Doug Creek, a former pitcher who played 279 games for seven different teams over a ten-year stint in Major League Baseball, has sadly passed away at the age of 55.
During his career from 1995 to 2005, Creek represented the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays.
As reported by the Journal-News of Martinsburg, W.V., Creek’s passing on Sunday was due to complications from pancreatic cancer.
A true athlete, Creek was a standout at Martinsburg High School in West Virginia, where he earned the title of state baseball player of the year in 1987 from the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
He continued to shine at Georgia Tech, where he set a school record by starting 70 games between 1988 and 1991—an achievement that still stands today. Creek also boasts impressive career records at Martinsburg with 41 wins and 458 strikeouts.
In 1991, his talent caught the attention of the St. Louis Cardinals, who selected him in the seventh round of the draft. Creek quickly made a name for himself, taking only three seasons in the minor leagues to earn a spot in the majors. He made his MLB debut on September 17, 1995, against the Los Angeles Dodgers and delivered six scoreless outings that season for the Cardinals.
In December of that same year, Creek was traded to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for shortstop Royce Clayton as part of a deal that included fellow pitchers Rich DeLucia and Allen Watson. His first season in San Francisco saw him make 63 relief appearances, finishing with a 6.52 ERA over 48.1 innings. Unfortunately, that off-season saw the Giants’ general manager who brought him on board, Bob Quinn, lose his job.
The following year, Creek primarily pitched as a starting player for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, managing just three starts in the majors. In November 1997, he was subsequently traded to the Chicago White Sox, but never actually took the mound for them.
Instead, Creek spent the 1998 season in Japan with the Hanshin Tigers, where he had a challenging time, ending up with a 0-4 record over seven games. He returned to North America in 1999 and had a solid year with the Chicago Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, posting a 7-3 record with a 3.79 ERA while appearing in just three games at the big league level—all as a reliever.
From 2000 to 2002, Creek played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, where he enjoyed his greatest success in the majors, going 5-9 with a 4.87 ERA in 130 games.
Over the next few years, from 2002-2005, he moved between four teams before retiring after the 2005 season while with the Detroit Tigers.
After stepping away from baseball, Creek took on a new adventure as a charter boat captain, working out of Tampa Bay, Florida. He also made a name for himself as a competitive angler on the Redfish Circuit. On top of that, he became a well-respected youth baseball coach, sharing his knowledge at the high school level in Maryland.