Doug Creek

Paul Douglas Creek (March 1, 1969 – July 28, 2024) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2005 for seven different teams. He also played one season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers in .

Amateur career Creek was named the West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year at Martinsburg High School.

Creek attended Georgia Tech, and in 1990, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Creek set several school records at Georgia Tech and was later inducted into the program's Hall of Fame. The California Angels selected him in the fifth round of the 1990 MLB draft, but he opted to not sign with them, returning to the draft pool the following season.

Creek also played on the U.S. national under-18 team in 1987 and collegiate national team in 1989. His team finished second at the 1987 World Junior Baseball Championship.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Minor leagues In , Creek was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh round of the draft and signed shortly thereafter. He bounced around A-ball in 1991 and 1992, playing for four teams (Hamilton, Savannah, Springfield, and St. Petersburg) in that span. He was used primarily as a starting pitcher. Despite some early career struggles with Hamilton and Savannah in 1991, Creek's performance improved upon joining Springfield the following season. Creek registered a career low 2.58 ERA as well as a 4–1 win–loss record with Springfield in 1992.

He then continued his strong pitching with St. Petersburg and started each of the 13 games he appeared in, going 5–4 with a 2.82 ERA. After playing in Double-A and compiling a career record of 18–22 with a 4.00 ERA as a Double-A pitcher, Creek had three separate stints playing with the Triple-A Louisville Redbirds. He alternated between Louisville and Double- A Arkansas.

Major leagues After a solid showing at both Double-A and Triple-A, the Cardinals promoted Creek. On September 17, , he faced the Los Angeles Dodgers for his first MLB debut. He pitched one hitless inning and struck out two batters. He appeared in five more games for St. Louis, throwing a total of six innings in six games and did not permit any runs to score.

San Francisco Giants On December 14, 1995, Creek was dealt to the San Francisco Giants in a multi-player deal that also sent Rich DeLucia and Allen Watson to the Giants. The Cardinals received Royce Clayton and Chris Wimmer.

Creek pitched 48 innings in 1996 and finished the season with a 6.52 ERA in 63 appearances. He also had an 0–2 record. He spent the following season with the Triple-A Phoenix Firebirds. In 25 Triple-A games (18 of them starts), he went 8–6 with two complete games and one shutout. His showing at Triple-A in earned him a quick promotion back to San Francisco. Creek went 1–2 with a 6.75 ERA and 14 strikeouts with the Giants in 1997.

Seattle Mariners On July 24, , Tampa Bay traded Creek to the Seattle Mariners for cash.

Toronto Blue Jays In October 2002, Creek signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. In the 2003 season, he pitched just 13 innings in 21 appearances to go along with his 3.29 ERA for the Jays. His season ended in June as he underwent Tommy John surgery.

St. Louis Cardinals Creek signed in February with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was only used as a reliever in Triple-A, going 2–1 with a 4.71 ERA in 33 games for Memphis.

Personal life and death Creek was married and had two children.

After retiring, Creek became a licensed boat captain and fishing guide in Florida, competing in fishing tournaments.