Rod Boxberger
{{Short description|American baseball pitcher}}
{{Infobox MLB player
|name=Rod Boxberger
|image=1981 Nashville Rod Boxberger.jpg
|caption=Boxberger with the Nashville Sounds in 1981
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1957|8|22}}
|birth_place=Santa Ana, California, U.S.
|death_date=
|death_place=
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|position=Pitcher
|highlights=
}}
Rodney Warren Boxberger (born August 22, 1957) is a former baseball pitcher. He won the 1978 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a junior at the University of Southern California (USC).
Professional career
Boxberger was drafted twice by two different major league teams. In the 1975 amateur draft, he was taken in the second round by the New York Mets. In 1978, he was taken in the first round, 11th overall, by the Houston Astros. He played six years professionally, never reaching the big leagues.
His first professional season was 1978. He split the season between the Daytona Beach Astros and Columbus Astros. He went 1–2 with a 1.20 ERA in three games with Daytona Beach and 5–5 with a 4.18 ERA in 11 games with Columbus. In 1979, Boxberger played with the Columbus Astros again, going 6–7 with a 4.80 ERA in 21 games. For the third year in a row, Boxberger played with Columbus again in 1980, and for the third year in a row his stats dropped. He went 4–13 with a 5.62 ERA in 23 games in 1980.
He wound up in the New York Yankees organization in 1981, playing for the Double-A Nashville Sounds. He went 4–9 with a 4.54 ERA in 23 games that year. Boxberger played the final two years of his professional career in the California Angels organization. In 1982, he played for the Holyoke Millers, going 5–9 with a 3.78 ERA. He played for the Nashua Angels in 1983, going 5–10 with a 5.43 ERA.
Overall, Boxberger has a career record of 30–55 with a 4.67 ERA in 134 minor league games. He walked 504 batters and struck out 389 in 702 innings.
Personal
Boxberger graduated from Foothill High School in Santa Ana, California.{{Cite web |title=Rod Boxberger Minor Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=boxber001rod |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}} His son, Brad Boxberger, was a reliever in Major League Baseball.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{baseballstats|brm=boxber001rod}}
{{1978 USC Trojans baseball}}
{{CWSMOP}}
{{1978 MLB Draft}}
{{Houston Astros first-round draft picks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxberger, Rod}}
Category:USC Trojans baseball players
Category:Daytona Beach Astros players
Category:Columbus Astros players
Category:Nashville Sounds players
Category:Holyoke Millers players
Category:Nashua Angels players
Category:College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners