Derek was born 6/1/73 in Dearborn, MI. He graduated from Edsel Ford HS, in Dearborn in 1991. He was All-League selection is basketball, baseball, soccer and golf, and was All-State selection in basketball in HS.
He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 8th round of the June 1991 draft. Derek has participated in many on the Sox Talks with area youths over the last 3 years. He is also the Official Spokesman for the Mass Teachers Association Literacy Day. He supports the Junior Achievement Program which is an education program to help children understand the value of free enterprise, business and economics. He was on hand for the check presentation to Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) by the Touch'em All Foundation.

1997 - Seattle/Boston
Derek began the season  with Triple-A Tacoma in PCL. He had a 2.13 ERA and went 1-1 in 4 games he started, he pitched 25.1 innings, giving up 19 hits, 8 runs, 6 were earned runs, he walked 8 batters and struck out 25. He was recalled to Seattle on April 25, 1997. In his Major League debut he lost 4-3 in a relief appearance on April 26, 1997 in Toronto. He pitched 3.1 innings, giving up 4 hits and 1 run, he struck out 2. On May 3, 1997 he made another relief appearance he pitched 2.1 innings, giving up 3 hits, 4 runs, 2 were earned runs, he walked 2 batters and struck out one. On May 5, 1997 he was optioned to back to Tacoma, he made 4 appearances in Tacoma, 3 were starts. He was 2-2, with a 4.20 ERA. He was recalled to Seattle May 27, 1997. He made his first Major League start in Minnesota that night. It was a no decision game for Lowe. He pitched 5 innings, giving up 6 hits, 4 runs, walked 2 batters and struck out 6. On June 6, 1997 he had his first Major League win in Detroit. Seattle won 6-3, Lowe went 5.1 innings giving up 5 hits and 3 runs. He walked 1 batter and struck out 2. Once again he was optioned to Tacoma on July 21, 1997. Overall for Seattle he pitched in 12 games, starting 9 of them. He was 2-4, with a 6.96 ERA. He was 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA in 2 games started with Tacoma. He pitched 11 innings, giving up 16 hits, 8 runs, 7 were earned he walked 4 and struck out 5, before he was Traded to Boston along with catcher Jason Varitek for RHP Heathcliff Slocumb. He was optioned to Pawtucket on August 4, 1997 were he went 4-0 with a 2.37 ERA in the 6 games he pitched he started 5 overall with Pawtucket. He went 30.1 innings, giving up 23 hits, and 8 runs. He walked 11 and struck out 21. On September 1, 1997 he was recalled to Boston from Pawtucket. He made his debut with the Red Sox that night in Montreal. He pitched 2.1 innings of relief. He gave 1 hit, 1 run, walked 1 batter and struck out 2. He went 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 8 games with the Red Sox. He pitched 16 innings, giving up 15 hits, 6 runs, 2 walks and 13 strike outs. Overall with Seattle and Boston he was 2-3 with a 7.89 ERA in 9 starts. He pitched 43.1 innings, giving up 49 hits, 38 runs, 18 walks and striking out 34. He was 0-3 with a 3.16 ERA in 11 relief appearances. He pitched 25.2 innings, giving up 25 hits, 11 runs, 9 were earned, he walked 5 and struck out18. He held right handed hitters to .208, 27-130, and he allowed them only 3 home runs.

1999 - Boston
Derek had a career high 15 saves for Boston. He tied Tim Wakefield for the team high. He had 74 appearances, 32 games finished, 109.1 innings pitched and 80 strike outs, to lead the bullpen. Right handed batters only hit .189 and left handed batters hit .235 against Lowe. On May 28, 1999 in a win for Wakefield Derek pitched 4 hitless and scoreless innings. He struck out 3 batters, walking 0. This relief came in a 12-5 win for Wakefield in Cleveland. Those 4 innings were the most he had pitched since September 5, 1997 against Milwaukee. On July 24, 1999 he pitched another 4 innings. From June 20-August 10 he didn't give up a single walk over 25 innings over 14 games. He pitched 4 combined shut out wins. The first one came April 13, against the Chicago White Sox. The Red Sox won the game 6-0. Lowe pitched 1.1 innings, giving up 1 hit, 1 walk and 1 strike out. The second came on April 20, in Detroit, he was credited with the save when he pitched 0.2 innings, giving up no hits or walks and striking out 2. The third shut out came May 14, in Toronto. The Red Sox won 5-0, Derek pitched 0.1 hitless innings, giving up 1 walk.  The fourth shut out came June 23, in Baltimore. The Red Sox won 5-0, Lowe pitched 2.2 innings, giving up 1 hit, walking 0 batters and striking out 1. In September and October he had a 1-1 record and a 2.21 ERA. He pitched 20.1 innings, 5 runs, walking 4 batters and striking out 14. Derek became to the first Red Sox reliever to pitch 100 innings since Greg Harris pitched 112.1 innings of relief in 1993. He held Cleveland to 1 hit in 30 at bats on April 24, 1999. Batters hit just .033. The only hit came in the 9th inning from Roberto Alomar. After that game Lowe held Cleveland batter to 0-26 during the rest of the regular season. In 4 appearances against Cleveland he went 1-0, had 1 save, and pitched 9.1 innings, he gave up 0 runs and walked 0, he also truck out 7 batters.

2000 - Boston
Derek had his first season of a full-time closer. He had 42 saves in 47 chances. He tied T. Jones of Detroit for the most saves during the 2000 season. He finished second after Jones in the Rolaids Relief Award, they tied with 118 points, but he lost the tie-breaker because he had 5 blown saves and Jones had only 4. His 42 saves is second among Red Sox relievers, T. Gordon has the most with 46 in 1998. He had a 23 consecutive save streak from July 15-the end of the season. It was the third longest save streak of the 2000 series. On April 4, 2000 on Opening Day in Seattle he retired 6 straight batters, striking out 1 for his first save. The Red Sox won 2-0. On April 30, 2000 in Cleveland he had his second save of the season after coming in to pitch relief for Pedro Martinez who was ejected in the start of the 8th for hitting Roberto Alomar with a pitch. he was 1-0 for the month of April with a 1.29 ERA. He pitched 14 innings, giving up 2 runs. On May 16, 2000 he had his first blown save in Toronto. He gave up 3 runs in the 9th. It was the first save he had blown since September 3, 1999. He had 13 consecutive save since the blown save in 1999. Lowe went 1-1, with a 1.80 ERA for the month of May. He had 5 saves in 11 appearances. He pitched 15 innings, giving up 14 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and 13 strike outs. In his next 6 appearances he had 6 consecutive saves. He finished the month of June going 0-2, with a 4.76 ERA. He had 7 saves in 14 games. He was selected to his first All-Star Game, he was the 6th Red Sox reliever since 1980 to be named to the team. He pitched the 6th inning retiring 3 of the 4 batters that he faced. He had 19 saves at the break, that tied him for 5th in the AL. At the break he was 2-3 with a 2.82 ERA. He had 19 saves in 39 games. He had his 5th and last blown save on July 14 against the New York Mets. Mike Piazza had a 2-run home run off Lowe to win the game in the 8th inning. On August 1, he had pitched a season high 3 innings, in a 19 innings loss in Seattle. The Red Sox lost that game 5-4. In that game he gave up 1 hit, walked d2 and struck out 5. On August 21 he tied his season high 3 innings and got his 4th win of the season against Anaheim in a 7-6 win. He finished the month of August at 2-0, with a 1.00 ERA. He had 8 saves in 13 games. From September 11-19, he had his second 6 consecutive save streak of the season. In September he had 11 saves in 15 appearances. He was 0-0, with a 1.72 ERA. He led the AL with 64 games finished. It was the third best for the Red Sox. He was ranked second in the AL for relief innings, he pitched 91.1, he was third in save percentage at 89.4, he had 42 saves in 47 appearances, he was also third in relief ERA at 2.56, he had 26 run, in 91.1 innings. Lowe was also fifth in relief appearances with 74.  In 15 of his 73 appearances he pitched 2 or more innings. In those 15 appearances he was 2-0, with a 1.69 ERA. He pitched 32.0 innings, and gave up 6 runs. 8 of those 15 appearances were saves.

2001 - Boston
Derek lost the season opener in Baltimore, 2-1. He pitched 1 inning giving up 2 hits, and 1 run. On April 5, he had a 1-2-3 10th inning followed by a double and RBI single in the 11th. On April 5 he lost 2-1 again in Baltimore. He gave up a bases loaded, 2 out walk. It was his second loss in 3 games. During that game he pitched 0.2 innings, giving up 1 run. Then on April 8, he had his first save of the season in Tampa Bay. It took place in a 3-0 shutout by Lowe and Pedro Martinez. Lowe pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit and striking out 1. On April 13, he had his first win in relief against the New York Yankees. It was his first win since August 21, 2000. He pitched 1 inning, giving up 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 1 strike out. On April 22, also against the Yankees, he had his first blown save. This blow ended his streak of 25 consecutive saves, it was the longest in Major League Baseball. It was his first blow since July 14, 2000. In April he was 1-4, with a 6.75 ERA, he had 3 saves, 2 blown saves in 9 games. He pitched 13.1 innings, giving up 20 hits, 10 runs, 6 walks and 9 strike outs. In 13 appearances he allowed just 1 earned run, from May 8-June 5. He went 2-0, with a 0.50 ERA, during that time he had 3 saves. He pitched 18 innings, giving up 14 hits, and 15 strike outs. During May he went 1-1, with a 2.81 ERA, he had 2 saves in 12 games. He pitched 16 innings, giving up 5 runs and 13 strike outs. On June 12, he had a save that moved him to fifth on the Red Sox all-time save list with 70. He had 8 consecutive saves in 8 appearances spanning from June 8-26. It was the best streak of his career, and it was also the best by a Red Sox reliever since T. Gordon had 10 in 10 appearances. Lowe went 1-1, with a 2.55 ERA in June. He pitched in 13 games and had 9 saves. He pitched 17.2 innings, giving up 5 runs and striking out 13. Those 9 saves were the most in a month since he had 11 in September of 2000. They were the second most in a month for AL, and third in all of Major League baseball. From April 29-July 13, a total of 19 games, he didn't allow a home run. On July 19, he got both the loss and blown save. It was his first blown save since April 29 against Kansas City. That was a total of 34 games, and 42.2 innings. He had the 3-1 lead, with 2 outs in the 9th, with no men on. He hit T. Fernandez and allowed 3 straight hits for the loss. He was 1-2 for the month of July with an ERA of 5.27. He had 7 saves in 14 games. He pitched 13.2 innings, and gave up 8 runs. During his first 12 appearances in August he allowed just 2 earned runs. During that time he pitched 12.1 innings, and had a 1.74 ERA. On August 30, against the New York Yankees, he had his third blown save of August, it was his tenth loss and a career high. For August he was 0-2, with a 2.18 ERA, with 3 saves in 13 games. He pitched 11.1 innings, gave up 4 runs and 14 strike outs. On September 22, he entered the starting rotation in a game against Detroit. It was a 4-3 loss for the Red Sox and a no decision for Lowe. He pitched 5 innings, gave up 3 hits, 0 run, 0 walks and 5 strike outs. It was his first Major League start since June 28, 1999 at Florida. He was the first pitcher in the 2001 season to have 20 or more saves before making a start. He was also the first ML pitcher to do it since M. Marshall of Minnesota did it in 1979. He had his next start September 27, and it was another no decision against Baltimore. He pitched 5 innings, gave up 4 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strike outs. Both games the Red Sox had a 2-0 lead after 5 innings. On October 3, he got a 10-3 win over Tampa Bay. He pitched 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs and 5 strike outs. It was his first career starter win for the Red Sox and his first win as a start since June 23, 1997 with Seattle. This win ended a 15 game winless streak as a starter. He was 1-0, with a 1.13 ERA, in 3 games he started. He pitched 16 innings, giving up 12 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks and 5 strike outs. He pitched 16 scoreless innings, before he allowed 2 runs on October 3, in the seventh inning. He finished the 2001 season ranked tenth in AL save percentage .800, he had 24 saves in 30 appearances. He was tied for first in the AL relievers in relief losses at 10. He was 4-10, with a 4.04 ERA. He had 24 saves in 64 games as a reliever, during those games he pitched 75.2 innings. He was fifth on the Red Sox with 85 saves he needs 3 more to tie J. Reardon for fourth place on the Red Sox all-time save list.

2002 - Boston
In his first season as a Red Sox starter Derek was able to break away from the reputation he had received as a closer, he no longer had to wait until all the fans had left Fenway Park to go home so they wouldn't yell things at him and spit on his car or pound it as he exited the player's parking lot at Fenway. He was once again in the good graces of the Red Sox fans. It all seems a little far fetched but it happened in 2001, he also received hate mail and death threats. But he put that all behind him in 2002.

Derek Lowe: Notable achievements and feats in 2002

He is 9-2, 2.33 in his last 13 games started (88.2 IP, 23 ER).

2001 was just an awful season for Derek mentally. He would often wait in the club house until 1:00am, just hoping that the ruthless fans had left. He couldn't take anymore of the fans yelling at him as he drove away or spitting on his car, some would even pound his car with their fists and shake it as he drove out of the player parking lot. He got hate mail of fans sending death and trade wishes, Lowe used to pull out his schedule just hoping that the homestand was coming to an end. On road trip he would wish that he would be sent in to pitch the last inning of the road game, so when he went back to Fenway it might not be so unbearable. It was a low point for Derek, sitting in the clubhouse for 2 hours after each game, just waiting till the last fans had cleared Yawkey Way.

"That was the lowest point. I waited 2 hours just sitting there in the clubhouse. It got so bad last year that I remember days when I would pull out the schedule and pray to God we were coming to the last day of a home stand. Or if we were on the road, I'd always want to get called in to pitch during the last game of a trip before we went back to Fenway, hoping I'd have a good game so they wouldn't get on me so bad. That last day of a trip was always important for me." -Derek Lowe - Sports Illustrates 7/8/02

So the question is why would he want to stay here? Who would want to stay in a place where fans threw posters of him from a Fenway promotion that day onto the field. On Derek Lowe Poster Night, Lowe had a blown save against Seattle and fans threw the posters onto the field to show their disapproval. Last season was hell for Lowe, so why is he still here. All I can say is it is a good thing for Boston fans that he is.

But Derek is still in Boston, now a fan favorite, a big change from last season. But it didn't come easy for him, he had to work to get to where he is this season. Joe Kerrigan, who was the Red Sox manager in 2001, went to Lowe at the end of the season and told him he would be a starter for 2002, and he began a weight training and eating regimen, he would eat 4-5 meals a day. He gained 30lbs bringing him to 230lbs. Lowe has never pitched more than 170 innings in and ML season.

Derek Quotes:

"I was in the gym in October doing squats. I had never done squats in my life. My goal was to show up in spring training ready to start the season throwing all my pitches and being sharp from the first day." -Derek Lowe SI 7/8/02

Random Derek Facts:

~Derek has a son Phillip and a daughter Taylor.

~He was All-Suburban Eight League in baseball, basketball, soccer and golf

~He gave up playing basketball at Eastern Michigan State when the Mariners drafted him

~He began throwing his sinker ball in high school as his natural fast ball

~During the off-season in 2003 Derek had surgery on his nose to remove cancer that he got from the hot Florida sun, where he lives in the off-season. He needed 60 stitches.

Some Derek Favorites:

~Fav Food: Chicken Parm
~Least Fav Food: Avocado
~Fav Boston Restaurant: La Scala
~Fav Restaurant on the Road: Metropolitan Grille - Seattle
~Fav Traditional Holiday Food: Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes 
~Fav Off Season Hobby: Golfing

Derek's Favorite Recipes:*

Triple Chocolate and Vanilla Cheesecake

1 1/2  finely crushed Oreos
1 can condensed milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (1 ounce) squares semi sweet chocolate, melted
3 table spoons butter, melted
4 eggs 
1/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Combine crumbs and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch spring form pan. Beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth. Add eggs, flour and vanilla, mix well. Divide batter in half.  Add chocolate to one half of batter, mix well. Pour vanilla into pan, gently pour chocolate mixture on top and bake for 55 minutes....Cool

Chocolate Glaze:

2 (1 ounce)
1/4 cup whipping cream

In saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with whipping cream. Cook and stir until thick and smooth. Remove from heat; spread over cheesecake. Glaze may be doubled.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup canned evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
raisins (optional)

Boil potatoes until tender, cool, peel and mash. Add milk, flour and baking powder and mix well. Add butter, vanilla and eggs, mix well. Place mixture in a greased baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes at 350, until firm and light brown. Remove from oven, top with marshmallows. Return to oven to melt marshmallows, watch carefully to avoid burning. Raisins may be added.