Red Sox Life
Celebrating 100 Great Years of Boston Red Sox baseball...
Columns
Roster
Schedule
Fenway Park
Chatroom
Pictures
Minors
Multimedia
Weather
History
Sox Links
Contact
32 - Lowe, Derek
pitcher
Height: 6-6 Weight: 200 lbs. Throws: Right Bats: Right Born: June 1, 1973, Dearborn, MI Scouting Report 2000 Season Derek Lowe's selection to the All-Star team signaled his rise to the stature of one of the game's premier closers. He converted 42 of 47 save opportunities and held opponents to a .304 on-base percentage. Since being moved into the full-time closer role in August of 1999, Lowe has converted 52 of 60 save opportunities. Pitching Lowe is a classic sinkerballer. His hard, running, skittery sinker is a dominant pitch. It produced a 3.45 groundball-flyball ratio, which was better than any starter in baseball. His 2.56 ERA was a testament to his ability, considering the problems and injuries in the Red Sox infield behind him, not to mention the fact that Fenway has the highest groundball error factor in the American League. To complement the sinker, Lowe has a big breaking curveball that he can use away from righthanders and underneath the hands of lefthanders. He also has a changeup that comes out of his hand like a fastball and has screwball action, but as a reliever he doesn't get to use it too often. When he's pitching well, Lowe throws fewer than 12 pitches an inning, so Jimy Williams likes to bring him into games in the eighth inning if the situation dictates. Defense Because of his big leg kick, the fact that his sinker is hard to catch and his curveball has such a long arc, Lowe can be run on. Teams like to start runners against him to try to stay out of double plays. He only occasionally will slide step. He is an average fielder, though he has to be calmed down.
