Erik Bedard

This article is about the baseball player. For the speed skater, see Eric Bedard.

{{Template:Infobox MLB player|bgcolor1=#000000|bgcolor2=#F87217|textcolor1=white|textcolor2=white|name=Erik Bedard|position=Starting Pitcher|team=Baltimore Orioles|number=45|bats=Left|throws=Left|debutdate=April 17|debutyear=2002|debutteam=Baltimore Orioles|statyear=July 30, 2006|stat1label=Record|stat1value=24-24|stat2label=ERA|stat2value=4.17|stat3label=Strikeouts|stat3value=357|Erik Joseph Bedard (born March 6, 1979 in the Ottawa, Ontario suburb of Navan, Ontario, Canada) is a Major League Baseball pitcher.

A Franco-Ontarian, Bedard went to Norwalk Community College in Norwalk, Connecticut.

A left-handed starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Bedard is entering his third season with the Major League ballclub. After posting dominating numbers when he was at the Double A level, he quickly gained recognition as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. However, an elbow ligament injury forced him to the operating table, and set his development back 18 months. After spending most of 2003 in rehab, he received an invitation to the big-league spring training camp the next year. He made the most of his opportunity, beating out other pitchers such as Rodrigo López for the fourth spot in the starting rotation. In 2004 he posted a 4.59 ERA in 137 1/3 innings of work. His strikeout numbers were 7.93 K/9, and he had 71 BB allowed. Bedard was criticized for having a high pitch count (19.5 pitches/inning), forcing him to frequently make early exits from ballgames, and he was criticized for lacking a third type of pitch.

Under the tutelage of pitching coach Ray Miller, who rejoined the Orioles in the middle of the 2004 season, Bedard refined his control of the change-up (his third pitch) to go along with his 91-93 mph fastball and slurve. In the beginning of 2005 he posted a 2.08 ERA, but after a sprained knee sidelined him for two months, he posted a 5.44 ERA.