Mike Fiers

1.1. Birth and Upbringing

Michael Bruce Fiers was born on June 15, 1985, in Hollywood, Florida. He attended Deerfield Beach High School in Deerfield Beach, Florida, graduating in 2003.

1.2. College Baseball Career

Fiers began his college baseball career at Broward College, playing for the Broward Seahawks in 2004. In 2007, he transferred to the University of the Cumberlands, where he posted a 7-2 win-loss record and a 3.68 earned run average (ERA) in 10 games for the Cumberland Patriots.

A significant incident occurred in January 2008 when Fiers fell asleep while driving on the Florida Turnpike, crashing into a guard rail and being ejected through the windshield. He sustained four broken vertebrae in the accident. After his recovery, Fiers transferred to Nova Southeastern University. Pitching for the Nova Southeastern Sharks in 2009, he achieved a 10-3 record with a 2.65 ERA and recorded 145 strikeouts in 108 and two-thirds innings pitched. His 145 strikeouts led all of college baseball that year and set a new school record for the Sharks.

2.1. Draft and Minor Leagues

The Milwaukee Brewers selected Fiers in the 22nd round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, as the 676th overall pick. He began his professional career in 2009, playing for the Rookie league Helena Brewers, Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, and Class A-Advanced Brevard County Manatees. In 2010, he played for Brevard and the Double-A Huntsville Stars. He started the 2011 season with Huntsville before being promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in late May 2011.

2.2. Milwaukee Brewers

Fiers made his Major League Baseball debut on September 10, 2011, in a game against the Colorado Rockies. He appeared in two major league games that year.

On August 7, 2012, Fiers carried a perfect game into the 7th inning against the Cincinnati Reds. He ultimately pitched eight innings, allowing only one run on three hits, and earned the victory. For the 2012 season, he started 22 games for the Brewers, finishing with a 9-10 record and a 3.74 ERA over 127 and two-thirds innings. The following year, in 2013, he was less effective, making only 3 starts and 8 relief appearances.

In 2014, Fiers split his time between the major leagues and the Triple-A level. On September 11, in a game against the Miami Marlins, Fiers hit Giancarlo Stanton in the face with an 88 mph fastball, an incident that led to Stanton's hospitalization and ended his season. With his very next pitch, Fiers hit Reed Johnson, who was pinch-hitting to complete Stanton's plate appearance, on the hand while attempting to pitch inside. Both pitches were called strikes because the batters were in the act of swinging. This led to a bench-clearing shouting match after Miami third baseman Casey McGehee began yelling at the umpire, and Fiers, believing McGehee was yelling at him, tried to explain it was unintentional. Fiers later apologized to Stanton and was fined an undisclosed amount by MLB on September 12 for causing the benches to clear. He concluded the 2014 season with a 6-5 record and an impressive 2.13 ERA, striking out 76 batters in 71 and two-thirds innings across 14 games (10 starts).

On May 7, 2015, Fiers achieved an Immaculate inning, becoming the 73rd pitcher in MLB history to do so. He struck out Enrique Hernandez, Carlos Frias, and Joc Pederson on 9 consecutive pitches in the fourth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 21 starts for the Brewers in 2015, Fiers had a 5-9 record with a 3.89 ERA, striking out 121 batters in 118 innings.

2.3. Houston Astros

On July 30, 2015, the Brewers traded Fiers and Carlos Gómez to the Houston Astros in exchange for Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana, Josh Hader, and Adrian Houser.

Just 22 days after joining the Astros, on August 21, Fiers pitched a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park. This was the 11th no-hitter in Astros history and the first thrown by any team at Minute Maid Park. It also marked his first career complete game in the major leagues. He finished the game having thrown a career-high 134 pitches, striking out 10 batters and walking three. For the remainder of the 2015 season with Houston, he compiled a 2-1 record. Overall for 2015, combining his time with the Brewers and Astros, Fiers made 31 appearances (30 starts), with a total record of 7 wins and 10 losses, and a 3.69 ERA.

In the 2016 season, Fiers established a career high with 11 wins, finishing with an 11-8 record. However, he also led the major leagues in wild pitches, with 17. His ERA increased to 4.48, and he recorded 134 strikeouts.

On September 14, 2017, Fiers received a five-game suspension for throwing a pitch aimed at the head of Luis Valbuena. He made 29 appearances (28 starts) in 2017, concluding the year with an 8-10 record and a 5.22 ERA. Although he did not participate in the playoffs, Fiers was on the 40-man roster when the Astros finished the 2017 season with a 101-61 record, clinching the American League West pennant, and subsequently won the 2017 World Series, earning Fiers his first career championship ring.

2.4. Detroit Tigers

On December 8, 2017, Fiers signed a one-year contract worth 6.00 M USD with the Detroit Tigers. He began the 2018 season in extended spring training due to a back injury and was not on the Tigers' Opening Day roster. He joined the team on April 8 and secured a win in his Tigers debut, pitching six scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox. On April 21, Fiers became only the second Tigers player since the 1908 season (and the first since Dan Petry in 1984) to allow 10 or more hits in fewer than six innings, strike out no batters, and still earn a victory. Before being traded, Fiers compiled a 7-6 record with a 3.48 ERA in 21 starts for the 2018 Tigers.

2.5. Oakland Athletics

On August 6, 2018, Fiers was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for two players to be named later or cash considerations. Minor league pitcher Nolan Blackwood was later identified as one of the players on August 18, and Logan Shore was traded to the Tigers on September 19 to complete the trade. On August 14, Fiers earned his first win with the Athletics, surrendering two runs and striking out five over six innings against the Seattle Mariners.

For the 2018 season, combining his statistics from both the Tigers and the Athletics, Fiers finished with a 12-8 record and a 3.56 ERA. He also recorded the lowest line drive percentage allowed (17.3%) among all major league pitchers.

On November 30, 2018, the Athletics non-tendered Fiers, making him a free agent. However, he re-signed with the Athletics on a two-year contract on December 24.

In the 2019 season, Fiers made his first career Opening Day start on March 20 in the Japan Opening Series against the Seattle Mariners at Tokyo Dome. On May 7, 2019, Fiers threw his second career no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, striking out six and walking two. This achievement was historically significant as it marked the 300th no-hitter in MLB history. However, on September 9, 2019, facing his former team, the Houston Astros, Fiers allowed career-highs of nine runs and five home runs in just over one inning, as the Astros set a record by hitting six home runs within the first two innings of the game. Fiers concluded the 2019 season with a 15-4 record and a 3.90 ERA in 33 starts, striking out 126 batters in 184 and two-thirds innings. In 2020, he led the team in wins with 6. Curiously, despite pitching in the Wild Card Series, he was the only player on the roster who did not pitch at any point during the ALDS against the Astros, who ultimately defeated the Athletics in four games.

On February 6, 2021, Fiers re-signed with the Athletics on a one-year contract worth 3.50 M USD. He began the 2021 season on the injured list and was activated in late April. However, after only two starts, he was placed back on the injured list on May 9. On May 21, Fiers was transferred to the 60-day injured list due to a sprained right elbow. He returned to play in September with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators but did not make another major league appearance that season. He became a free agent on November 3, 2021.

3.1. No-hitters

Fiers is one of only 36 pitchers in Major League Baseball history to have thrown multiple no-hitters.

• August 21, 2015, vs. Los Angeles Dodgers**: In his third start for the Houston Astros, Fiers pitched his first career no-hitter at Minute Maid Park. This was the 11th no-hitter in Astros franchise history and the first ever thrown by any team at Minute Maid Park. He threw a career-high 134 pitches, striking out 10 batters and walking three, in what was also his first complete game in the major leagues.
• May 7, 2019, vs. Cincinnati Reds**: Fiers threw his second career no-hitter at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum while pitching for the Oakland Athletics. He struck out six batters and walked two. This no-hitter held particular historical significance as it was the 300th no-hitter in MLB history.

3.2. Other Notable Achievements

On May 7, 2015, while pitching for the Milwaukee Brewers, Fiers became the 73rd pitcher in MLB history to record an Immaculate inning. In the fourth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he struck out Enrique Hernandez, Carlos Frias, and Joc Pederson on nine consecutive pitches.

6.1. Mexican League

On March 24, 2022, Fiers signed with the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League for the 2022 season. During his time with the team, he demonstrated strong performance. When his contract was purchased by a Taiwanese team, he had the league's second-lowest ERA at 2.84 and the fourth-lowest WHIP at 1.20.

6.2. Taiwanese League

On June 29, 2022, Fiers' contract was purchased by the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (Taiwan). However, his time with the team was brief. On August 10, Fiers was released and his contract was terminated after he failed his physical examination. As a result, he did not make any official game appearances in the Taiwanese league.