Andy Ashby was a professional baseball player who played as a pitcher for several teams during his career. He was born on July 11, 1967, in Kansas City, Missouri, and attended Park Hill High School in Kansas City. Ashby was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 22nd round of the 1986 Major League Baseball draft.
Ashby made his Major League debut with the Phillies in 1991 and played for them until 1995. During his time with the Phillies, he had a record of 28-22 with an ERA of 3.34. In 1995, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies, where he played for two seasons. He had a record of 17-18 with an ERA of 5.08 during his time with the Rockies.
In 1998, Ashby was traded to the San Diego Padres, where he had the most successful years of his career. He played for the Padres from 1998 to 2003 and had a record of 70-56 with an ERA of 3.34. He was named to the National League All-Star team in 1998 and 1999 and finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 1998.
In 2000, Ashby helped lead the Padres to the National League West division title. He had a record of 15-10 with an ERA of 3.34 and pitched a complete game shutout in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Padres would go on to win the series and advance to the National League Championship Series, where they would lose to the New York Mets.
Ashby was traded to the Atlanta Braves in 2003 and played for them for one season. He had a record of 5-8 with an ERA of 5.68 during his time with the Braves. He finished his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004, where he had a record of 3-8 with an ERA of 5.68.
Overall, Ashby had a career record of 98-110 with an ERA of 4.12. He had 1,065 strikeouts and 522 walks in 1,685 innings pitched. Ashby was known for his control on the mound, as he had a career walk rate of 2.8 per nine innings pitched.
After retiring from baseball, Ashby became a high school baseball coach in Kansas City. He also worked as a color commentator for the San Diego Padres from 2007 to 2016. Ashby was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
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