Carlos Silva

Carlos Silva was born on April 23, 1979 in Venezuela.

The Philadelphia Phillies signed him as an amateur free agent in 1996. He pitched at the big league level for them in 2002 and 2003, going 8-1 with two saves and a 3.83 ERA across 130 relief appearances. They traded him to the Minnesota Twins for Eric Milton after the 2003 season. Minnesota also acquired Nick Punto in that trade.

Silva was converted to a starting pitcher by the Twins. He was 14-8 with a 4.28 ERA in 2004, which was dragged down a bit by a rough middle portion of the season. Silva began the year 5-0 with a 3.11 ERA through seven starts. He also went 4-0 with a 2.40 ERA over his final eight starts. It was the 18 starts in-between where his overall numbers got dragged down.

He walked just nine batters in 188.1 innings during the 2005 campaign. His 0.4301 BB/9 rate is the eight best single season mark in Major League history. Every other season ranking in the top 25 came before 1900. Silva went 9-8 with a 3.44 ERA that year, and also led the American League with a 7.89 strikeout to walk ratio. He allowed 25 home runs, making it just one of 15 seasons in Major League history where a qualified pitcher allowed more home runs than walks.

Another one of those 15 seasons came in 2006, when Silva allowed 32 walks and a league high 38 home runs. He was 11-15 with a 5.94 ERA, and was left off the Twins playoff roster. Things calmed down a bit in 2007 when Silva was 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA.

The Seattle Mariners signed Silva to a four year, $48 million deal in free agency. He had a 6.46 ERA over 28 starts in 2008, and an 8.60 ERA over six starts in 2009. Seattle eventually shut him down, and had to eat most of the reminder of the contract when they traded him to the Chicago Cubs in the off-season. Silva went 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA for the Cubs in 2010, and was designated for assignment during spring training in 2010.

He pitched in the New York Yankees minor league system in 2011, and spent 2012 in the Boston Red Sox farm system.

• 2005 AL BB/9 leader
  • Eighth best single season mark in MLB history
• 2005 AL K:BB ratio leader