Eric Steven King (born April 10, 1964) is a former
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 ...
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). He may be best known for giving up
Ken Griffey Jr.'s first career Major League home run. King played for three teams during a career that included parts of seven seasons. Those teams are the
Detroit Tigers (1986–1988 and 1992),
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
(1989–1990) and
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 ...
(1991).
Minor league
King attended
Moorpark College
Moorpark College is a public community college in Moorpark, California. It was established in 1967 with enrollment of 2,500 students and enrolled 14,254 students in 2014. An Exotic Animal Training and Management center houses over 200 animals o ...
near Los Angeles, intending to play baseball in 1983, but his attitude butted heads with the coach, and he was dismissed from the team. He left Moorpark and played two seasons in the minor leagues for 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 Y ...
before being traded to the Detroit Tigers.
Career
On May 15, 1986, King played in his first MLB game.
[ He pitched scoreless innings of relief against the Texas Rangers, posting three walks and three strikeouts, while surrendering only one hit as the Tigers lost by an 8–1 score. For the season, King appeared in 33 games and innings. He started 16, but he also finished 9, recording three saves and three ]complete games
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 ...
, including one 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 ...
. He tallied an 11–4 record and a 3.51 ERA while striking out 79 opponents and walking 63.[ He was honored that season as the Tigers Rookie of the Year.
King was back with the Tigers in 1987 and he pitched in a career–high 55 games, making only four starts. He saved nine games and finished a total of 26. King's win–loss record was 6–9 and his ERA jumped by a whole run to 4.89. His strikeout total climbed slightly to 89 and he walked 60 in 116 innings.][
In 1988, King appeared in only 23 games for Detroit. He won four times and suffered one loss. King threw innings, the lowest for any season during his MLB career. His ERA improved to 3.41 and with the lower number of innings pitched, his walk and strikeout totals were almost cut in half, as King fanned 45 batters and walked 34. He started five games and saved three.][
Prior to the 1989 season, King was acquired by the ]Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
, who sent Kenny Williams to Detroit in exchange. Chicago used King solely as a starter and in 25 starts, King posted a 9–10 record and a 3.39 ERA. He hurled innings, striking out 72, but walking 64.[ King also threw a complete game shutout 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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
on April 22, winning 1–0.
King's second and final season with the White Sox was 1990. He had a 12–4 win–loss record and posted a career–low ERA of 3.28, as he made 25 starts for the second consecutive year. In 151 innings, King's walk total dropped to 40 and he struck 70 opponents.[ He also hurled a pair of shutouts; against the Kansas City Royals on May 5 and against the Oakland Athletics on June 22.] On December 4, 1990, Chicago sent King along with Shawn Hillegas
Shawn Patrick Hillegas (born August 21, 1964) is a former professional right-handed pitcher. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Biog ...
to 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 ...
. The White Sox received Cory Snyder
James Cory Snyder (born November 11, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and the manager of the Northern Colorado Owlz. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, ...
and Lindsay Foster (who never made it to the MLB) in the deal.[
In 1991, King played for his third major league team, as he appeared in 25 games for Cleveland, all but one as a starter. His 6–11 record left him with the lowest ]winning percentage
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 ...
(.353) of his MLB career. King's ERA, which had not been over 3.41 since his second season, jumped all the way to 4.60. Despite this, he threw two complete games and one shutout. King struck out 59 and walked 44 in innings.[
King returned to the Tigers for what would prove to be his final major league season in 1992. In 17 games (14 starts), he was 4–6 with 45 strikeouts, 28 walks, one save and a career-worst 5.22 ERA over innings.][
]
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Eric
1964 births
Living people
Baseball players from California
Major League Baseball pitchers
Detroit Tigers players
Chicago White Sox players
Cleveland Indians players
Nashville Sounds players
Pacific Suns players
Sportspeople from Oxnard, California
Sportspeople from Ventura County, California