David James Freisleben (born October 31, 1951) 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 ...

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 ...

. He 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), ...

(MLB) 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 penna ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Texas League Pitcher of the Year

Freisleben was the

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

of the

Sam Rayburn High School Sam Rayburn High School is a public high school located in Pasadena, Texas in the United States. The school is a part of the Pasadena Independent School District. History The school opened in 1964 and was expanded and renovated in the early 2000s. ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team as well as the star pitcher of their

team. Straight out of high school, Freisleben was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the 1971 Major League Baseball draft. With the

Alexandria Aces The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...

in , Dave went 17-9 with a 2.32

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 ...

& 163

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 to earn

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

"Pitcher of the Year" honors. Freisleben quickly rose through the Padres'

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 ...

, going 42-21 with a 2.69 ERA & 494

Rookie season

Freisleben modeled prototype "Washington Stars" road uniforms in publicity photos when the Padres appeared destined to move to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

for the season. The relocation fell through and Freisleben was called up to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

early in the 1974 season to join

Bill Greif William Briley Greif (born April 25, 1950) is a retired professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1971 to 1976, for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals. Astros G ...

, Randy Jones &

Dan Spillner Daniel Ray Spillner (born November 27, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1985. He played for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. He led the P ...

in one of the best young

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 ...

s in 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 ...

. Freisleben won his major league debut over

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphi ...

and 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 ...

, 6-2. Freisleben had two

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 ...

s and six

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s on his way to nine victories his rookie season, but his most impressive performance came in a

no decision A no decision (sometimes written no-decision) is one of either of two sports statistics scenarios; one in baseball and softball, and the other in boxing and related combat sports. Baseball and softball A starting pitcher who leaves a game withou ...

against 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 ...

. Freisleben held

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

's "

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

" scoreless through nine, however, the Padres were also blanked by Reds starter

Clay Kirby Clayton Laws Kirby, Jr. (June 25, 1948 – October 11, 1991) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher for the San Diego Padres (1969–73), Cincinnati Reds (1974–75) and Montreal Expos (1976). Early life Clayton Laws "Clay" Kirby, Jr, was b ...

. Whereas Kirby was lifted after nine, Freisleben remained in the game for 13

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 ...

s without allowing a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

Rusty Gerhardt Allen Russell Gerhardt (born August 13, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher who appeared in 23 games, 22 in relief, for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball in . Born in Baltimore, Maryl ...

replaced Freisleben in the fourteenth inning, and the Padres finally broke through against

Pedro Borbon Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Galician language, Galician name for ''Peter (given name), Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic fo ...

in the bottom of the inning for the 1-0 victory.

Hard luck

Freisleben's first start of the season is arguably one of the most hard luck pitching performances in major league history. In the second inning, Freisleben induced a ground ball from Cincinnati Reds

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Ken Griffey George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Marin ...

that was misplayed by

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Enzo Hernandez. Fortunately, Freisleben was able to get around the

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

by his shortstop, and escaped the inning without a run scoring. Freisleben was not so lucky in the fifth.

Joe Morgan Joe Leonard Morgan (September 19, 1943 – October 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball second baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, ...

led off the fifth with a ground ball that was misplayed by

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Mike Ivie Michael Wilson Ivie (born August 8, 1952), is an American people, American former professional baseball player. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Detroit Tige ...

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

followed with a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, then

Tony Perez Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

grounded to third for the first out of the inning. Dave Concepcion then hit a ground ball to short. Hernandez fielded the ball cleanly, however, his throw sailed past Ivie at first, allowing Morgan to scores, and Bench to advance to third.

Cesar Geronimo Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Pla ...

was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Griffey followed with what should have been a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

ball to second baseman

Tito Fuentes Rigoberto Fuentes Peat (born January 4, 1944) is a retired professional baseball player. He played for 13 seasons in the major leagues between 1965 and 1978, primarily as a second baseman. Fuentes played for most of his career with the San Fra ...

, however, the Padres were only able to turn one, and another run scored. The following batter,

John Vukovich John Christopher Vukovich (July 31, 1947 – March 8, 2007), nicknamed "Vuk" or "Johnny Vuk", was an American professional baseball utility infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB),

, was intentionally walked in order to get to the pitcher,

Don Gullett Donald Edward Gullett (born January 6, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that wo ...

, however, Gullett singled, bringing in two more runs.

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

then followed with a ground ball to second. An error by Fuentes loaded the bases instead of ending the inning. Joe Morgan then followed with a single that plated two more runs.

Rich Folkers Richard Nevin Folkers (born October 17, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and M ...

replaced Freisleben on the mound, and allowed a single to Bench that plated a seventh unearned run in the inning. Freisleben earned back-to-back complete game victories over 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 ...

on May 11 & 17 to improve to 3-3 on the season, but from there, his hard luck returned. Freisleben lost his next six decisions despite a decent 4.35 ERA over that stretch. For the season, Freisleben went 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA. Freisleben actually started the season in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, but was back in the majors by the end of May. Freisleben shut out his opponent in each of his first two starts, and was named

"Player of the Week." By the end of June, Freisleben was 6-1 with a 1.52 ERA. For the season, Dave was 10-13 with a 3.51 ERA, and earned the first save of his career. Freisleben was not a great hitter, even for a pitcher. He did, however, have two career triples. One of which came 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 ...

leading off the sixth inning of a scoreless ballgame on June 8, 1976. Freisleben came around to score the first run of the game when Enzo Hernandez followed with a triple of his own. Injuries derailed Freisleben's season. After missing all of May and part of the month of June, Freisleben's record stood at 0-5 with a 7.04 ERA. Dave righted the ship, winning each of his next five decisions, and ended the season at 7-9. After getting off to a poor start in (0-3, 6.08 ERA), Freisleben was dealt to the

for former teammate

Bill Laxton William Harry Laxton (born January 5, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Laxton pitched in all or part of five seasons in the majors between 1970 and 1977. Early career Laxton grew up in Audubon, New Jersey and attended Audubon H ...

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Car ...

tied & broke

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the las ...

's all-time

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

record against Freisleben on August 29, 1977.

Cleveland Indians

Freisleben's career in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

got off to a rocky start. His first start against 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 ...

, Freisleben was unable to retire any of the six batters he faced. Freisleben managed just one win (July 17 against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

) his one season with the Tribe. After which, Freisleben was shipped off to the

for a player to be named later.

Toronto Blue Jays

Freisleben was used almost exclusively in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Freisleben performed adequately in that role (2-2, 4.78 ERA) until a

blown save In baseball, a save (abbreviated SV or S) is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. Most commonly a pitcher earns a save by entering in the ninth inning of a game in which his team ...

against the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

on August 6. With the Jays leading 5-4, and runners on first & second with nobody out, Freisleben replaced staff ace

Dave Stieb Dave Andrew Stieb (; born July 22, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. A seven-time All-Star, he also won ''The Sporting News'' Pitcher of the Year Award in 1982. Stieb won 140 games i ...

on the mound. By the time Freisleben was pulled in favor of

Jesse Jefferson Jesse Harrison Jefferson (March 3, 1949 – September 8, 2011) was an American professional baseball pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles (1973-1975), Chicago White Sox (1975-1976), Toronto Blue Jays (1977-1980), Pittsburgh Pirates (1980) and Cali ...

, five more runs had scored, and not a single out was recorded. From there,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Roy Hartsfield Roy Thomas Hartsfield (October 25, 1925 – January 15, 2011) was a second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball; his MLB playing and managing careers each lasted three years. Hartsfield played his entire major league career with the Bo ...

seemed to lose faith in Freisleben. Freisleben was relegated to "mop up duty." Freisleben was called 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 ...

eleven times over the rest of the season, all losses, and most of them out of reach for the team that went on to lose 109 games. Freisleben was released at the end of the season, and attended

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 ...

with the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

in , but failed to make the team.

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 ...

, S , IP , H , ER , R , HR , BB , K , WP , HBP , BAA , Fld% , Avg. , - , 34 , 60 , , 4.30 , 202 , 121 , 37 , 6 , 4 , 865.1 , 897 , 413 , 477 , 67 , 430 , 430 , 45 , 25 , .209 , .957 , .141

After retiring as a player, Freisleben coached in the minors for a couple of seasons in the Texas Rangers organization. Freisleben then moved on to become a saltwater fishing guide along Galveston Bay near his home in

San Leon, Texas } San Leon is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,970 at the 2010 census. History During the early 19th century, the pirate Jean Lafitte, who ruled Galveston Island, established a strong ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freisleben, Dave 1951 births Living people Alexandria Aces players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Bradenton Explorers players Cleveland Indians players Hawaii Islanders players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers People from Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania San Diego Padres players Sultanes de Monterrey players Toronto Blue Jays players Tri-City Padres players