Mark Prior

He made his Major League debut on May 22 at Wrigley Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates and became one of 14 Cub pitchers since 1920 to win his first major league start by striking out 10 batters over six innings pitched in a 7–4 victory.

Teammate Sammy Sosa said, "I was impressed with what he did today. Going out there in front of 40,000 people and throwing the way he did, that was a good sign."

On June 7, he threw 128 pitches and struck out 11 while allowing no runs in a 2–0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

He threw his first career complete game on August 4, striking out 13, allowing one run, and throwing 136 pitches in a 4–1 win over the Colorado Rockies.

"I was kind of surprised that they did send me out there," he said, when he found out he was pitching the ninth.

On August 15, he struck out seven hitters in a row, tying the Cubs' record shared by Jamie Moyer and Kerry Wood.

Mark William Prior (born September 7, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach.

Born September 7, 1980, in San Diego, California, Prior was part of an athletic family.

Jerry, his father, played college football for Vanderbilt University, and both of Mark's older siblings played sports as well.

"Being the youngest of three kids, there's no room for me to step out of line," he quipped.

Growing up, Prior attended the University of San Diego High School.

As a sophomore, he worked with former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher Tom House, who had a business of tutoring young pitchers.

Using computer analysis to try to determine the ideal pitching motion, House worked with Prior on his delivery and prescribed a detailed workout regimen which the pitcher would continue to utilize as his career advanced.

He was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 1998 amateur draft and offered an approximately $1.5 million signing bonus, but the parties were unable to agree on a contract after negotiating all summer, and Prior chose to attend college instead, pursuing a business degree while playing college baseball.

As a freshman, Prior went to Vanderbilt.

Tim Corbin later compared him to David Price and Kris Benson.

He then transferred to the University of Southern California (USC), posting a 10–7 record his sophomore year and leading the USC Trojans to the 2000 College World Series.

A career at the University of Southern California, where he won the Golden Spikes Award, saw him become one of the top prospects in the 2001 MLB draft, when he was the second overall pick by the Cubs.

USC posted a 16–game winning streak before Prior helped USC reach the College World Series again in 2001, posting a 15–1 record and a 1.69 earned run average (ERA), striking out 202 in 138 2⁄3 innings while walking just 18.

He won several awards that year, including the Dick Howser Trophy, the Golden Spikes Award, and the Rotary Smith Award.

In 2001, Prior re-entered the draft and was considered "the consensus top player", according to ESPN.

He was taken second overall by the Chicago Cubs, behind Joe Mauer, who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins.

A onetime top prospect of the Chicago Cubs, he pitched for the team from 2002 to 2006 in a career that was marred by injuries.

In his prime, his repertoire of pitches included a mid-90s mph fastball, a curveball, and a changeup.

He is currently the pitching coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Prior engaged Tom House as his pitching tutor in high school.

He made only six appearances in the minor leagues before debuting with the team in 2002.

After nine starts in the minors, Prior was called up to the big leagues in 2002 as a 21-year-old.

In 2003, he finished third in National League (NL) Cy Young Award voting, ranking among the leaders with 18 wins, a 2.43 earned run average (ERA), and 245 strikeouts.

Helping the Cubs win the NL Central title, he outpitched Greg Maddux in the NL Division Series and won Game 2 of the NL Championship Series, but he was on the mound for Game 6 when Steve Bartman prevented Moisés Alou from catching a foul ball.

Prior had pitched a scoreless game up to this point, but the Florida Marlins went on to win the series in seven games after an eighth inning eight-run rally in that game, in which Prior received the loss.

Once touted as having "perfect" pitching mechanics by ESPN and others, his "Inverted W" arm action has been discussed as a possible reason for his lack of durability, as well as Dusty Baker's heavy usage of him during the 2003 season, though Prior himself does not blame Baker for his injuries.

In 2004, he was on the disabled list twice but finished the season with a 16-strikeout performance against the Cincinnati Reds.

He made 27 starts with the Cubs in 2005 and finished ninth in the NL in strikeouts despite missing some time due to injury.

Multiple injuries limited him to nine games in 2006, and he did not pitch at all in 2007 due to tears in his labrum, anterior capsule, and rotator cuff.

After the season, the Cubs non-tendered him, letting him become a free agent.

Prior never pitched in the major leagues again after that, though he tried several times.

The Cubs signed Prior to a contract for $10.5 million, the highest signing bonus for a draft pick until the Washington Nationals gave Stephen Strasburg $15 million in 2009.

He pitched in the minor leagues for multiple organizations over the next six years before finally retiring at the end of the 2013 season.

Prior accepted a front office position with the San Diego Padres in 2013, then joined the Dodgers in 2018 as a bullpen coach, becoming their pitching coach in 2020.