Dave Stieb
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| Dave Stieb | ||
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| Pitcher | ||
| Born: July 22, 1957 Santa Ana, California |
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| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| June 29, 1979 for the Toronto Blue Jays |
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| Final game | ||
| September 25, 1998 for the Toronto Blue Jays |
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| Career statistics | ||
| Win-Loss record | 176-137 | |
| Earned run average | 3.44 | |
| Strikeouts | 1,669 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
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David Andrew Stieb ("Stiebsy") (born July 22, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays.
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[edit] Playing career
Born in Santa Ana, California, he played for the Blue Jays from 1979 to 1992 and again in 1998. On September 2, 1990, he pitched the first (and to date, only) no-hitter in Blue Jays history, defeating the Cleveland Indians 3-0. [1] Previously, Stieb had no-hitters broken up with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning in two consecutive 1988 starts. In 1989 he had yet another no-hit bid broken up with two outs in the ninth; this was a potential perfect game. In 1993 he played four games with the Chicago White Sox, before retiring due to back problems. In 1998, after a five-year hiatus from baseball, Stieb returned to the Blue Jays and pitched in 19 games. He recorded one win and two saves, and started three games.
In 1985, Stieb signed with the Blue Jays what was then one of the richest contracts in baseball. The contract, including options exercisable by the team, was for a term of ten years and specified a salary that increased to $1.9 million in 1993, $2 million in 1994, and $2.1 million in 1995. While this was seen to be extremely generous at the time the contract was signed, by the time the later years of the contract came around this was a bargain, considering that several players were receiving several times the amount per year. The Blue Jays voluntarily renegotiated the last three years of his contract to pay him a higher amount in recognition of his years of service.
During his career Stieb won 176 games while losing 137. Only Jack Morris won more games in the 1980s. Stieb holds career records for Toronto pitchers in wins, games started, shutouts, strikeouts, and a variety of other categories. He was extremely popular with fans in Toronto. Stieb appeared in seven All-Star games, also a Blue Jays team record.
[edit] Strengths and weaknesses
Stieb entered the league primarily as a power pitcher, relying on a high, inside fastball to strike batters out. The brushback pitch was an integral part of his repertoire to back batters off the plate, and was especially tough on right-handed hitters in this respect. As a result, he led the league in hit batsmen a few years. But arguably his best pitch was his slider that had a late and very sharp break - especially for right-handed batters to handle.
Later on in his career he developed his breaking ball repertoire, and he became very effective with a "dead fish" curveball that would break into the dirt as the batter swung.
Stieb had a high-strung personality and was known as a fierce competitor on the mound; he was regularly seen having animated conversations with himself during pitches when in difficult situations. Whereas with other pitchers this would be seen as a sign of weakness, with Stieb it was rather the best way to motivate himself to get out of a jam.
[edit] Books
Stieb's autobiography was entitled Tomorrow I'll Be Perfect, and was released in 1986.
[edit] See also
- List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
- MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Boxscore from Stieb's no-hitter at Retrosheet
| Preceded by Jim Clancy |
Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day Starting pitcher 1980 |
Succeeded by Jim Clancy |
| Preceded by Mike Boddicker |
American League ERA Champion 1985 |
Succeeded by Roger Clemens |
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