Randall Colter Bean is a Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 relief pitcher

Relief pitcher

A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...

 who is currently a free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

.

Bean attended Vestavia Hills High School

Vestavia Hills High School

Vestavia Hills High School , founded in 1970, is a public high school in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Part of the Vestavia Hills School System, the high school is known for the success of its band, math, debate, "We the People" Team, Economics Challenge Team, American football,...

 in Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

 before attending Auburn University

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

. Bean played in the College World Series

College World Series

The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...

 and was named All-SEC

Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 second team in 2000. Bean still holds the Auburn team record with 108 games pitched

Games pitched

In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...

 and 106 games relieved in his NCAA career.

Following his college graduation, the Yankees signed Bean as an undrafted free agent

Free agent

In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

 on May 31, 2000. The Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 claimed Bean as a Rule 5 Selection on December 13, 2003, before returning his rights to the Yankees in the off-season on March 17, 2004. Bean made his major league debut with the Yankees April 26, 2005, his only appearance with the Yankees that season. In 2006, Bean started the season on the Columbus Clippers

Columbus Clippers

The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....

 but was called up on May 20.

On August 15, 2006, Bean apparently tied the Clippers' team record for career games pitched, when he made his 212th career appearance for Columbus as the starter in a 2-1 win. The previous record had been credited to Bumpus Jones

Bumpus Jones

Charles Leander Jones was a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants...

, a 19th-century player. However, modern research indicates that Jones's actual games pitched total may have been closer to 150, in which case Bean would have already held the record for some time. The next-highest total behind Bean and Jones is George McQuillan

George McQuillan

George Watt McQuillan , born in Brooklyn, New York, was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies , Cincinnati Reds , Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians ....

, currently credited with 204.

Bean elected to become a six-year minor league free agent after the 2007 season. He signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 organization on February 8, 2008, but after being released by the Braves, signed with Olmecas de Tabasco. On May 8, he signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

 and became a free agent at the end of the season.

External links

• Free Colter Bean - Website devoted to bringing Colter to the majors.^{[dead link]}