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Marc Jason Kroon (born April 2, 1973) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher. He served as the closer for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Central League.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

He was drafted 72nd overall by the New York Mets in 1991. The Mets traded him to the San Diego Padres in 1993 as the player to be named later in an earlier trade for Frank Seminara.[1]

San Diego Padres (1995, 1997–1998)

On July 7, 1995, Kroon made his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres.

Cincinnati Reds (1998)

The Padres traded Kroon to the Cincinnati Reds for Buddy Carlyle in April 1998.[2]

Kroon retired following elbow surgeries and did not play baseball at any level in 2001 or 2002. He came out of retirement and joined the Anaheim Angels organization in 2003 after coach Mike Butcher's brother-in-law saw him giving a pitching lesson in a park.[3]

Yokohama BayStars (2005–2007)

Kroon joined the Yokohama BayStars in 2005. After the 2007 season, Kroon and the BayStars failed to come to terms on a new contract, and ended up being a free agent. Kroon was later signed by the Yomiuri Giants along with two other major non-Japanese free agents: former Tokyo Yakult Swallows standouts Seth Greisinger, and Alex Ramirez.

Yomiuri Giants (2008–2010)

In 2008, Kroon led the Central League in saves with 41.[4] He also broke his own record of pitching to 162 km/h (101 mph).[citation needed]

San Francisco Giants

Kroon signed a minor league contract with an invitation for spring training with the San Francisco Giants in 2011.[5] Kroon was reassigned to triple-A Fresno Grizzlies at the end of spring training.[6]

Kroon was featured in the Showtime television production The Franchise.[7]

On March 8, 2012, Kroon retired.[8]

Personal life

His son, Matt, is an infielder in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

References

  1. ^ Sexton, Joe (December 14, 1993). "BASEBALL; No Power and No Average. Sure, He's Definitely a Met". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "ESPN.com: MLB - Padres purchase contract of RHP Buddy Carlyle". A.espncdn.com. July 18, 2003. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Lewis, Michael C. (August 21, 2003). "Unlikely hero". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. B. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "Lions defeat Giants to win Japan Series in seven". SI.com. Associated Press. November 11, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2008. [dead link]
  5. ^ "Marc Kroon Signs With Giants After High-Octane Closing Stint in Japan -- MLB FanHouse". mlb.fanhouse.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2011.
  6. ^ "Marc Kroon: Kroon can opt out of contract on June 1," Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine RotoWorld (April 1, 2011).
  7. ^ "Featured | 'The Franchise' takes an inside look at the Giants - Video | SFGiants.com: Multimedia". Archived from the original on April 20, 2011.
  8. ^ Pentis, Andrew (March 8, 2012). "Memories of a retiring Minor Leaguer". milb.com. Retrieved March 13, 2012.

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