Edward Mujica

Edward Mujica
St. Louis Cardinals – No. 44
Relief pitcher
Born: (1984-05-10) May 10, 1984 (age 29) Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 21, 2006 for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics (through May 19, 2013)
Win-loss record	17–18
Earned run average	3.80
Strikeouts	322
Saves	17
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2006–2008) San Diego Padres (2009–2010) Florida/Miami Marlins (2011–2012) St. Louis Cardinals (2012–present)

Edward José Mujica [moo-HE-cah] (born May 10, 1984) is a Venezuelan right-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball.

Career [edit]

Cleveland Indians [edit]

Mujica originally signed with the Cleveland Indians as an undrafted free agent in October, 2001.^[1] He quickly became one of the top pitching prospects in the Cleveland organization.

Mujica began his career as a starter with San Felipe, Burlington and Lake County in 2002, 2003, and 2004.^[1] He became a full-time reliever in 2005, and Mujica dominated the Carolina League as the closer with the Kinston Indians, earning a 2.08 ERA, 14 saves, 32 strikeouts and just two walks in 26 innings before being promoted to Double-A Akron.^[1] He continued his dominance with the Aeros, going 2–1 with 10 saves, a 2.88 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and only five walks in 34 ²⁄₃ innings.^[1]

Mujica began 2006 in Akron, where he recorded eight saves without surrendering an earned run, 17 strikeouts, and nine walks in 19 innings before getting promoted to Triple-A Buffalo. For Buffalo, he was 3–1 with five saves, a 2.48 ERA, 29 strikeouts, and five walks in 32 ²⁄₃ innings. He made his major league debut with Cleveland on June 21, 2006. Mujica didn't surrender an earned run in 2006 until his fourth appearance with the Indians on July 14, a streak of 43 ¹⁄₃ consecutive innings (19 for Akron, 19 ²⁄₃ for Buffalo and 4 ²⁄₃ for Cleveland).^[1]

San Diego Padres [edit]

On April 1, 2009, Mujica was traded to the San Diego Padres for future considerations.^[2]

Mujica was awarded the win in the first ever regular season game at Citi Field against the New York Mets on April 13, 2009.

Florida/Miami Marlins [edit]

Following the 2010 season, Mujica was traded with Ryan Webb to the Marlins for Cameron Maybin.

Mujica's 2011 season was one of his best season. He played 67 games, finished with a 9-6 record, strikeout a total of 63, and an ERA of 2.96. ^[3]

On June 30, 2012, Mujica was placed on the 15-day disabled list after opponent Placido Polanco line drive the ball, but hit his pinky toe on his right foot. X-rays confirm that he has a fractured toe.^[4]

St. Louis Cardinals [edit]

On July 31, 2012, Mujica was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league third baseman Zack Cox. He was used primarily in the 7th inning of games for the team. In 2013, when the Cardinals closer Mitchell Boggs lost his effectiveness, Mujica became the new closer (around mid-April) and began racking up saves in his new role. ^[5]

Pitching style [edit]

Mujica is mainly a two-pitch pitcher, utilizing a four-seam fastball at 90-93 mph and a splitter at 86-89. He also has a two-seam fastball in the same velocity range has his four-seamer, and a slider in the low 80s. Lefties see a very heavy diet of splitters; in 2011, they constituted more than half of the pitches he threw to left-handers. Right-handed hitters tend to see a greater assortment of pitches, including the slider (which Mujica rarely uses against lefties).^[6]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal
	Venezuela portal

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)