Karl Jon Best (born March 6, 1959) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Seattle Mariners and

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 ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Karl Best was born in

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...

and graduated from

Kent-Meridian High School Kent-Meridian High School is a high school located in Kent, Washington, United States, and part of the Kent School District. Kent-Meridian is one of four high schools in the Kent School District. It serves students in grades nine through twelve w ...

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

Best was drafted by the Mariners in the 12th round of the

1977 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...

. Best made his MLB debut on August 19, 1983, with the Mariners. He traded to 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 ...

for

Bryan Kelly Bryan George Kelly (born January 3, 1934) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist from Oxford. He was a choir boy at Worcester College and attended Southfield Grammar School. After lessons with Harold Spicer, the long-serving organist and ...

in June while inactive, then was sent to the Twins in exchange for

Don Schulze Donald Arthur Schulze (born September 27, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and current minor league pitching coach. Schulze graduated from Lake Park High School in 1981. He pitched all or part of six seasons in the majors, betwee ...

just before the 1988 season began. Two months after appearing in what would be his final major league game, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in August 1988 for

Alan Cockrell Atlee Alan Cockrell (born December 5, 1962) is an American professional baseball outfielder and coach. He was most recently the hitting coach for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Football career Twice named first-team all state, Co ...

but never pitched an inning for them.

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
1959 births Living people Alexandria Mariners players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Washington (state) Bellingham Mariners players Calgary Cannons players Lynn Sailors players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players People from Aberdeen, Washington Phoenix Firebirds players Portland Beavers players Salt Lake City Gulls players Seattle Mariners players Stockton Mariners players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players
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