Kenny Rogers Baseball

Major League Baseball pitcher Kenny Rogers currently plays for the Detroit Tigers.

Fast Facts:

Full name: Kenneth Scott Rogers
Born: November 10, 1964
Birthplace: Savannah, Georgia
Nickname: "The Gambler"
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
5 Gold Gloves as pitcher
Pitched perfect game in 1994 while on Texas Rangers

Early Life and Career

Rogers grew up in Florida and didn't begin playing baseball until his senior year in high school. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in 1982, but didn't make it to the big leagues until 1989. Rogers began his career as a relief pitcher, but in 1993 became a starter and went 16-10. In 1994, Rogers became only the fourteenth pitcher in baseball history to ever throw a perfect game, doing so against the California Angels. In 1996, Rogers began bouncing around for the next ten years, playing for the World Champion New York Yankees in 1996, moving to the Oakland Athletics in 1998 and 1999, and finishing out the 1999 season with the New York Mets. In a painful game for Mets fans, Rogers walked in the game-winning, series-winning run in the 11th inning in the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. After playing for the Rangers, and then the Minnesota Twins, and then the Rangers again, Rogers signed a $8,000,000 contract with the Tigers for the 2006 season.

Tigers Aged Ace

At the beginning of the 2006 season, Rogers was 41 years old. That season, he helped lead the Tigers to the World Series, pitching 23 scoreless innings straight in the postseason. An injury kept Rogers sidelined for part of the 2007 season.