David Lee Bakenhaster (March 5, 1945 – July 30, 2014) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in two

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

in Major League Baseball as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, and raised in nearby Dublin, he threw and batted right-handed and was listed as tall and . Bakenhaster signed with the Cardinals for a $40,000 bonusSchuster, Joe, ''Dave Bakenhaster,''
Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project in 1963 after he graduated from

Dublin Coffman High School Dublin Coffman High School is a public high school located in Dublin, Ohio, United States, a suburb northwest of Columbus, Ohio. The school was formerly known as Dublin High School. It is the oldest of three high schools in the Dublin City School ...

. The Cardinals protected him from the first-year player draft by putting him on their 25-man MLB roster for 1964. But he would appear in only two games and hurl only three full

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

as a Redbird. He made his major-league debut at the age of 19 on June 20, 1964, at Busch Stadium. He entered a contest against the San Francisco Giants in a low-leverage situation, with St. Louis trailing 10–1 in the eighth inning. Bakenhaster allowed six

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and four unearned runs in two full innings as the Giants rolled, 14–3. One month and two days later, on July 22, he appeared in his second and last MLB game, another one-sided home game, this time against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Bakenhaster again worked the ninth inning, allowing a two-run home run to Bill Mazeroski and surrendering the final two runs in an eventual 13–2 Pittsburgh romp. Retrosheetbr>box score (22 July 1964): "Pittsburgh Pirates 13, St. Louis Cardinals 2"
/ref> The Cardinals then sent Bakenhaster to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

for the remainder of 1964; he escaped the first-year player draft but never returned to the majors. He missed the 1968 season while serving in the military, and retired from the game after the 1970 season. In his brief MLB career, he posted a 0–0

won–lost record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and a 6.00 earned run average, with nine hits and one

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

in three full innings pitched. He did not record a

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 ...

. After leaving baseball, Bakenhaster worked for 34 years in a warehouse operated by Exel Logistics, serving the Nabisco Brands Food Company in Columbus, Ohio. In 1975, he married the former Carolyn Harr. In 2002, he was elected to the inaugural class for the Dublin Coffman High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

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1945 births 2014 deaths Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio Brunswick Cardinals players Cedar Rapids Cardinals players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Dublin, Ohio St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Goldeyes players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub