The Yard and the Number

Centennial

Kevin Gausman grew up the youngest of three in Centennial, Colorado, long-tossing with his father Clair until dark. In the yard, Clair would catch him and call strikes as balls to build mental toughness. Young Kevin would storm inside, crying to his mother Jo about the unfair calls.

His father worked as a high school and college football referee. His mother was a nurse. On May 11, 2026, in his fifth season with the Toronto Blue Jays, Gausman recorded his 2,000th career strikeout. He was 35 years old, in his 14th major league season.

The Route

The Baltimore Orioles took him fourth overall in the 2012 draft out of Louisiana State — two years after the Dodgers had drafted him in the sixth round out of Grandview High School and he'd turned them down. Baltimore kept him for six years. Then Atlanta, then a stretch in Cincinnati, then San Francisco, where he made his first All-Star team in 2021.

In late 2021, a free agent, Gausman and his wife Taylor — they married in December 2016 and have two daughters, Sadie and Sutton — were at a wellness resort, debating offers from the Mets and the Blue Jays. He kept checking his phone against the rules. They nearly committed to New York and called family to announce it. After their flight landed, he saw missed calls from his agent and pivoted to Toronto on a five-year deal.

In Toronto he wore number 34 for Roy Halladay, a fellow Coloradan and his childhood idol. He bought a house in midtown, drove to the ballpark every day, and waved at fans who recognized him. Blue Jays manager John Schneider called him remarkably consistent, professional, low maintenance — one of the organization's best free-agent signings. He made a second All-Star team in 2023.

Still Throwing

He is with the Chicago Cubs now, in the year he crossed the number. He has started 347 major league games and struck out 2,092 hitters across six franchises and fourteen seasons.

Reporting: The Athletic, MLB.com, KNBR / The Sports Leader, Wikipedia, Baseball-Reference. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.