Childhood & Early Life
Corey Scott Kluber was born on April 10, 1986, in Birmingham, Alabama to Jim and Ellen Kluber, and grew up in Coppell, Texas and later in DeLand, Florida. He played baseball at Coppell High School and was included in the 2003 South Top Prospect Showcase by the Perfect Game USA website.
Despite being praised for his pitching ability, he was not picked up by any team in the 2004 MLB Draft, probably because he had fractured his right elbow. He was overused by his high school coach Don English and the stress fracture required two screws to be inserted during a major surgery.
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Amateur Career
Corey Kluber was recruited by Stetson University coaches after his performance drew their attention at the World Wood Bat Championships in Jupiter, Florida, where they went to scout another player. He registered 2–2 win–loss and an unimpressive 7.82 ERA from 20 appearances in his freshman year, but started in 14 of his 17 sophomore year appearances, compiling 6-5 win-loss with a 3.61 ERA.
His junior year was his last year with the Stetson Hatters, during which he registered a 12–2 win–loss record and a 2.05 ERA with 117 strikeouts. In 2007, he was named the Atlantic Sun Conference's 'Pitcher of the Year' and was selected as member of the 'Ping! Baseball All-American Second Team' and the 'American Baseball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region Second Team'.
Professional Career
Corey Kluber was selected by the San Diego Padres in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB draft. The following year, he was traded to the Fort Wayne Wizards of the Class A Midwest League, and was named the 'Midwest League Pitcher of the Week' on August 25.
He was assigned to Lake Elsinore Storm of the Class A-Advanced California League in 2009 and was named the 'California League Pitcher of the Week' in June, earning promotion to the San Antonio Missions. Playing in the Class AA Texas League, he recorded 11-13 with 4.55 ERA in 2009 and 6–6 with 3.45 ERA in 2010, and was named 'Texas League Pitcher of the Week' in July 2010.
Kluber, who was not ranked among the Top 30 prospects by Padres at the time, was traded to the Cleveland Indians on July 31, 2010 in a three-team trade involving the St. Louis Cardinals. For the rest of the season, he was assigned to the Akron Aeros of the Class AA Eastern League, and was added to their 40-man roster after going through the Winter Development Program.
With a 7–11 win-loss record playing for the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League, he was called back for his major league debut with the Indians on September 1, 2011. In August 2012, he was brought in to the Indians' rotation as a replacement for starting pitcher Josh Tomlin.
Starting with Columbus in 2013, he replaced injured Brett Myers and registered eight shutout innings in Indians' 2–0 victory over the Washington Nationals on June 16, jointly winning the 'Player of the Week Award'. The following week, he matched Randy Johnson's 2004 record of striking out 14 batters in consecutive starts, and finished the season with an 11–5 win–loss ratio and a 3.85 ERA.
In September 2014, he recorded 5−1 win-loss with 2.09 ERA and 56 strikeouts, including two consecutive 14 strikeout games, and earned the 'Pitcher of the Month' honor. With an 18–9 win–-oss record and a 2.44 ERA, he won a close vote to earn the prestigious 'AL Cy Young Award' that season.
Kluber, who signed a guaranteed five-year extension with the Indians in April 2015, registered his first win of the season with a career-high 18 strikeouts against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 13, 2015. He ended the season with a 3.49 ERA and 245 strikeouts from 222 innings, but registered only nine wins against league-leading 16 losses due to poor run support.
In 2016, he made to the American League All-Star team for the first time with an 18–9 record, 3.14 ERA, 227 strikeouts and top ERA+ score of 149, and became the winning pitcher in the All-Star Game. He narrowly missed matching a record three wins in a World Series and was voted 1) for the Cy Young Award, along with Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello. He was also named the 'AL Sporting News Starting Pitcher of the Year'.
Despite a slow start due to injury, he won the 'Pitcher of the Month' award in June 2017, followed by two more in August and September, and helped Cleveland set a record 22-game win streak. He was selected for the AL team in the 2017 All-Star Game, but decided not to play, and at the end of the season, won his second 'Cy Young Award'.
He was selected, but did not pitch, in the third All-Star Game of his career in July 2018, and registered a career-high 20th win of the season against the Chicago White Sox in September. He only had seven starts during the 2019 season as he fractured his right forearm while playing against the Miami Marlins on May 1, 2019.
He began participating in minor league rehab assignments for the Columbus Clippers and the Akron RubberDucks starting in August 2019, but fell short of his usual form and further experienced abdominal tightness. While the Cleveland Indians had exercised their $17.5 million club option for Kluber in October 2019, he was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Delino DeShields Jr. and Emmanuel Clase in December.
Family & Personal Life
Corey Kluber first met his future wife, Amanda, while he was attending the Stetson University, and they got married in 2010. The couple has three children named Kendall, Kennedy, and Camden.
Kluber, who lives in Winchester, Massachusetts during off-seasons, often spends his spare time playing golf with his father, a Cleveland native. He was inducted into the Stetson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Atlantic Sun Conference Hall of Fame in 2015.
