Lance Robert Cormier (CORE-mee-ay) (born August 19, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Early years Cormier went to Lafayette High School, and graduated in 1998. He attended the University of Alabama, and in his pitching career there, he went 31–16 with a 3.98 ERA and 17 saves. Lance started his career as a closer and recorded a University of Alabama freshman record 11 saves. In 2000, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In his junior year, he switched to being a starting pitcher and went 20-8 in the last two seasons of his college career. A highlight of his college career includes being a first team Academic All-American in his senior year. He graduated in 2002 with a degree in finance. Professional career Initial drafts Twice Cormier was drafted by a major league team, but he did not sign for either. On June 2, , he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 40th round (1,190th overall) of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. On June 5, , he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 10th round (296th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft, but again he did not sign. The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the fourth round (129th overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft on June 4, 2002. Arizona Diamondbacks In 2002, Cormier pitched for the Single-A South Bend Silver Hawks and the Yakima Bears. In 11 games (three starts) with the Silver Hawks, he went 3–0 with 17 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA in 27.2 innings. With the Yakima team, he went 0–0 with three strikeouts and a 27.00 ERA in one inning. His combined statistics for the year was a 3–0 record with 20 strikeouts and a 3.83 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched. Cormier made 15 starts for the Lancaster JetHawks in , going 6–5 with 59 strikeouts and a 3.82 ERA, before being moved up to the Double-A El Paso Diablos. In nine games (eight starts) with the Diablos, Cormier went 2–3 with 26 strikeouts, and a 6.10 ERA. He also earned a promotion to the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders, going 1–1 with a 2.60 ERA and 11 strikeouts in five games