Ryan Cook

Ryan William Cook is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Cook attended Clovis High School and the University of Southern California, where he played college baseball for the USC Trojans baseball team. He was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 27th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. He was called up to the majors for the first time on July 20, 2011. On December 9, 2011, Cook, along with Jarrod Parker and Collin Cowgill, was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow. On April 27, 2012, against the Baltimore Orioles, Cook became the 61st player in MLB history to record four strikeouts in one inning. Cook throws four pitches. His main offering and best pitch is a hard four-seam fastball at 94–97 mph. He also features a sweeping slider, hard splitter, and two-seam fastball. Right-handed hitters see almost exclusively four-seamers and sliders, while lefties see a mix of all four of his pitches. He was the Athletics' representative at the 2012 All-Star Game where he pitched a perfect seventh inning. In 2013, Cook repeated his 2012 performance by going 6-4 in 71 games.