avoid the fate of becoming the first pitcher in 23 years to lose 20 or more games in a season (however, his teammate Mike Maroth did end up doing so before the end of the season).
Bonderman was the Tigers opening-day starter for the 2005 season. He pitched seven innings, allowed one run, and earned the win. At 22 years old, he was the youngest pitcher to start on Opening Day since Dwight Gooden started for the New York Mets at the age of 20 in the 1986 season.
Bonderman suffers from dyslexia.