Patrick John Neshek is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball . He previously played for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros, and Colorado Rockies. The Twins selected him in the sixth round of the 2002 MLB draft from Butler University. Neshek made his MLB debut for the Twins on July 7, 2006, and played for them until 2010, except 2009, which he missed due to Tommy John surgery.
Probably best known for an unorthodox pitching delivery, Neshek's arm motion slots about side-armed with an explosive release point, which developed after a baseball struck his forearm in high school. Right-handed batters have difficulty tracking the path of his pitches, resulting in a .181 batting average, .257 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging percentage against Neshek in 555 career plate appearances through 2013. He was selected to his first All-Star Game in 2014.
"Pat Neshek: Willing to take the heat for his vegan diet" https://web.archive.org/web/20090521074430/http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/44920792.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ, interview with StarTribune.com (May 17, 2009).
