William Alan Laskey (born December 20, 1957) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player who was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for six seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1982 to 1986 and in 1988. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, and Cleveland Indians. Laskey stands tall and weighs . When he played he batted and threw right-handed.

Early life

William Alan Laskey was born on December 20, 1957 in Toledo, Ohio. He attended Woodward High School and graduated in 1975, where he excelled in baseball. He was inducted into Woodward High School's Hall of Fame in 1999 and the City of Toledo's Hall of Fame in 2002.

College career

Laskey played collegiately for

Monroe Community College Monroe Community College is a Public college, public community college in Monroe County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college has two campuses; the main campus in the Brighton, Monroe County, New York, town of B ...

and

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

. In 1977, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Drafts and minor leagues

Laskey was drafted twice by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in the

1977 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...

. On January 11, he was drafted in the eighth round of the January Draft-Regular Phase from Monroe Community College (Rochester, NY), but did not sign. On June 7, he was drafted in the first round (23rd overall) of the June Draft-Secondary Phase, but did not sign. On June 6, the Kansas City Royals drafted Laskey in the second round of the

1978 MLB draft In 1978, four American baseball players were promoted from amateur baseball to the Major League Baseball, major leagues, including Arizona State Sun Devils baseball, Arizona State University third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one o ...

in the June Draft-Secondary Phase from Kent State University (Kent, OH), and he signed. On December 11, 1981, Laskey was traded along with

Rich Gale Richard Blackwell Gale (born January 19, 1954) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played with four teams between and . Listed at and , Gale batted and threw right-handed. During 1992 and 1993, he served as pitching c ...

to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Jerry Martin.

San Francisco Giants (1982–1985)

On April 23 at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

, Laskey made his Major League debut in relief against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. On April 28 at Candlestick Park, in a 7–0 win over the Montreal Expos, Laskey started his first Major League game and pitched his first career Major League complete game and shutout. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Laskey recorded his first career Major League

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

and

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, an RBI single off

Bill Gullickson William Lee Gullickson (born February 20, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played professionally in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, during an 18-year professional career, of which 14 seasons were spent in MLB. MLB career ...

to right field that scored Jack Clark. To end the top of the fifth inning, Laskey struck out

Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...

for his first career Major League strikeout. In 1982, Laskey was selected to the

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

but was persuaded by

Tommy Lasorda Thomas Charles Lasorda (September 22, 1927 – January 7, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 through 1996. He was inducted into the Nati ...

to relinquish his roster spot to make room for a soon-to-retire

Phil Niekro Philip Henry Niekro ( ; April 1, 1939 – December 26, 2020), nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball, 20 of them with the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves. Niekro's 31 ...

as a gesture. Niekro went on to pitch five more years, and Laskey was never selected for another All-Star Game. Laskey has said he "never should have trusted Tommy Lasorda." That year, as a rookie, Laskey won a career-high and team-leading 13 games. He received the Rookie Right Handed Pitcher of the Year Award from Baseball Digest and Topps Baseball Cards in 1982. Laskey led the Giants in wins, ERA and most innings pitched in 1982 and 1983.

Montreal Expos (1985)

On August 1, 1985, Laskey was traded along with Scot Thompson to the Montreal Expos in exchange for

Dan Driessen Daniel Driessen (born July 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1973 to 1987, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won three National Leag ...

Second stint with the Giants (1986)

On October 24, 1985, Laskey was traded back to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for

Alonzo Powell Alonzo Sidney Powell (born December 12, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He batted and threw right-handed. Powell was the first foreign player in the NPB to capture 3 consecutive batting titles. Career Playing career Minor and ...

and George Riley. On May 2 at Candlestick Park, against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, Laskey recorded his first career Major League

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

. On May 13, 1986 at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

, in a 6–5 win over the Chicago Cubs, Laskey recorded his first career Major League save.

Detroit Tigers

On February 4, 1987, Laskey signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the Detroit Tigers.

Cleveland Indians (1988)

On January 1, 1988, Laskey signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians.

Post-playing career

Laskey served as the head coach of the girls varsity softball team at

Aragon High School Aragon High School is a public co-educational high school in San Mateo, California. It is part of the San Mateo Union High School District (SMUHSD). It is located in San Mateo County, a large suburb just outside San Francisco. The school is accre ...

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster C ...

. He retired with a 78-62-3 overall record as their coach. He also coached at

Palo Alto High School Palo Alto Senior High School, commonly referred to locally as "Paly", is a comprehensive public high school in Palo Alto, California. Operated by the Palo Alto Unified School District, the school is one of two schools in the district, the other b ...

and Crystal Springs Uplands School. Laskey has also had a broadcasting career. He was formerly a baseball analyst for

NBC Sports Bay Area NBC Sports Bay Area (sometimes abbreviated as NBCS Bay Area) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and the San Francisco Giants, and operates as an affiliate of NBC Sports Regional Networks. Headquart ...

, and is now a radio host and on-air personality for

KNBR KNBR may refer to: * KNBR (AM), a radio station (680 AM) licensed to serve San Francisco, California, United States * KNBR-FM KNBR-FM (104.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Francisco, California, serving the greater San ...

. He is President of Celebrity Connection, a sports talent agency. Laskey also runs the Giants fantasy camp.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
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Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laskey, Bill 1957 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Ohio Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Fort Myers Royals players Gulf Coast Royals players Jacksonville Suns players Kent State Golden Flashes baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Monroe Tribunes baseball players Montreal Expos players Oklahoma City 89ers players Omaha Royals players Orleans Firebirds players Phoenix Firebirds players Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio Richmond Braves players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players