Indiana University Athletics
Tanner Gordon Makes MLB Debut
7/7/2024 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
DENVER, Colo. – Tanner Gordon, who pitched for Indiana in 2019, made his MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday (July 7) afternoon as the starting pitcher in the series finale against the Kansas City Royals. He threw 6.1 innings with four strikeouts in his first career appearance. 62 of his 78 pitches (79.5%) went for strikes.
He's the latest in a long line of Hoosiers to feature in the big leagues and the second from IU's 2019 Big Ten title team (Andrew Saalfrank) to get the call to the Major League ranks. All-time, he's the 35th athlete to play for IU and make an MLB appearance. Odie Porter (1902) was an IU student but never featured on the baseball team in Bloomington.
During head coach Jeff Mercer's first year in 2019, Gordon served as the Saturday started and pitched to a 6-6 record with a 3.81 earned run average in 16 starts. He threw 87.1 innings and struck out 90 batters while walking just 19. His most memorable performance in Bloomington was a dominant seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance in a 13-1 win over Iowa at Bart Kaufman Field.
The Hoosiers featured a dominant rotation in 2019 including big leaguers Gordon and Saalfrank and one of the best players in program history, Pauly Milto. All three pitchers were selected in that year's MLB Draft with Gordon going in the 6th round (187th overall) to the Atlanta Braves. He was dealt to the Rockies at last year's trade deadline and has pitched in Triple-A (Albuquerque) since.
In the last 10 years, 12 different Hoosiers have made their MLB debut. The last eight players to reach the big leagues have all been pitchers. Tim Herrin (Cleveland) has been superb for the Guardians this year with a 3-0 record and a 1.54 earned run average over 40 games. Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia) is also on an active MLB roster while Matt Gorski (Pittsburgh) and Scott Effross (New York, AL) play in Triple-A.
He's the latest in a long line of Hoosiers to feature in the big leagues and the second from IU's 2019 Big Ten title team (Andrew Saalfrank) to get the call to the Major League ranks. All-time, he's the 35th athlete to play for IU and make an MLB appearance. Odie Porter (1902) was an IU student but never featured on the baseball team in Bloomington.
During head coach Jeff Mercer's first year in 2019, Gordon served as the Saturday started and pitched to a 6-6 record with a 3.81 earned run average in 16 starts. He threw 87.1 innings and struck out 90 batters while walking just 19. His most memorable performance in Bloomington was a dominant seven-inning, 12-strikeout performance in a 13-1 win over Iowa at Bart Kaufman Field.
The Hoosiers featured a dominant rotation in 2019 including big leaguers Gordon and Saalfrank and one of the best players in program history, Pauly Milto. All three pitchers were selected in that year's MLB Draft with Gordon going in the 6th round (187th overall) to the Atlanta Braves. He was dealt to the Rockies at last year's trade deadline and has pitched in Triple-A (Albuquerque) since.
In the last 10 years, 12 different Hoosiers have made their MLB debut. The last eight players to reach the big leagues have all been pitchers. Tim Herrin (Cleveland) has been superb for the Guardians this year with a 3-0 record and a 1.54 earned run average over 40 games. Kyle Schwarber (Philadelphia) is also on an active MLB roster while Matt Gorski (Pittsburgh) and Scott Effross (New York, AL) play in Triple-A.
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