Kelvim Escobar [ess-coe-BAR] (born April 11, 1976 in La Guaira, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who plays for the Anaheim Angels (2004-present). Previously, he played with the Toronto Blue Jays (1997-2003).

Escobar throws a four-seam 97 MPH fastball, a two-seamer, and a deceptive changeup. He has good command of a wide variety of other pitches, including a lively split-finger, a nasty curve, and a slider that is a mainstay of his huge repertoire.

The normal trend has been to turn a starter into a dominant closer, such as Oakland did with Dennis Eckersley and the Braves with John Smoltz. But Toronto did the opposite. After six seasons of switching Escobar in and out of the bullpen, whether it be starting, holding or closing, the Blue Jays had decided to establish him as a starter in 2003. He had an 8-3 record in 14 starts after the All-Star break, and for the season, he posted a 12-8 record with 159 strikeouts and a 3.92 of ERA in 26 outings. He signed as a free agent with Anaheim at the end of the season.

In 2004, as the second starter in the Angels rotation, Escobar went 11-12, but led his team in ERA (3.93), strikeouts (191, a career high), WHIP (1.29) and innings pitched (208.1, also a career high).

In a eight-year career, Escobar has a 69-67 record with 935 strikeouts and a 4.45 ERA in 1057.1 innings pitched.

See also

• List of players from Venezuela in Major League Baseball

External links

• ESPN (profile and daily update) [1]
• Baseball Reference (statistics) [2]
• The Baseball Cube (analysis) [3]
• Angels proving to be major players (article) [4]