Minor leagues Erickson began his professional career after being selected in the major league draft four times. He was drafted by the
New York Mets in 1986 out of Homestead High School; the
Houston Astros in 1987 and
Toronto Blue Jays in 1988 out of San Jose City College; and in he was drafted by the
Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the
amateur draft out of the University of Arizona. He finally signed his first pro contract with Minnesota. After 27 minor league starts, Erickson rose to the major leagues in his second season of professional baseball with the Class AA
Orlando Sun Rays. He was on a five-game win streak with a record of 8–3 in the first half as an All Star in the
Southern League.
Major leagues Minnesota Twins Erickson finished 1990 with a combined record of 16–7 between Double-A and the majors; he went 5–0 in September and tied
Dave Stewart for
American League Pitcher of the Month. In , Erickson posted a record of 12–2 with a 1.39 ERA in the first half season and was awarded the American League Pitcher of the Month for May and June. The Twins went on to win the
World Series, and Erickson finished second to
Roger Clemens for the American League
Cy Young Award and received votes for the American League
Most Valuable Player Award. The following season, Erickson started 32 games, going 13–12 with 5 complete games. He regressed the following year, however, leading the majors with 19 losses. On April 27, 1994, Erickson
no-hit the
Milwaukee Brewers 6–0 at the
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the first no-hitter ever pitched in that stadium. He became the third Twins pitcher, after
Jack Kralick in 1962 and
Dean Chance in 1967, to pitch a no-hitter; the former's had been the last no-hitter in a Twins home game, that game having taken place at the Metrodome's predecessor,
Metropolitan Stadium.
Baltimore Orioles In , he started with a 4-6 record and 5.95 ERA with the
Twins. His last start with the team was a 6–3
away win over the
Baltimore Orioles on 4 July in which he and
Scott Klingenbeck were the pitchers of record, three days before they were traded for each other on 7 July in a
fire sale transaction which was completed two months later on 19 September when
Kimera Bartee was sent to Minnesota. More effective after the trade, Erickson turned in 9 wins in 16 starts for Baltimore. Between both teams, he finished 13–10 with 7 complete games. In 1996, Erickson won 13 games for the second straight year, with 6 complete games and 100 strikeouts for the 6th straight year. In 1997, Erickson turned in his best season since 1992, winning 16 games with a 3.69 ERA in 33 starts. He later signed a five-year, $32 million contract with Baltimore through . In 1998, Erickson once again won 16 games for the Orioles, while leading the league in complete games (11) and innings pitched (251.1). In 1999, Erickson went 15–12 with a 4.81 ERA while leading the league in shutouts (3). He also led the majors in ground balls induced with 454. On March 3, 2000, Erickson had bone chips removed from his elbow, and was out of action eight weeks. Erickson made 16 starts for the Orioles in 2000. He was hampered by the nagging elbow issue and visited the
disabled list twice, the second one being a season ending elbow injury. After over 2000 innings pitched, the elbow injury caused him to miss the entire 2001 season. Erickson returned in 2002, becoming the first pitcher to start
Opening Day after missing an entire season. That season, he made 28 starts, pitching 160.2 innings. In 2003, Erickson suffered a torn
labrum and missed the entire 2003 season.
Later career In 2004, Erickson signed a minor league deal with the
New York Mets. Set back by injury, he made his Mets' debut in July, then was traded to the
Texas Rangers at the July 31 deadline. He was in the starting rotation for the
Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005. Erickson signed a deal with the
New York Yankees on February 16, 2006. He was released by the Yankees on June 19, and officially retired from baseball at the beginning of the season.
Pitching profile Erickson was a groundball pitcher. He led the league five times in most double plays in a season and is in the Top 5 in Major League history for groundball to flyout ratio. ==Post-playing career==