Patrick John Neshek (pronounced NEE-shehk;[1] born September 4, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies.

Neshek made his MLB debut for the Twins in 2006, and played for them until 2010 (except for 2009, which he missed due to Tommy John surgery).

Probably best known for an unorthodox pitching delivery, Neshek's arm motion slots about sidearm, with an explosive release point, which developed after a baseball struck his forearm in high school.

[3][4][5] In his junior year, his win–loss record was 4–6 but he posted a 3.08 earned run average (ERA) and 94 strikeouts (SO) in 87+2⁄3 innings pitched (IP).

[12] On July 30, he earned his first major league career win against the Detroit Tigers after pitching one-third of an inning.

[13] Neshek appeared in 32 games in his rookie year, accumulating 37 innings pitched, a 4–2 record, six home runs allowed, but just 23 hits and 53 strikeouts with a 2.19 ERA.

[15] He was chosen as one of five candidates for the final online fan vote for the All-Star game along with Jeremy Bonderman, Kelvim Escobar, Roy Halladay, and Hideki Okajima.

Neshek suffered his first loss of the season against the New York Yankees on July 5, but then won three games in 14 days improving his record to 6–1.

[17] Neshek ended the season at 7–2, appearing in 74 games (fifth in the American League) with 74 strikeouts and pitching a total of 70+1⁄3 innings with a 2.94 ERA.

[19] In May, after pitching in only 131⁄3 innings, he was placed on the 60-day disabled list with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) and missed the rest of the season.

He angrily wrote about this not only on his website but also on Facebook, where he said he was "not happy with anything that has gone on, especially when it could have been taken care of three weeks ago and I was told the wrong info."

[29] On January 30, 2012, Neshek signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and was invited to spring training.

[32] On September 22, Neshek gave up the game-tying home run in the bottom of the 13th inning to New York Yankees slugger Raúl Ibañez.

[33] However, the A's defeated the Yankees the next day and went 9–2 to end the season, edging the Texas Rangers out of the American League West championship by one game, including sweeping the final three-game series in Oakland.

[41] After the mixed performances of the previous two seasons and less-than-satisfying offers from other teams, he had worked during the offseason specifically to target an increase in fastball velocity.

[38] Pleased with the increased velocity, the Cardinals purchased his contract on March 30, thereby awarding him a spot on the 25-man MLB roster.

[42] The developments with Neshek's spring training led to further success in the regular season that occurred as he began to mix more pitches with his slider.

[35] After emerging from the role of a right-handed specialist to primary setup pitcher for closer Trevor Rosenthal, Neshek made his first All-Star Game.

In 43 games and 38+1⁄3 IP before the midseason break, he was 4–0 with two saves, a 0.70 ERA, and 0.57 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP).

[49] The Cardinals traded for John Lackey at the non-waiver deadline on July 31, and Neshek volunteered to change his number from 41 to 37.

[51] In an August 10 appearance against the Orioles, Neshek's sinker was clocked at 93 miles per hour (150 km/h) as he completed two innings and struck out four, tying a career high.

[14] Neshek was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor league players Jose Gomez, JD Hammer, and Alejandro Requena on July 26, 2017.

[65] Neshek announced that he would wear uniform number 93, which had never been worn by an MLB player during regular season play.

His season ended due to a hamstring injury he suffered in June that ultimately required surgery in September.

[72] Neshek had an unorthodox style of delivery that transitions from starting at a submarine angle to finishing sidearm with an explosive thrusting motion.

He developed the delivery after being struck in the forearm with a ball in high school by C. J. Woodrow, a former Philadelphia Phillies farmhand.

Neshek has had great success in both the minor and major leagues as a reliever, striking out 24 percent of batters faced.

Their first son, Gehrig John, was born on October 2, 2012, the day the A's won the AL West division title.

[75] The Nesheks received a scare because Hoyt was born 11 days early with pneumonia and an air pocket outside his lungs.