Kerry Dale Ligtenberg (born May 11, 1971) is a 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), ...

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 ...

and coach.

Early life

Ligtenberg was born in

Rapid City Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

. He graduated from Park High School in

Cottage Grove, Minnesota Cottage Grove is a city south of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul in Washington County, Minnesota, Washington County in the U.S. state, State of Minnesota. It lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, north of the confluence with the St ...

Playing career

After attending the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1994, Ligtenberg signed with the Minneapolis Loons of the independent

North Central League North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. He made 19 starts with them (114

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 ...

), allowing 103 hits and 44 walks for an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 3.31. He struck out 94. In 1995, he attended

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 ...

with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

as a potential

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 the ongoing Major League Baseball strike. On March 28, after pitching well enough to be offered a replacement contract, his contract was purchased by the Mariners. Like the rest of the replacement players he was released on April 2, after the strike was settled. As a result of being a replacement player, effectively crossing the players' picket line, he was subsequently never allowed to join the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (or MLBPA) is the union representing all current Major League Baseball players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held a signed contract with a Major League club ...

. In 1995, the North Central League folded, and the Loons joined the independent

Prairie League {{Unreferenced, date=April 2019 The Prairie League was an independent league of baseball which was based in the prairie provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The league was or ...

for the 1995 season. Ligtenberg re-signed with them, and in 19 games (17 starts) he pitched 109 innings, allowing 101 hits, 26 walks, and striking out 100 with a 2.73 ERA. Based on information provided by Loons' manager (and former

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

catcher) Greg Olson, Atlanta purchased his contract on January 27, 1996. The purchase price was $720 worth of baseball equipment. His major league career began in . He played for the Atlanta Braves and

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

of the

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 ...

. His best season came in , when he replaced

Mark Wohlers Mark Edward Wohlers (born January 23, 1970) is a former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He is best known for his years with the Atlanta ...

as the Braves closer in mid-season, converted 30 of 34 save opportunities. He finished fourth in the 1998 National League Rookie of the Year voting. His 1999 season, however was hampered by a ligament tear, and after returning from injury in 2000 Ligtenberg was used primarily as a set-up man and middle reliever. Ligtenberg last played in 2009 for the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. According to a Twitter post by Kevin Goldstein, Ligtenberg retired on August 6, 2009, citing a knee injury.

Coaching career

Ligtenberg served as pitching coach for the St. Paul Saints from 2011 to 2020. On April 1, 2021, Ligtenberg was named the pitching coach of the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

, a former Low-A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

club that later moved to the American Association due to the restructuring of Minor League Baseball. He left the Cougars during the 2022 off season.

Personal life

In 2000, Ligtenberg graduated from the

with a degree in chemical engineering. He received his diploma during an on-field ceremony at Atlanta's

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...

in September 2000. Ligtenberg has three children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligtenberg, Kerry 1971 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks players Atlanta Braves players Baseball coaches from South Dakota Baseball players from South Dakota Baltimore Orioles players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball replacement players Minneapolis Loons players Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players Minor league baseball coaches Richmond Braves players Sportspeople from Rapid City, South Dakota St. Paul Saints players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Sidewinders players