Keith Rowe Atherton (born February 19, 1959), is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 ...

, who played in

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), ...

(MLB), primarily 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 th ...

, from –. Atherton played for the Oakland Athletics (–), Minnesota Twins (–), and

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 Fi ...

().

Biography

Atherton attended Mathews High School in Virginia and was drafted in the 2nd round of the

1978 Major League Baseball draft In 1978, four American baseball players were promoted from amateur baseball to the major leagues, including Arizona State University third baseman Bob Horner, who was selected number one overall by the Atlanta Braves. Oakland High School pitc ...

by Oakland. He debuted with the A's on July 14, 1983, and appeared in 29 games that season. He continued with Oakland for two more seasons pitching over 100 innings in both 1984 and 1985, all in relief. In May 1986, Oakland traded Atherton to the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later and cash. He finished the season with a 6–10 record, but notched 10 saves, which led the Twins that year. Atherton earned a World Series ring with the Twins in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. He appeared in two games in relief. Atherton and Les Straker both committed balks in the Series, which tied the record for most balks in a World Series. In 1989, Atherton was traded to Cleveland for

Carmen Castillo Monte Carmelo Castillo (June 8, 1958 – November 15, 2015) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins. Castillo died of heart problems on November 15, 2015. Baseball career In 631 game ...

. Atherton struggled in Cleveland which led to the Indians sending him to the minor leagues for a short period. After his recall to the majors, Atherton suffered another rough outing in August that saw Cleveland offer him a chance to return to the minors to work on his pitching. He declined and was released by the club. After leaving Cleveland, he signed with the Deltaville Deltas semi-pro club while he sought another opportunity in the majors. He signed a minor-league contract with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in 1990 and later had a tryout with the Twins but left the tryout because of arm problems. He currently resides in

Mathews, Virginia Mathews is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Mathews County, Virginia, United States.

, with his wife Christine.

References

External links

Pura Pelota
1959 births Living people Baseball players from Virginia Bend Timber Hawks players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Sportspeople from Newport News, Virginia Tacoma Tigers players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players Waterbury A's players West Haven A's players West Haven Whitecaps players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub