Érik Joseph Bédard (pronounced [eʁik beˈdɑʁ] baydar; born March 5, 1979) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher.

He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays.

He was a pitcher on the 1992 Orleans Junior Red Sox team which defeated Glace Bay in the 1992 Canadian Championship.

[5] He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Orioles, where he allowed only one earned run in 20.1 innings for an 0.44 ERA, 4th best among all minor league pitchers that year.

He entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and allowed a single to the first batter he faced (Jason Giambi) before retiring Jorge Posada on a pop fly and striking out Robin Ventura swinging before he was replaced by another reliever.

[8] He also appeared in a game on April 21 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and allowed an RBI single to the only batter he faced (Ben Grieve).

[7] He received an invitation to big-league spring training the next year and made the most of his opportunity, beating out other pitchers for the fifth spot in the starting rotation.

On July 7, Bédard struck out 15 Texas Rangers, matching the Orioles franchise record set by Mike Mussina.

[6] Although he played for a losing team, Bédard's individual performance put him among those shortlisted to contend for the American League Cy Young Award.

[14] On February 8, 2008, Bédard was traded to the Seattle Mariners in a 5-for-1 deal sending outfielder Adam Jones and pitchers George Sherrill, Tony Butler, Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio to the Orioles.

[6] Bédard only played the first four months of the 2009 season before landing on the disabled list again due to a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder.

[30] He was released by the Rays on March 25 and became a free agent, exercising an "opt-out" clause in his contract after not making the starting rotation at the end of spring training.

[31] A few days later, he changed his mind and agreed to report to the Durham Bulls, the AAA minor league affiliate of the Rays.

[36] On March 23 the Dodgers announced that Bédard would miss four to six weeks after he strained his back during a spring training appearance, ending any chance he had to make the opening day roster.

[37] After spending the start of the season in extended spring training rehabilitating his injury Bedard was assigned to the Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes on May 25.