He’s Jamie Westbrook and he’s from Holyoke! It’s increasingly rare to find big leaguers from New England, but Westbrook is actually the 20th player from Holyoke in Major League history. Amongst Massachusetts cities and towns, the Paper City trails only Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge and Fall River in its profligacy in producing ballplayers. Of course, Boston, Worcester, Cambridge, and Springfield are the four biggest cities in the Commonwealth, but Fall River is only the tenth biggest city, and Holyoke is all the way down at 44, so it’s punching way above its weight. Take that, Westfield!
It must be noted, though, that Westbrook (1) grew up a Yankees fan, and (2) moved to Arizona when he was 10 years old.