John Nicholas Pyecha (born November 25, 1931) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a , right-handed pitcher who played six seasons (1950–1955) of minor league baseball, but made only one Major League appearance for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. On April 24, 1954, at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

, Pyecha entered the game in relief of Warren Hacker in the seventh

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 ...

with his Cubs trailing the Cincinnati Redlegs 3–2. Pyecha held the Redlegs off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings; meanwhile, Chicago rallied to take a 5–3 lead thanks to

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Follow ...

and Hank Sauer. Pyecha started the last half of the ninth inning by issuing a walk to Gus Bell, then retired

Jim Greengrass James Raymond Greengrass (October 24, 1927 – September 9, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. A power-hitting outfielder whose career was hindered by phlebitis, Greengrass appeared in 504 games over five seasons (1952–56) in ...

and

Ted Kluszewski Theodore Bernard Kluszewski (September 10, 1924 – March 29, 1988), also known as "Big Klu", was an American professional baseball player known for his bulging biceps and mammoth home runs in the 1950s decade. He played from 1947 through 1961 wit ...

to get within one

out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

of the victory. But Johnny Temple singled to bring the winning

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

to the plate, and Wally Post hit a three-run walk-off home run to win the game for the Redlegs. In his lone MLB game, Pyecha allowed three runs, all earned, on four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and two bases on balls, with two strikeouts, in 2⅔

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 ...

. Pyecha spent the remainder of 1954 with the Los Angeles Angels of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, and retired after the 1955 season having pitched in 154 minor league games.Minor league statistics from Baseball Reference
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1931 births Living people Appalachian State Mountaineers baseball players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Chicago Cubs players Elkin Blanketeers players Greensboro Patriots players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Springfield Cubs players Rutherford County Owls players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1930s-stub