Craig Breslow

Craig Andrew Breslow (born August 8, 1980) is an American professional baseball left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, and Arizona Diamondbacks.

As a senior at Yale University, where he majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, he led the Ivy League with a 2.56 ERA. He was drafted in the 26th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2002, and debuted in the Major Leagues with the San Diego Padres in 2005.

Through 2013, he held major league batters to a .217 batting average with runners in scoring position (and .204 with two outs and runners in scoring position). While he was long considered a lefty specialist, he has been successful against right-handed hitters as well. Through 2013, lefties hit only .230 against him (while righties hit .222), with a .354 slugging percentage (.331 for righties). He was second in the American League in appearances by a pitcher in both 2009 (77 games) and 2010 (75 games).

Breslow was given the nickname "smartest man in baseball" by Minneapolis Star Tribune Twins beat writer La Velle E. Neal III, and Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Turbow wrote: "Judging by his résumé, Craig Breslow is the smartest man in baseball, if not the entire world." The Sporting News named him the smartest athlete on their top-20 list, in 2010.