David K. Gassner (born December 14, 1978) is a 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 t ...

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 ...

. Gassner is a 1997 graduate of Hortonville High School in

Hortonville, Wisconsin Hortonville is a village in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,711 at the 2010 census. Hortonville is located in the Fox Cities region and the Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI CSA, the third largest metropolitan area ...

and 2002 graduate of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

with a degree in

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

Career

Gassner 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 ...

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

from 1998–2001. He was selected by

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 ...

in the 2001 amateur entry draft, and played in their minor league organization from through On December 15, 2003, Gassner was sent to the Minnesota Twins to complete a trade made on July 16, 2003 where the Blue Jays sent Shannon Stewart and a player to be named later (Gassner) to the Twins for

Bobby Kielty Robert Michael Kielty (last name pronounced KELT-ee) (born August 5, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Boston Red Sox during a Major League ...

. Gassner spent the entire season with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League. On April 16, 2005 made his major league debut for the Twins against the

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 Fi ...

getting the win by pitching 6 innings giving up only one

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 erro ...

. Gassner was to have only one more start for the Twins, spending most of the season with the Rochester Red Wings. Gassner missed the majority of the season with a left elbow strain and spent the entire season with the Rochester Red Wings where he compiled a 6-12 record and a 4.95

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 ...

. Gassner started the season playing for the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League, but on June 6, 2008 he was signed to a minor league contract by the Boston Red Sox and assigned to the Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

. On June 7 Gassner made his first start for the Sea Dogs against the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

earning a no decision after pitching 5 innings, allowing 6

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 ...

s and 2 earned runs. He became a free agent at the end of the season. Gassner signed with the

of the Atlantic League for the 2009 season. He retired on August 26, 2009.

Awards and recognition

* 2001 – Big Ten Conference All-Star SP * 2003 – Eastern League (AA) All-Star and League ERA Leader. * 2004 – Triple-A All-Star SP * 2007 – International League Pitcher of the Week

After baseball life

In 2010, Gassner was named head coach of the Appleton West varsity baseball team in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

. He is also a substitute teacher in the fields of science and mathematics for the Appleton Area School District.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gassner, David 1978 births Living people Minnesota Twins players Baseball players from Wisconsin Major League Baseball pitchers New Haven Ravens players Rochester Red Wings players Portland Sea Dogs players Purdue Boilermakers baseball players York Revolution players People from Hortonville, Wisconsin Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players Charleston AlleyCats players Dunedin Blue Jays players Fort Myers Miracle players Gulf Coast Twins players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tennessee Smokies players