Micah Bowie

American baseball player (born 1974)

Baseball player

Micah Bowie

Pitcher
Born: (1974-11-10) November 10, 1974 (age 50)
Webster, Texas, U.S.

Batted: Left

Threw: Left

MLB debut
July 24, 1999, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
April 21, 2008, for the Colorado Rockies
MLB statistics
Win–loss record| 8–13
Earned run average| 6.16
Strikeouts| 111
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams

* Atlanta Braves (1999)
* Chicago Cubs (1999)
* Oakland Athletics (2002–2003)
* Washington Nationals (2006–2007)
* Colorado Rockies (2008)

Micah Andrew Bowie (born November 10, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.

## Professional career

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### Atlanta Braves

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He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 8th round in 1993. His MLB debut was July 24, 1999, and, although a starter for most of his career up until this point, made three relief appearances, and then was traded to the Chicago Cubs, along with Ruben Quevedo and a minor league player to be named later (Joey Nation), for Terry Mulholland and José Hernández.

### Chicago Cubs

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He made 11 starts for the Cubs, compiling an ERA of 9.96.

### Oakland Athletics

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After spending the following year in the minors as a starter, he signed with the Oakland Athletics and was converted to a relief pitcher. Bowie was a part of the A's 20 consecutive game winning streak in 2002.[1]

### Arizona Diamondbacks

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After the 2003 season, he was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks to a minor league contract, but underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2004 season. In December 2004, he was signed by the Washington Nationals to a minor league contract.

### Washington Nationals

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Bowie pitched well in relief for the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate New Orleans Zephyrs, and in July was called up to the majors. He was effective as a set-up man in 15 relief appearances, posting an ERA of 1.37 before going on the disabled list and eventually missing the rest of the season.

In 2007, he was re-signed by the Nationals and started the season as a regular set-up reliever. By mid-May he had appeared in 20 games with an ERA of 3.71, but then was pressed into service as a starter, after four of five Nationals starters went on the disabled list. On May 20, Bowie made his first Major League start since 1999, pitching 3+1⁄3 innings allowing two runs in a no decision. By June 17, Bowie had proved himself to be the Nationals' most consistent starter, going 4–0 with a 3.82 ERA in six starts. However, he was placed on the disabled list on July 2 with a hip injury.

Bowie was outrighted to the minor leagues on October 17, 2007. He refused the assignment and became a free agent.

### Colorado Rockies

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On December 21, 2007, the Colorado Rockies signed Bowie to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. He made the team's opening day roster as a member of the bullpen. Bowie was outrighted to the minor leagues by the Rockies on June 26, but refused his assignment and became a free agent.

### Houston Astros

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On July 3, 2008, Bowie signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros. He was released by the Astros in mid-August.

## Post-retirement

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Since retiring in 2008, Bowie has operated a baseball academy.[2]

## Personal life

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Bowie married Keeley Kolacek in 1995, between games of a Durham Bulls doubleheader; they have two children.[3]

Bowie developed back problems during his playing career and rather than undergo disk fusion surgery that might need to be repeated, elected in August 2016 to have a spinal-cord stimulator implanted to suppress pain. The device failed after about one month; the battery migrated, damaging his liver, diaphragm and one lung.[3] After continuing breathing problems,[4] the Mayo Clinic found his lungs had electrical burns;[2] in May 2019 the device was removed at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, by the same doctor who had repaired his groin injury in 2007. He has 8% of his former lung capacity. Bowie was 20 days short of the four years on the roster required for the Major League Baseball Players Association to automatically grant a disability claim,[4] but the Baseball Assistance Team and the Oakland A's Community Fund assisted him and his family with the resulting medical bills.[3][2]

## References

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1. ^ Brown Jr., J. Thomas. September 4, 2002: ‘Moneyball’ Oakland A’s win 20th game in a row on Scott Hatteberg’s walk-off homer. sabr.org. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
2. ^ a b c Susan Slusser (April 21, 2020). "A's Gone By: Reliever Micah Bowie deals with harrowing lung problems". San Francisco Chronicle.
3. ^ a b c Jesse Sanchez (August 8, 2019). "Micah Bowie: B.A.T. 'gave me a chance to live'". Major League Baseball.
4. ^ a b Mark Townsend (January 19, 2019). "Former MLB pitcher seeks financial help from players union as he fights for life". Yahoo! Sports.

## External links

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* Career statistics from MLB · Baseball Reference · Fangraphs · Baseball Reference (Minors) · Retrosheet
* Sportsnet player info