Year 1 2003 (20 years old) Tigers record 43-119
6-19 record 5.56 ERA 1.55 WHIP 108Ks
This was the same year the Detroit Tigers came one game away from breaking the record for having the worst record in MLB history. His 6-19 record is decieving considering the team only won 43 games. While most 20 year old pitchers are in the minors at his age, the tigers decided he was their best option and wore out his arm for a full MLB season
Year 2 2004 Tigers record 72-90
11-13 4.89 ERA 1.31 WHIP 168 Ks
Improved in every category from his rookie year and started showing signs of being a future ace
14-13 4.57 ERA 1.35 WHIP 145 K's
Kept improving while lowering his ERA and improving his win total
Year 4 2006 Tigers record 95-67
14-8 4.08 ERA 1.30 WHIP 202Ks
Playof stats 3.18 ERA 1.18 WHIP
Put it all together, while helping getting the Detroit Tigers back to the world series for the first time since the 80's. Was a monster in the playoffs, pitching 6 perfect innings against the Yankees and also played great in his 2 other playof starts. Also, if you take out his1st inning stats, he was probably the top pitcher in all of baseball.
Year 5 2007 Tigers record 88-74
Before all star break9-1 3.41 ERA
After starting the year off slow, he had his best numbers of his career heading into the all-star break. He got snubbed by his own coach ( for reasons that I will never understand) on the all star roster. Finished second in fan voting for the last spot but deserved it regardless. He played through an obvious injury to his shoulder after the all star break and his numbers dipped.
Had shoulder surgery in the offseason
Year 6 2008 3-4 4.29 ERA 1.56 WHIP
Had problems managing his hurt shoulder and hardly ever played in 2008, later diagnosed with a blood clot in his throwing arm
Year 7 2009 DID NOT PLAY
Year 8 2010 8-10 5.53 ERA 1.44 WHIP 112 K's
Not saying it was a good year, but after coming off a blood clot and other injuries to his elbow and shoulder, it wasn't the worst year. A respectable 8-10 record and a decent amount of strikeouts showed promise in his future.
Did he live up to the hype of being Detroit's future ace, NO. Was it because the talent wasn't their, NO. Was he on his way to becoming a future star, YES. Jeremy Bonderman was called up to the majors 2 years too early because the Tigers had such a horrible rotation. His arm wore out from throwing slider after slider (sliders do the most damage to your arm) when he was just a 19 and 20 year old kid. From 2004 until 2007 he improved in every single stat, until injuries brought his career to a halt.
Jeremy Bonderman once had the BEST slider in all of baseball, the pitch Rod Allen liked to call Mr. Snappy. He came to the majors as an 18 year old kid and improved in every stat every year of his career until a freak injury (blood clot) and other injuries brought his career to an end. A strikeout master and a guy Curt Shilling (future hall of famer) once said "he would start a team with". Bonderman was a player that i can promise you wasn't forced to retire, but did it because he could no longer pitch at the elite level he was accustomed to. A simple guy (drove a F-150) who already made millions (around 50-6-million) and no longer had the motivation to just be "average". It's a shame the Tigers showed no interest in a guy that gave everything he had each and every time he went out on the mound. He openly admitted he would come back for close to nothing, since he believed he owed the Tigers franchise that much. I'm ashamed in not only Drombowski, but also Mike Illitch for not at least holding a minor league opening for a big piece in rebuilding the Detroit Tigers back to the world series in 2006. I will always rock my Bonderman jersey whenever I decide to go to comerica park!
YOU WILL BE MISSED BONDO!
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