Dennis Leroy Springer (born February 12, 1965) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

right-handed

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 ...

, 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), ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

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 ...

, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Florida Marlins,

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 ...

, and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. He is most remembered for his use of the knuckleball. As a member of the Dodgers, Springer surrendered

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

' Major League record-setting 73rd home run on October 7, 2001. The homer came off a 3-2 pitch clocked at 43 miles per hour (a knuckleball) in the bottom of the first inning of Los Angeles' 2-1 loss to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. In an 8-season career, he had a 24-48 record, with a 5.18

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. Compa ...

in 655.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He had four career

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, including two with the Marlins in 1999.

External links

Dennis Springer
at Baseball Gauge
Dennis Springer
at Ultimate Mets Database
Dennis Springer
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) 1965 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Anaheim Angels players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players from California California Angels players California State University, Fresno alumni Durham Bulls players Florida Marlins players Fresno State Bulldogs baseball players Great Falls Dodgers players Knuckleball pitchers Las Vegas 51s players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Norfolk Tides players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players San Antonio Missions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Sportspeople from Fresno, California Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Vancouver Canadians players Vero Beach Dodgers players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub