Mark Mulder
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Mark Mulder began his Major League Baseball career on April 18, 2000. The 6'6" lefty was born on August 5, 1977, in South Holland, Ill. He played college ball at Michigan State, and was the number one pick for the Oakland A's in the 1998 draft. Despite allowing four runs against the Cleveland Indians in his debut, Mulder earned his first win and would go on to start 26 more games until a herniated disc in his back cut his season short in September. He finished with a 9-10 record and a 5.44 Earned Run Average. Of the 22 home runs he surrendered during the season, 15 of them were solo shots.
In 2001, Mulder's best season to date, he finished 21-8 in his 34 starts with six complete games--four of them shutouts. His smooth, deceptive delivery made him a dominant pitcher, and at the end of the season he signed a contract extension with Oakland, keeping him through the 2005 season. Early in April 2002, he landed on the disabled list again (strained forearm), sitting out for nearly a month. And although getting off to a shaky start at 2-4 with a 6.96 ERA, he bounced back, finishing 19-7 with a 3.47 ERA in 30 starts.
2003 was yet another good year for the lefty; however, in August it was cut short once again by a stress fracture in his right leg. The hurler finished 15-9 and tied a club record with nine complete games--one more than his career total to that point. Despite a 17-8 finish in 2004, Mulder was 12-2 at the All-Star break and looked like he was heading to his first Cy Young award. But after the break, he went 5-6 and his ERA nearly doubled.
After the 2004 season with a year left on his contract, the frugal A's traded Mulder to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Dan Haren and Kiko Calero and minor league prospect Daric Barton. Mulder now looks to help St. Louis repeat as National League Champions, bolstering their rotation as their number-one starter. He started off the 2005 season in strong form, going 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA and one complete game shutout--a ten-inning gem against Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros that the Cards won 1-0.
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