Joe Donald Stanka (July 23, 1931 – October 15, 2018) was an

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 ...

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 ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

. The 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 ...

from

Hammon, Oklahoma Hammon is a town in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, the majority of which is in Roger Mills County, but some of which extends into Custer County. It is located at the junction of Oklahoma State Highways 33 and 34. The town is named for Indian age ...

played for 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 p ...

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), ...

(1959), and the

Nankai Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

and

Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

in the Japanese professional leagues (1960–66). He stood tall and weighed .

Biography

After attending

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, Stanka spent most of his career in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

, making his Major League debut with the White Sox in at age 28. His big-league career consisted of only two appearances that year. In his first MLB game, September 2 against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, Stanka entered the game in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Barry Latman Arnold Barry Latman (May 21, 1936 – April 28, 2019) was an American professional All Star Major League Baseball pitcher. Early and personal life Latman was born in Los Angeles, California, and was Jewish. Latman would not pitch on the Jewish H ...

in the fifth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

with Chicago trailing 3–0. He retired the Tigers without further damage. Then, in their half of the fifth, the White Sox exploded for 11 runs, with Stanka contributing to the rally with a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in his second big-league

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 ...

. He went on to pitch 3 innings of one-

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, one-run relief and was credited with the win in an 11–4 ChiSox triumph. Stanka pitched in only one more contest that month, a two-inning relief stint against 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 F ...

, September 5. The White Sox and Indians were then embroiled in a pennant race that ultimately delivered Chicago its first

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

title since . Stanka did not appear in the

1959 World Series The 1959 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers beating the American League champion Chicago White Sox, 4–2. Each of the three games played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum drew record crowds, Game 5's atte ...

. In two

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and 5 MLB

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 ...

, Stanka allowed two hits, two

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s and four

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

; he

struck out 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 denote ...

three. His career 1–0

win–loss record 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 ...

was accompanied by a 3.38

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He signed with the

(current

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

) during the 1959 off-season. He was one of the first players to be signed from the Triple-A class of the minor leagues, and the team calculated that he should be able to win over 15 games in the Japanese

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. Stanka entered the starting rotation in his first year, and marked a 17–12 record in his first year, leading the league with 103 walks. He played his best season in 1964, winning 26 games to receive the league MVP award. He pitched shutouts in Games 1, 6, and 7 of the Japan Series against the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

to win the Japan Series MVP award as well. He continued to pitch for the Hawks in 1965, but left the team after his eldest son died in a tragic accident. He played for the

in 1966 before retiring. He is tied with

Gene Bacque Gene Bacque (August 12, 1937 – September 14, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Hanshin Tigers and Kintetsu Buffaloes. Biography Career Bacque graduated from the Universi ...

for the most wins among American players in Japan, going 100–72 during his seven-year career in Japan. Stanka appeared as himself on the January 1, 1962 episode of the game show To Tell The Truth. Stanka died on October 15, 2018.In Memory of Joe Stanka
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References

External links

Career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanka, Joe 1931 births 2018 deaths People from Hammon, Oklahoma American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Oklahoma Cedar Rapids Indians players Chicago White Sox players Des Moines Bruins players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers Nankai Hawks players Nippon Professional Baseball MVP Award winners Ponca City Dodgers players Pueblo Dodgers players Sacramento Solons players Shawnee Hawks players Taiyō Whales players Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links