Jeremy Fikac

Jeremy Joseph Fikac (born April 8, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the San Diego Padres (–), Oakland Athletics , and Montreal Expos .

Early life Fikac was born on to Robert and Marian Fikac in Shiner, Texas.

Fikac played as a second baseman for the Shiner Comanches while a freshman at Shiner High School. He moved to Somerville High School for the 1990-1991 school year, where he played tennis, football, and baseball. He also played on the Somerville Yeguas basketball team, continuing there his junior year. He graduated from Somerville in 1993.

Following high school, he enrolled at Blinn Junior College. While a student there, he played for the Shiner Clippers community team. He attended Hill College in 1996, playing on their baseball team, scoring the winning run in the 14th Junior College State Baseball Tournament. In 1997, he pitched for Texas State University.

He graduated Texas State in May 2008 with a degree in Sports science.

Career He began playing in the minor leagues with the Idaho Falls Padres, then played two seasons for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, before opening the 2000-2001 season with the Mobile BayBears. He also played for the Portland Beavers in 2001. Fikac had been selected in the 19th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres as a right-handed pitcher. On , Fikac was promoted from the Southern League to play for the Padres.

He became the first San Diego pitcher to strikeout the first three batters of his Major League career, and the third Padres relief pitcher to win his debut game. He held the record for the longest strikeout streak in Padres history, having prevented anyone from scoring for 16.0 frames from August 16 to September 19, until Kevin Cameron surpassed his record in 2007. Hitters opposing the Padres while Fikac was on the pitch had a .165 batting average, though Fikac did also tie Willie Blair's record of the second-most home runs in a season allowed by a Major League relief pitcher.

The San Diego Madres, a support group for the Padres, named Fikac Player of the Month for October 2001 in recognition of the support he provided to the United States Navy after the September 11 attacks.

A cyst was discovered under Fikac's index finger during spring training in 2002, and he had scar tissue removed from his palm that year. Fikac also underwent ten weeks of rehab for his elbow while playing for the Padres. He was listed as injured for part of that season, with discussions in February of possibly replacing him with Steve Reed and having Fikac begin the season in the minor leagues. He was optioned to the BayBears for 11 days after a loss to the Baltimore Orioles on June 9.

The Athletics acquired his contract on . No one from the opposing team scored during Fikac's first two innings in his debut for the team. Fikac was optioned to Sacramento on May 11. He was recalled from Sacramento on September 14. They did not renew his contract for 2004. He had an ERA of 4.50 in the 14 games he played in Oakland in 2003.

USA Baseball invited Fikac to try out for their roster for the 2004 Summer Olympics. He developed tendinitis in his right elbow during the tryouts, leading the Athletics to ask for him to be allowed to leave the qualifying team.

A free agent after the Atheltics did not offer a 2004 contract, Fikac signed with the Montreal Expos. After the Expos won at Olympic Stadium on , Fikac was optioned to Edmonton, from whom his contract had been purchased earlier in the year. Out of the 19 games he pitched, the April 25 game was Fikac's only game appearance in which the Expos won that season. The San Francisco Giants contracted him to play for their Triple-A affiliate in . He also served as a relief pitcher for the Giants, winning their game against the Athletics on .

In 2006, Fikac played for the Schulenburg Merchants, a team in the South Central Texas Amateur League. He also played for the CMC Steelers, who won the opening game of the 2006 National Baseball Congress World Series with Fikac pitching.

After seven years in MLB, he returned to his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach in 2008, working as the hitting instructor. In 2012, after the departure of assistant coach Derek Matlock (hired at West Virginia University), Fikac was promoted to pitching coach.

Sam Houston State University placed Fikac on a short list of six potential new baseball coaches when David Pierce was hired by Tulane University.

In 2015, Fikac was named interim coach when Texas State announced that Ty Harrington would be going on temporary leave.

Fikac served as agent for Donnie Hart in 2019, and for Louis Head in 2021.

Charity golf Fikac played in the 25th, 26th, and 27th Heartland Alliance-Maverick Engineering Bluebonnet Youth Ranch celebrity golf benefit tournaments. His team ranked second in 2006, fourth in 2007, and first in 2008.