Sam Dyson

Early life and education

Dyson was born in Tampa, Florida, to Sid and Gwenn Dyson. He attended Tampa Jesuit High School, pitching all four years on the school's baseball team and finishing with a 10-1 record in his senior year. He was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 19th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, but elected to attend college instead.

At the University of South Carolina, he was sidelined with an injury in his freshman year and received a medical redshirt. He posted an 8-0 record with a 4.09 ERA in 2008. At the end of his sophomore year, he was selected in the 10th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, but decided to continue in college. Following his senior year, in which he posted a 6-5 record with a 4.25 ERA, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft.

Minor League career

Dyson did not pitch professionally in 2010 after undergoing labrum repair surgery, and he missed the entire 2011 season recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. In 2+ seasons in the minor leagues, Dyson posted a 2-0 record with 3 saves, a 2.56 ERA, 13 walks, and 24 strikeouts over 52.2 innings.

Toronto Blue Jays

Dyson was called up to the majors on July 5, 2012. He is the first Blue Jays player from the 2010 draft to reach the majors. He made his debut later that day to get the final out in the 7th inning. After walking Billy Butler, Dyson struck out Yuniesky Betancourt. On July 19, Yan Gomes was called up to the Jays, and Dyson was sent back to Double-A New Hampshire after making 2 appearances over 2 weeks. In  ²⁄₃ of an inning, Dyson allowed 3 earned runs and struck out 1. He was designated for assignment on January 22, 2013, to make room on the 40-man roster for Mark DeRosa.

Miami Marlins

On January 30, 2013, Dyson was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins. Dyson was assigned to Double-A Jacksonville to begin 2013. On July 7, Dyson was placed on the disabled list with a lower back strain after a start against Chattanooga. Dyson was elected to participate in the Southern League All-Star game, but didn't play because of the injury. In 16 games (15 starts) before the break, he went 3-7 with a 2.63 ERA, striking out 41 in 75.1 innings. After making one rehab assignment with the GCL Marlins, he was assigned to Triple-A New Orleans, where he made 5 more starts. In the minors in 2013, Dyson went 4-11 with a 2.67 ERA, striking out 62 in 111.1 innings. On August 29, Dyson was recalled by the Marlins, replacing Arquimedes Caminero. He made his Marlins debut that day, pitching 2 innings, while giving up 5 hits and 3 earned runs. After making 2 more relief appearances, Dyson made his first major league start on September 16 against the Phillies, lasting only 2.2 innings, giving up 7 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, striking out 1. In 5 games (1 start) for the Marlins in 2013, Dyson went 0-2, giving up 11 runs in 11 innings while striking out 5 and walking 5.

On May 7, 2014, it was reported that Dyson had been involved in a fight with Chris Hatcher, a teammate with the New Orleans Zephyrs, at a Miami bar on April 27. Dyson's jaw was broken by Hatcher, who was later suspended 5 games by the Zephyrs for conduct detrimental to the team.

Texas Rangers

On July 31, 2015, the Marlins traded Dyson to the Texas Rangers for Tomás Telis and Cody Ege. Dyson would finish his 2015 season with a 3.69 ERA. On October 8, 2015, Dyson made his postseason debut in Game 1 of the ALDS against his former team, the Blue Jays, earning the save. On October 14, 2015, Dyson gave up the go-ahead three run homer to José Bautista in the bottom of the 7th inning of the deciding Game 5, which the Rangers lost, 6-3, thus losing the series in 5 games. In that inning he also got into a couple of altercations with Edwin Encarnación and Troy Tulowitzki, which caused both benches to clear. The altercations were a direct reaction to Bautista's go-ahead home run and events that took place in the top of that inning.

Dyson would take over as the Rangers' full-time closer halfway through the 2016 season, after a lackluster performance from Shawn Tolleson. Dyson was pivotal for Texas, as he finished with 38 saves in 43 opportunities and a 2.43 ERA, 55 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP.

After starting the 2017 season with a 10.80 ERA over 17 appearances, Dyson was designated for assignment on June 2.

San Francisco Giants

On June 6, 2017, the San Francisco Giants announced they had acquired Dyson from the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later. With Mark Melancon heading to the disabled list, Dyson became the new closer.

International career

After the 2016 season, it was announced Dyson would pitch for the United States team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He would help the U.S. win the tournament by pitching six perfect innings.