Craig Steven Stimac (November 18, 1954 – January 15, 2009) was an American 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 t ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

who played 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), ...

. Stimac attended Morton West High School in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

. Playing for the

Denver Pioneers The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Denver is a member of The Summit League for men's and women's basketball, swimming and diving ...

between 1973–1976, Stimac set several school records including total hits, home runs,

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

, runs scored, doubles and at bats. Stimac played parts of two seasons in the majors, and , for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. After his major league career, he played in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

from 1984 to 1989. Stimac was found dead on January 15, 2009, in San Marino, due to apparent suicide.

References

External links

Craig Stimac's obituary

Baseball AlmanacThe Life and Death of Craig Stimac
from ''Gaslamp Ball'' Major League Baseball catchers San Diego Padres players Reno Silver Sox players Amarillo Gold Sox players Hawaii Islanders players Charleston Charlies players Baseball players from Illinois 1954 births 2009 suicides 2009 deaths Denver Pioneers baseball players Suicides by firearm in San Marino American expatriate baseball players in Italy American expatriate baseball players in San Marino T & A San Marino players Grosseto Baseball Club players {{US-baseball-catcher-1950s-stub