Jeffrey Alan Schulz (born June 2, 1961) is an American 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), ...

player. After playing baseball at the

University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...

, Schulz was selected by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

in the 23rd round of the 1983 draft. Schulz's first major league at bat came on September 2, 1989, as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

against

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

, baseball's all-time

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

leader. Ryan had notched his five thousandth career strikeout one month earlier, and after the pitcher recorded two quick strikes on Schulz, he idly wondered what number he would be on Ryan's career total. Instead, however, he delivered a single for his first career hit. All in all, he appeared in seven games that year, collecting two hits and one RBI. Schulz was not initially expected to make the Royals in 1990, but an April injury to

Danny Tartabull Danilo Tartabull Mora (born October 30, 1962) is a Cuban– Puerto Rican former professional baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1986), Kansas City Ro ...

created a need for another outfielder, and he ended up appearing in 30 games for them that season. He posted a .258

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

over 66

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. The Royals released Schulz after the end of the season, and he signed with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. In his final major league action, Schulz made three appearances with the Pirates at midseason. He became a free agent at year's end and signed with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for the 1992 season, but was not called up that year. Schulz was in camp with the Royals as a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nation ...

during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in 1995. If the

1994 Major League Baseball strike File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

had not been settled before the season was scheduled to begin, he would likely have entered the season as Kansas City's starting right fielder."Baseball Report", The

Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

, March 6, 1995, p. 51.

References

External links

Schulz's major league statistics
at Baseball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Schulz, Jeff 1961 births Kansas City Royals players Living people Major League Baseball replacement players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Baseball players from Evansville, Indiana Pittsburgh Pirates players Nashville Sounds players Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Italy Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Butte Copper Kings players Charleston Royals players Fort Myers Royals players Iowa Cubs players Memphis Chicks players Omaha Royals players