Jimmy Key

James Edward Key (born April 22, 1961) is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1984 to 1992, the New York Yankees from 1993 to 1996, and the Baltimore Orioles from 1997 to 1998. His standout seasons included 1987, when he went 17–8 with a league-best 2.76 ERA, and 1993, when he posted an 18–6 record, a 3.00 ERA, and 173 strikeouts. Key won the World Series with the Blue Jays in 1992 and with the Yankees in 1996, both times defeating the Atlanta Braves.

Key attended S. R. Butler High School in Huntsville, Alabama. During his senior year on the baseball team, he had a 10–0 win-loss record, nine shutouts, and a 0.30 ERA. Over his high school career, he also batted .410 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. He then played college baseball at Clemson University for the Clemson Tigers in the Atlantic Coast Conference. At Clemson, Key posted a 9–3 record and a 2.79 ERA as a pitcher, and batted .300 with 21 doubles. In 1982, he became the only Clemson player to earn first-team All-ACC honors at two positions: pitcher and designated hitter. He also started the opening game of the 1980 College World Series.

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Key in the third round of the 1982 MLB draft. He moved through the minor league system during 1982 and 1983, playing for the Florence Blue Jays, Medicine Hat Blue Jays, Knoxville Blue Jays, and Syracuse Chiefs before reaching Toronto. He made his MLB debut on April 6, 1984, working mostly as a reliever that season, collecting 10 saves and a 4.65 ERA. He wore number 27 in his first year and switched to number 22 for the rest of his time with the Blue Jays.

Key joined the starting rotation in 1985 and quickly became a key part of it, helping the Blue Jays reach their first postseason that year. In 1987, he led the majors with a 2.76 ERA and finished second to Roger Clemens in American League Cy Young Award voting. In Game 4 of the 1992 World Series, Key made his final start for Toronto, allowing one run over 7 2/3 innings in a 2–1 win that put the Blue Jays up three games to one. He left to a loud ovation. He also appeared as a reliever in the 10th and 11th innings of the deciding Game 6, earning another win in the series.

Key signed a four-year, $17 million contract with the New York Yankees as a free agent on December 10, 1992. Over four seasons with the Yankees, he had a 49–23 record in 94 games. He set a career high with 173 strikeouts in his first season with the team in 1993, and led the majors with 17 wins in the strike-shortened 1994 season. During his final season with New York in 1996, he made rehab appearances with the Gulf Coast Yankees (1–0, 0.00 ERA) and Tampa of the Florida State League (0–0, 2.77 ERA). In his last start as a Yankee, he outdueled Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves in the deciding game of the 1996 World Series. Key wore number 22 while with the Yankees.

Key signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles on December 10, 1996. Over two seasons, he posted a 22–13 record in 59 appearances. He made $7.73 million with the Orioles. He wore number 21 in Baltimore because number 22 was retired in honor of Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. In 1998, during a rehab assignment, he pitched for Frederick of the Carolina League (1–0, 3.00 ERA). Key was granted free agency for the final time on October 27, 1998, by Orioles general manager Pat Gillick—the same GM who had granted him free agency in Toronto in 1992. Largely due to injuries, Key retired after the 1998 season.

Key was known as a premier control pitcher, with a strong strikeout-to-walk ratio for most of his career. His fastball lacked great speed but was effective because he could place it on either corner of the plate—though when he left it high, hitters did well. He also had a good backdoor slider. He possessed a very effective pickoff move to first base, notably demonstrated in Game 4 of the 1992 World Series when he picked off Otis Nixon, one of the game's top base stealers.

(During his windup, he kept his right knee bent so his right foot did not cross the rubber, allowing him to throw to first without balking.) Key gave up more home runs than average, even while keeping opponents' on-base percentage low. He was injury-prone, missing significant time in 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, and 1998. Contrary to some reports, he never had Tommy John surgery; instead, Dr. James Andrews removed bone chips, which cost Key several months during the 1988 season.

After retiring from baseball, Key took up amateur golf. He now lives in Palm Beach Gardens and is active in the local golf community.