Clayton Richard

Clayton Colby Richard (born September 12, 1983) is a left-handed pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball. He is 6 feet and 5 inches tall, and weighs 240 pounds.

High school
Richard was awarded Indiana's Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball his senior year at McCutcheon High School and was also his class' valedictorian.

College
Richard accepted a scholarship to play football and baseball at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2003.

Richard was redshirted for the Wolverines football team his freshman year. In 2004, he battled for the starting spot on the team, but lost out to Chad Henne. Richard was the Wolverine's #2 quarterback that season, but he saw limited action, mostly in blowout wins over Miami (Ohio), Indiana, and Northwestern. Richard appeared in 4 total games for the Wolverines in 2004, only attempting 15 passes for 8 completions and 52 total yards.

The following spring, Richard joined the Wolverines baseball team and pitched well. In his one season in Ann Arbor, Richard pitched 21 games, mostly as a reliever and compiled a 0-1 record with a 2.43 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and 27 K's in 33.1 IP, good for a 7.29 K/9 innings ratio. The Wolverines were 42-19 that season and finished 4th in the Big 10 with a 17-12 conference record. They were the 3rd seed in the Atlanta Regional of the College Baseball Tournament, but were eliminated in the 2nd round of the Regionals, losing both games to South Carolina by 1 run. After starting his baseball career with moderate success, Richard dropped his football scholarship at Michigan and focused on baseball full-time.

Chicago White Sox
The White Sox selected Richard in the 8th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. He was the 2nd player from Michigan drafted, the first being Chris Getz, also selected by the Sox in the 4th round.

After playing for the Rookie-level Great Falls White Sox and Class-A Kannapolis Intimidators in 2005, the Intimidators and Class-A Advanced Winston-Salem Warthogs in 2006, the Warthogs in 2007 and the Class-AA Birmingham Barons and Class-AAA Charlotte Knights in 2008, Richard made his major league debut with the White Sox on July 23, 2008.

In 2009, Richard was initially used out of the bullpen, but then moved to the starting rotation on May 12, making 14 starts for the White Sox that year. On July 31, 2009 Richard was traded along with Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter to the San Diego Padres for 2007 Cy Young Award-winner Jake Peavy.

San Diego Padres
Richard made his first start for the Padres on August 1, 2009, recording no decision in 5$2⁄3$ innings at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. Richard compiled a 5-2 record with a 4.08 ERA over 12 starts in his partial season with the Padres.

Richard started 33 games for the Padres in 2010, building a 14-9 record and a 3.75 ERA over 201$2⁄3$ innings. On September 21, 2010 Richard threw his first career shutout, giving up eight hits, two walks, and recording six strikeouts in a win against the Los Angeles Dodgers along with a golden sombrero at the plate, striking out four times.

In 2011, Richard regressed slightly, posting a 5-9 record with a 3.88 ERA while his strikeout-to-walk ratio dropped to 1.39 K/BB from 1.93 K/BB in 2010. A left shoulder strain forced Richard to the disabled list in July and later required arthroscopic surgery, ending his season.

In 2012, Richard resumed his role in the Padres starting rotation. At the end of the season, he was the unanimous pick as the Padres Pitcher of the Year by writers covering the team. He had a 14-14 record with a 3.99 earned run average. His 33 starts were tied for second in the National League (NL) and he was fourth with $218 2/3$ innings pitched.

Playing style
Richard's pitching repertoire consists of a four-seam and a two-seam fastball (90-92 MPH), a changeup, a slider, and an occasional curveball.