Gary Roger Mielke (born January 28, 1963), is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

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), ...

who played three seasons for the Texas Rangers (, , and ). Prior to his Major League career, Mielke played for

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

. On August 24, 1989, Mielke notched his only career save, against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He preserved the win for

Mike Jeffcoat James Michael Jeffcoat (born August 3, 1959), is an American former professional baseball player and also a former coach who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 1985, 1987 to 1992, and 1994. He played college baseball for Louisiana ...

by going 2 2/3 scoreless innings to close out a 6-2 Rangers victory. On June 21, 1989, Mielke picked up his only MLB victory, against the Boston Red Sox. The losing pitcher that day was seven-time

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

winner

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

. Mielke would go on to pitch in relief for Texas during the 1990 season, but was granted free agency on November 15, 1990. During 1991, Mielke again pitched in the Rangers' minor league system, then that of Oakland, but this marked his final professional season.

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1963 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Minnesota Texas Rangers players Gulf Coast Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Salem Redbirds players Oklahoma City 89ers players Tacoma Tigers players Huntsville Stars players Minnesota State Mavericks baseball players People from St. James, Minnesota {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni