Éric Serge Gagné (; born January 7,ÉricGagné 1976) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995, Gagné began his career as a starting pitcher. After he struggled in that role, the Dodgers converted Gagné from a starter to a reliever, where for three years (2002–2004) he was statistically the most outstanding closer in the game, winning the Cy Young Award in 2003. During that period, he set a major league record by converting 84 consecutive save opportunities. The phrase "Game Over" was heavily used by the Dodgers and the media in connection with his appearances to finish close games.
Gagné played sparingly in 2005 and 2006 due to injury, undergoing elbow surgery in 2005 and back surgery in 2006. The Dodgers did not re-sign him after 2006, and Gagné started the 2007 season with the Texas Rangers, where he briefly enjoyed success again as a closer. However, he was less successful in stints with the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers, and was finally released after the 2008 season.
In December 2007, days after signing a contract for 2008 with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was linked to baseball's steroids scandal after he was named in the Mitchell Report.
Early life
Gagné comes from a Québécois family and grew up in the town of Mascouche, near Montreal. As a child, he played baseball and ice hockey at Montreal's Polyvalente Édouard-Montpetit High School, the same high school Russell Martin attended.
His Little League teams were coached by his father, Richard. He eventually became a star with Canada's Junior World Championship teams. He was a fan of the Montreal Expos and Montreal Canadiens throughout his childhood.
College career
Gagné attended Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Oklahoma. At first, Gagné knew very little English; he became proficient in English by watching American TV while in college, mainly the sitcom Kenan and Kel. He eventually became the star pitcher for Seminole's baseball team.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
He was a 30th-round draft choice (845th overall) of the Chicago White Sox in 1994 MLB draft, but the following year he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent. Gagne then pitched in the minor leagues but missed the entire 1997 season due to Tommy John surgery.
Los Angeles Dodgers (1999–2006) He made his MLB debut on September 7, when he started a game for the Dodgers against the Florida Marlins, working six shutout innings and striking out eight. In his first year in MLB, he appeared in only five games as a starting pitcher, with a 1–1 record and 2.10 ERA. Over his first three seasons he won eleven games while losing fourteen in 48 games, 38 of them starts.
At the start of the 2002 season, following the retirement of Dodgers closer Jeff Shaw, he was converted from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher. He picked up his first career save on April 7 against the Colorado Rockies and soon became the National League's leading reliever. He saved 10 consecutive games before he suffered his first blown save on May 7 against the Atlanta Braves. He was elected to his first All-Star Game that year, becoming the second player from Quebec to be named an All-Star (the first being Claude Raymond). In the All-Star Game he served up a two-run homer to Alfonso Soriano in the fifth, allowing the AL to cut the NL lead to 4–2. Overall, he earned 52 saves for the season.
In 2003, as a closer, Gagné was called upon 55 times to save a baseball game and converted every one of them en route to becoming both the first pitcher to record 50 saves in more than one season and also the fastest pitcher to ever reach the 100-save plateau. His 55 saves in 2003 also equalled the National League record set the previous season by John Smoltz. Between August 26, 2002 and July 5, 2004, he converted 84 consecutive save chances, a major league record. More than half (55%) of the batters he retired during the 2003 season came by strikeout.
When Gagné entered a game at Dodger Stadium, usually in the eighth or ninth inning with the Dodgers in the lead, the words "Game Over" would flash across the scoreboard and the PA system would play the song "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.