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David Riske (born October 23, 1976, in Renton, Washington), is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and currently a Free Agent. He last played for the Kansas City Royals. more...

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Before the 2006 season, he was with the Cleveland Indians, who drafted him 56th in the June 1996 amateur draft. The Red Sox acquired Riske on January 27, 2006, as part of a deal that saw the Red Sox also receive outfielder Coco Crisp and catcher Josh Bard. The Indians in return received reliever Guillermo Mota, highly touted third-base prospect Andy Marte, and catcher Kelly Shoppach.

Riske was traded June 15 of that year to the White Sox for minor league pitcher Javier Lopez. Theo Epstein commented that Riske was traded because the Red Sox had too many right handed relievers, and needed a left hander like Lopez. He throws a low-90s fastball, but due to his deceptive delivery, it appears even faster. He also throws a slider and a split-fingered fastball.

Since the 2003 season, Riske has been one of baseball's better set-up pitchers. His success in that role led the Indians to try using him as a closer, with mixed results. He did well in the role in the final six weeks of the 2003 season, but lost the job in mid-May of the following season after a horrible start (a 12.34 ERA and three blown saves in 12 games). For the rest of 2004, Riske went 7-2 with a 2.19 ERA to end the season with respectable numbers. Many in the Cleveland-area sports media speculated at the time that Riske's dismal early-season performance was affected by the near-death of his then-newborn son.

Riske continued to post solid numbers in the 2005 season. In 58 games and 72 2/3 innings, Riske had an ERA of 3.10 and an excellent WHIP of 0.96. On the downside, his strikeout total has noticeably declined over the past two seasons. 2005 was Riske's first season in which he didn't average more than one strikeout per inning pitched; in fact, he didn't even come close. He also is known for allowing home runs, allowing 11 in 2004 and 2005, and six in only 44 innings in 2006. A lot of the homers came at crucial situations that ended up costing his team games. Because of early injuries and inconsistent performances, Riske played a minor role with the Red Sox in 2006, mainly appearing in blow-out games before being traded.

On October 31, 2007, Riske declined his $2.9 million player option.

Riske attended Lindbergh High School in Renton, WA.

Read more at Wikipedia.org

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