Steve Cishek

Steven R. Cishek was born on June 18, 1986, in Falmouth, Massachusetts. He attended Falmouth High School where he played both baseball and basketball. Despite not being heavily recruited by Division I programs, Cishek pursued his collegiate baseball career at Division II Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Early in his career, he led the Carson-Newman Eagles to a conference championship in 2007. His performance during this period led to his selection by the Florida Marlins in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB draft, marking the beginning of his professional baseball journey.

Cishek made his MLB debut on September 20, 2010, with the Florida Marlins, pitching 4 and 1/3 scoreless innings that season. He took on the full-time closer role for the Marlins in 2013, where he achieved significant success, converting 34 out of 36 save opportunities and maintaining a 2.33 ERA. During his tenure with the Marlins, he set an MLB record for the most saves by a player on a team that lost 100 games, and also holds the Marlins franchise record for 33 consecutive saves. Throughout his career, Cishek was known for his unique sidearm delivery and his primary pitch, a sinker, which ranged from 91 to 94 miles per hour.

Over his 13-season MLB career, Cishek played for several teams including the Florida/Miami Marlins (2010-2015), St. Louis Cardinals (2015), Seattle Mariners (2016-2017), Tampa Bay Rays (2017), Chicago Cubs (2018-2019), Chicago White Sox (2020), Los Angeles Angels (2021), and Washington Nationals (2022). He officially announced his retirement from professional baseball on December 30, 2022, concluding a career that spanned 737 games with 33 wins, 43 losses, a 2.98 ERA, 743 strikeouts, and 133 saves.