Topic: David Aardsma

David Allan Aardsma (pronounced /ˈɑrdzmə/; born December 27, 1981, in Denver, Colorado), nicknamed "The D.A.", is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. He is the first player alphabetically in the list of all-time Major League Baseball players, having displaced Hank Aaron upon his MLB debut.

Aardsma attended Cherry Creek High School in Colorado, which was also the high school of Major Leaguers Josh Bard, John Burke, Brad Lidge, Darnell McDonald, and Donzell McDonald. He graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 2000.

He attended Penn State in his freshman year of college. He transferred to Rice University in 2001, where he remained for the rest of his college tenure. At Rice, Aardsma became a dominant closer, where he set school single-season and career saves records in 2002-2003. In the 2003 College World Series, Aardsma earned two wins and a save as the Owls won their first national championship.