Bruce Michael Berenyi (born August 21, 1954) is a former
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), ...
starting pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
from 1980 to 1986.
Early years
Berenyi's uncle was MLB pitcher
Ned Garver
Ned Franklin Garver (December 25, 1925 – February 26, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (1948–1952), the Detroit Tigers (1952–1956), the Kansas City Athle ...
.
Berenyi played
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
as well as baseball at
Fairview High School in
Sherwood, Ohio. While attending
Glen Oaks Community College
Glen Oaks Community College is a public community college in Centreville, Michigan.
History
In 1965, Nora Hagen donated a considerable amount of land in Sherman Township to Glen Oaks. Soon afterward, Glen Oaks was approved by the state as ...
, Berenyi was drafted 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 nineteenth round of the
1975 Major League Baseball draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1975 Major League Baseball draft. Many baseball draft experts consider the 1975 draft to be the weakest in MLB history.
Other notable selections
''*'' Did not sign
N ...
, but did not sign. After a year at
Northwest Missouri State University, he was drafted by the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
in the first round (3rd overall) of the June Secondary draft.
Cincinnati Reds
He went 37–30 with a 3.07
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
and 519
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s over five seasons in the Reds'
farm system
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
to earn a mid-season call up to the majors in . His major league debut against the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
went poorly; making the start, he retired just one of seven batters, and was pulled with four
runs already scored, and runners on first and second.
Reliever
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...
Mario Soto allowed both inherited runners to score before retiring the next two, giving Berenyi six
earned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...
s in just a third of an
inning
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...
. Berenyi earned his first career win against the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
on July 18. He held the Mets scoreless with seven strikeouts through seven before allowing the first three batters he faced in the eighth to reach. The Mets had pushed a run across, and had runners on first and third when Berenyi exited the game in favor of
Tom Hume
Thomas Hubert Hume (born March 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies, from to . Hume was drafted by the Reds with the 16th pic ...
. Hume allowed both inherited runners to score, giving Berenyi three earned runs in seven innings on the day.
Young starters Berenyi, Soto,
Frank Pastore
Frank Enrico Pastore (; August 21, 1957 – December 17, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball player and radio host. He pitched for the Cincinnati Reds from 1979 until 1985 and for the Minnesota Twins in 1986, and was in the Texas R ...
and
Mike LaCoss
Michael James LaCoss (born May 30, 1956), is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Baseball career
Minor Leagues
LaCoss was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round of the 1974 amateur draft.
Cincinnati Reds
LaCoss made ...
, behind veteran future
Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Tom Seaver
George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...
, pitched the
1981 Reds to a Major League Baseball-best 66–41 record. However, due to a split-season format, caused by the
1981 Major League Baseball strike
The 1981 Major League Baseball strike was the first work stoppage in Major League Baseball since the 1972 Major League Baseball strike that resulted in regular season games being cancelled. Overall, it was the fourth work stoppage since 1972, bu ...
, the Reds finished in second both halves of the season and thus failed to make the playoffs. Berenyi was 4–2 with a 5.01 ERA when he pitched a one-hit
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
against the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
to lower his ERA to 4.31 as the players headed into the strike. Berenyi ran into some hard luck in the second half of the season, and was just 4-4 despite dropping his ERA to 2.64. Overall, he was 9–6 with a 3.50 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 20 starts. His 77
walks led the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
.
Berenyi got off to a 4–1 start in April before hard luck began to haunt him once again. He went 1–8 over his next thirteen games despite an ERA that was only slightly above 4.00. After a decent stretch after the
All-Star break (3-1, 2.35 ERA), Berenyi lost his next eight decisions in a row with a 3.84 ERA. He was the losing pitcher on August 14 against the Astros despite not allowing an earned run. He also did not allow an earned run in his next start, and got a no decision (for the season, Berenyi had a 2.15 ERA in his no decisions). He shutout the Astros for his ninth and final win of the season on September 24. He had a league-worst eighteen losses for a Reds team that was last in the major leagues in scoring (3.36 runs a game) and slugging (.350), and lost 101 games.
After a season that saw Berenyi go 9–14 with a 3.86 ERA, he began requesting a trade, but went into the season still with the Reds. In the second game of the season, he pitched six strong innings, allowing two runs, but the Reds did not score any runs. On May 5, Berenyi faced five batters, and failed to record an out in a start against the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. On May 19, he faced five
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
batters, and failed to record an out. He was 3–7 with an even 6.00 ERA on June 15 when the Reds traded him to the Mets for minor leaguers
Jay Tibbs
Jay Lindsey Tibbs (born January 4, 1962) is a retired American Major League Baseball pitcher with a seven-year career from 1984 to 1990. Tibbs graduated from Huffman High School in 1980, the same year he was named Alabama's High School Player of t ...
,
Eddie Williams and Matt Bullinger.
New York Mets
Thanks to its core of young prospects, the perennial cellar-dwelling Mets were a surprising 33-25 when Berenyi joined them. The Mets released veteran
Mike Torrez
Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (19 ...
in order to make room for Berenyi in their
starting rotation
R
rabbit ears
:Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...
, making Berenyi the Mets' oldest starter at 29 years old.
He lost his first Mets start, but rebounded in his second, pitching seven shutout innings against the Expos before handing the ball to
Doug Sisk
Douglas Randall Sisk (born September 26, 1957), is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. His primary pitch was a sinker that was difficult for batters to drive in the air.
Early years
Sisk earned all-league honors both seasons he spen ...
. As a Met, he went 9–6 with a 3.76 ERA.
Despite his only being with the Mets for half a season, 1984 turned out to be the year he made the most appearances with his new club. In his first start of against Mario Soto and the Reds, he pitched seven innings of one hit, one walk ball. He pitched two innings into his third start of the season before being lifted with shoulder pain. He would undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery that would sideline him for the remainder of the season.
The Mets used a slow approach with Berenyi in . He made four appearances out of the
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
, pitching 5.1 innings, before making his first start. He would make 14 appearances for the eventual World Series champion Mets, going 2–2 with a 6.35 ERA before being reassigned to the triple A
Tidewater Tides
The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...
in July where he went 2–6 with a 6.61 ERA. He failed to make the post season roster for the parent club but was awarded a World Series ring by the club, which he later sold at auction for $15,000.
The Mets released Berenyi following the
1986 World Series. He 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 Expos prior to
Spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
,
but failed to make the club.
Career stats
{, class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
,
W
, L
, Pct
,
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
,
G
,
GS
,
GF
,
SHO
Sho, Shō or SHO may refer to:
Music
* ''Shō'' (instrument) (笙), a Japanese wind instrument
* ''Kane'' (instrument) (鉦), a Japanese percussion instrument
* Sho?, a Dubai rock band
People
* Shō (given name), including ''Sho''
* Shō (su ...
,
IP
,
H
,
ER
,
R
,
HR
,
BB
,
K
,
WP
,
HBP
,
BAA
,
Fld%
,
Avg.
, -
, 44
, 55
,
, 4.03
, 142
, 131
, 4
, 5
, 781.2
, 730
, 350
, 392
, 32
, 425
, 607
, 52
, 7
, .251
, .977
, .197
References
External links
, o
The Ultimate Mets Database*
ttps://sabr.org/bioproj/person/bbcfdc77 Bruce Berenyiat
Society for American Baseball Research
The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenyi, Bruce
Cincinnati Reds players
New York Mets players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Baseball players from Ohio
1954 births
Living people
Nashville Sounds players
Eugene Emeralds players
Indianapolis Indians players
Truman Bulldogs baseball players
People from Bryan, Ohio
Shelby Reds players
Tidewater Tides players