Mike Cather - Pitching Career

Pitching Career

He attended the University of California at Berkeley where he participated in college baseball. In college, he had pitched in the 1992 College World Series. He was drafted in the 41st round of the 1993 free-agent draft by the Texas Rangers and was signed on June 5, 1993. On June 14, 1995, he was released by the Texas Rangers and was purchased by the Atlanta Braves from Winnipeg (Northern) on February 2, 1996.

Cather made his major league debut on July 13, 1997 at age 26 with the Atlanta Braves. On that day, the New York Mets were playing against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field with 42,111 people attending the game. In the top of the seventh inning, Cather was called to replace Keith Lockhart pitching and batting ninth. He pitched two innings, striking out one batter and allowing only one base on balls. At the end of the game, the Atlanta Braves lost against the New york Mets with the score at 7-6.

He did not allow an earned run over his first eight games. He earned his first major-league win on September 22 in the Braves’ 11-inning, 3-2 win against the Montreal Expos, the same night the Braves earned the National League Eastern Division title. In the National League Division Series that year, he pitched two scoreless innings in Game 2 against the Houston Astros and did not allow a run over four games in the National League Championship Series against the Florida Marlins.

In the 1998 season, he played and made it on the Opening Day roster. On August 31 of the same season, Cather was placed on the 60-day disabled list due to a circulatory problem of Cather's right arm. He had surgery in October in order to remove his first rib on his right side, which was impinging on an artery (thoracic outlet syndrome). He then was able to play the 1999 season, playing his last Major League Baseball game on April 12, 1999, and was granted free agency on October 15. In 2000, he played Triple-A in Minor League Baseball in the Florida Marlins organization. In 2001, he played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.