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Doug Creek, a former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher, died on Sunday after a battle with colon cancer, according to the Journal News in West Virginia.
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He was 55 years old.
Creek pitched for seven teams during his MLB career, which spanned from 1995-2005.
The lefty suited up for the Cardinals, Giants, Cubs, Rays, Mariners, Blue Jays and Tigers.
He spent the 2003 season with the Jays, playing in 21 games with a 0-0 record. He had a respectable ERA of 3.29 and a strikeout-walk ratio of 11-3 in his 13.2 inning pitched.
For his career, he had a 7-14 record with 532 ERA in 279 games.
Creek’s high school coach, Vic Holmes, told the Journal News the death was “shocking.”
He was a prolific amateur player, having been named the 1987 state baseball player of the year by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. While playing in college at Georgia Tech, he became the school’s all-time winningest left-hander, with more than 40 victories to his record and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2000.
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He made his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1995 before being traded to the Giants in the off-season.
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While with the Giants, Creek received praise during one of his rare starts from Oakland slugger MArk McGwire — who he struck out twice en route to his first career win.
“He pitched a good game, it wasn’t just one batter,” McGwire said after the game. “Give the pitcher some credit. He did his job.”
Creek had the opportunity to play for legendary managers Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker during his career.
“(Piniella’s) a guy that you just wanted to go to war with him,” Creek once said. “He’s not scary or imposing, but you want to go out and play well for him. I felt the same way with Dusty Baker when I played for him.”
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