John David Geisel (born January 18, 1955) 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 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 ...
. 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
Chicago Cubs,
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 ...
, and
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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
.
Overview
Dave Geisel graduated from
Tonawanda High School in
Tonawanda, New York
Tonawanda (formally ''City of Tonawanda'') is a city in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,130 at the 2010 census. It is at the northern edge of Erie County, south across the Erie Canal ( Tonawanda Creek) from North To ...
in 1973, and was originally drafted by the
Chicago Cubs in the 5th round of the
1973 Major League Baseball Draft.
Geisel made his major league debut with the Cubs on June 13, 1978, at
Riverfront Stadium
Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...
, pitching one relief inning against the
Reds
Reds may refer to:
General
* Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism
* Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863
* USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...
without allowing a baserunner. In March 1982, the Cubs traded Geisel to the
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 ...
to complete an earlier deal in which the Cubs sent a player to be named later to the Blue Jays for pitcher
Paul Mirabella
Paul Thomas Mirabella (born March 20, 1954) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Mirabella, who threw left-handed, played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers (1978 and 1982), New York Yankees ...
.
In the 1983 offseason, Geisel was selected by 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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
from Toronto in the 1983 rule 5 draft. He pitched his final major league game on May 18, 1985, at Seattle's
Kingdome in a victory over the visiting
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
.
Geisel pitched in all or part of seven seasons between and making 131 game appearances, all but 8 in relief.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geisel, Dave
1955 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Calgary Cannons players
Chicago Cubs players
Gulf Coast Cubs players
Iowa Oaks players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Midland Cubs players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
People from Windber, Pennsylvania
Salt Lake City Gulls players
Seattle Mariners players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Toronto Blue Jays players
Wichita Aeros players