John Joseph Savage is a former

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), ...

pitcher who played for the

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 ...

in 1987 and the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in 1990. He was born on April 22, 1964 in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. He attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, and he went on to attend the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. He threw and batted right-handed. At 6'3" tall and 190 pounds, Savage was drafted by the Dodgers in the 8th round (194th overall) of the 1985 amateur entry draft. He was signed by Dodgers scout Carl Loewenstine. He first season in the minors was superb-in 24 games and 44 innings pitched with Great Falls (rookie league), he had a 5-1 record with 51 strikeouts and a 1.01 ERA. He also had a lot of success with AA San Antonio in 1987-he appeared in 49 games, striking out 67 in 69 innings while posting an ERA of 2.60. He made his Major League debut on September 14, 1987 at the age of 23 and wearing the number 50, pitching one inning and giving up one hit. He pitched a total of 3 innings that season, with an ERA of 2.70. Seeing no Major League ball in 1988 and 1989, the success he witnessed in the Majors in 1987 did not carry over to his next stint in the Majors. In 26 innings pitched in 1990-wearing number 20-with Minnesota, he had a subpar ERA of 8.31, all the while losing two games and giving up three home runs. He was able to save one game that season, though. His control came into question that season-he threw four wild pitches, or one every 6.5 innings. Even though his control on the mound was less-than-stellar, he kept it in check when playing defense-he didn't commit a single error in his career. He played his final game on September 14, 1990 at the age of 25-exactly three years after his debut. He currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky. He now has three children (boys 16 and 14 years old and a 6-year-old girl).

Major Transactions

Savage was involved in two major transactions in his career: *On December 11, 1987, he was part of a three team trade that involved the Dodgers, 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 ...

and the

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 ...

. The Dodgers sent Bob Welch and

Matt Young Matthew John Young (born August 9, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player. Young played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball for a variety of teams over his career, and is best known for his unofficial no-hitter against the ...

to the Athletics, while the Athletics sent

Alfredo Griffin Alfredo Claudino Baptist Read Griffin (born October 6, 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He played shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams from 1976 to 1993. Playing career Griffin began his career as a m ...

and

Jay Howell Jay Canfield Howell (born November 26, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1980), Chicago Cubs (1981), New York Yankees (1982–1984), Oakland Athletics (1985–1987), Los Angeles Dodgers (1988–1992), ...

to the Dodgers. Then the Athletics sent

Kevin Tapani Kevin Ray Tapani (born February 18, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001. Early life Tapani was raised in E ...

and

Wally Whitehurst Walter Richard Whitehurst (born April 11, 1964) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played from to with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Standing 6'3" and ...

to the Mets, while the Mets sent

Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is a Mexican American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances, having pitched in 1,252 games. He pitched most notably for the New ...

to the Dodgers. *On October 16, 1989, he was sent from the Mets to the Twins to complete a deal that was made on July 31, 1989. He was the player to be named later in this transaction. The deal involved the Mets sending the player to be named, plus

Rick Aguilera Richard Warren Aguilera (born December 31, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1985 to 2000. Aguilera won a world championship as a member of the N ...

, David West,

and

Tim Drummond Timothy Lee Drummond (20 April 1940 – 10 January 2015) was an American musician from Canton, Illinois. Drummond's primary instrument was bass guitar and he toured and recorded with many notable artists, including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James ...

to the Twins for

Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and ...

. In the end, it seems as if the Twins ended up getting the better of that deal.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Jack 1964 births Living people Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky Major League Baseball pitchers Los Angeles Dodgers players Minnesota Twins players University of Kentucky alumni Great Falls Dodgers players Bakersfield Dodgers players Albuquerque Dukes players San Antonio Dodgers players Tidewater Tides players Portland Beavers players Orlando Sun Rays players Kentucky Wildcats baseball players