Madison Bumgarner

Who is Madison Bumgarner?

Madison Kyle Bumgarner, nicknamed "MadBum," is an American professional baseball starting pitcher with the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball, who played key roles in the Giants' 2010 and 2012 World Series championships. Bumgarner is listed as 6 ft 5 in and 225 pounds. He features a four-seam fastball in the 90 to 93 miles per hour range, a cutter or slider around 86 to 90 miles per hour, a curveball that ranges from 75 to 80 miles per hour, and a change-up that sits at 82 to 84 miles per hour.

Bumgarner was born in in Hickory, North Carolina, and attended South Caldwell High School in Hudson, where he helped his baseball team win the 2007 4A State Championship. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of high school. In his first year playing professionally, 2008, he won the South Atlantic League pitching triple crown. He made his major league debut in 2009 with the Giants. In 2010, he began the season in the minor leagues but was called up midway through the season and wound up becoming the youngest left-handed pitcher to throw eight scoreless innings in a World Series as the Giants won the 2010 World Series, their first since 1954. He got off to an 0–5 start in 2011 but managed to finish with a 13–13 record. In 2012, Bumgarner set a career high with 16 wins and won his second World Series. He had the best ERA of his career in 2013, at 2.77, and was the Giants' Opening Day starter for the 2014 season.