Gil Meche

Gilbert Allen Meche (; born September 8, 1978) is an American former right-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners for six seasons between 1999 and 2006. He also made three straight Opening Day starts with the Kansas City Royals and was an All-Star with them in 2007. Shoulder and back problems caused him to retire in 2011 at just 32 years old.

Early years Meche, who is Cajun, was a star pitcher at Acadiana High School in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana, and was a member of the U.S. Junior Olympic team that won the gold medal in the World Junior Baseball Championship. After his junior year of high school, he earned most valuable pitcher honors at the 1995 National Amateur All-Star Tournament at just sixteen years old. However, shortly afterwards, he suffered a viral infection that caused him to miss a considerable amount of playing time his senior year. Nonetheless, he was named to the All-America Second Team by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings. He intended to attend Louisiana State University, but changed his mind when the Seattle Mariners surprised him by selecting him in the first round (22nd overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft.

Seattle Mariners Meche debuted with the Mariners on July 6, 1999, two months shy of his twenty-first birthday, making him the second-youngest debut for the Mariners at that time (only Ken Griffey Jr. was younger). Pitching with a 2–1 lead over the Anaheim Angels and two outs in the sixth, he walked two consecutive batters to force in a run and surrender the lead. He ended up with a no-decision. On July 19, he allowed three earned runs in seven innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, earning his first major league win in Seattle's 7–5 victory. For the season, he went 8–4 with a 4.73 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games (15 starts).

Meche lost his first four decisions of the 2000 season. On June 13, 2000, in a game shortened by rain, he tossed a five-inning, one-hit shutout against the Kansas City Royals. After coming back to go 4–0 with a 2.64 ERA through his July 4 start against Anaheim, His season was cut short due to what was thought at the time to be a dead arm. He went 1–2 with a 3.15 ERA in five rehab starts, but did not pitch at the major league level again for the rest of the season. At the major league level, he was 4–4 with a 3.78 ERA in 15 starts with Seattle. He ended up missing the entire season and undergoing surgery again on October 3, 2001, on his right AC joint. He returned to pitching in 2002 for the Double-A San Antonio Missions of the Texas League, and went 4–6 with a 6.51 ERA in 25 games (13 starts). From there, he went 15–13 with a 4.59 ERA in 32 starts and innings pitched.

Meche's 2004 season got off to a slow start, as his record stood at 1–5 with a 7.06 ERA following a June 1 start against the Toronto Blue Jays. He was optioned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League after the game. He returned to the Mariners on July 30 and proceeded to go 6–2 with a 3.95 ERA in 13 second-half starts. On September 12, he tossed his first career nine-inning shutout against the Boston Red Sox. Overall, he finished 7–7 with a 5.01 ERA in 22 starts.

On January 26, 2006, Meche avoided arbitration again, signing a one-year, $3.7 million contract. He finished the 2006 season with an 11–8 record and a 4.48 ERA in 32 starts. He also struck out 156 batters in innings. His record stood at 5–6 with a 3.28 ERA when he was named the Royals' sole representative at the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in San Francisco. He finished the season with a 9–13 record, while posting career bests in ERA (3.67), innings pitched (216) and a league-leading 34 starts.

On June 16, 2009, Meche pitched a four-hit shutout against the Diamondbacks to improve his season record to 4–5 with a 3.31 ERA. The 132 pitch count took a toll on him, however, and he began experiencing back and shoulder problems soon afterwards. For the rest of the 2009 season, he went just 2–5 with an 8.46 ERA in his final nine starts. He made 23 total starts, going 6–10 with a 5.09 ERA. He struggled throughout the season, and was 0–4 with a 6.66 ERA after making what would be his final career start on May 25. On May 30, he was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder bursitis, which marked his second stint on the DL for the season. After five rehab appearances with the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals and Triple-A Omaha Royals, he returned to the Royals as a reliever that September. He made 11 appearances, giving up three earned runs in thirteen innings for a 2.08 ERA.

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Despite a contract that called for a guaranteed $12 million salary in 2011, Meche chose to retire rather than play the last year.

In popular culture

The rock group Band of Horses, which was founded in Seattle in 2004, wrote and dedicated their song "Wicked Gil" to Meche.