Kurt David Kepshire (born July 3, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 51 Major League

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals (1984–1986). He stood tall and weighed .

Career

Kepshire's professional career lasted for 11 seasons (1979–1989). After attending the University of New Haven, he was selected by the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in the 25th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. He then spent four seasons in the Cincinnati

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

before he was acquired by the Cardinals in the Rule 5 draft. Kepshire required another year and a half of

minor league 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 ...

seasoning before making his Major League debut on July 4, 1984, against the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park. He went 8

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

that day, holding the Giants to one

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 ...

on eight

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 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 ...

Jeff Lahti Jeffrey Allen Lahti (born October 8, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an alumnus of Portland State University. Early life Lahti was born in Oregon City on October 8, 1956 to parents Marlene and Bob. Following their divorce, ...

retired the final two Giant batters of the game to save Kepshire's 5–1 triumph. After a relief appearance, Kepshire took a regular turn in the Cardinals' starting rotation from July 15 through the end of the season, finishing the season with two complete-game shutouts, September 21 against 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 ...

and September 26 against the Montreal Expos. As a rookie, he won six of 11 decisions with a 3.60 earned run average in 17 games, 16 of them starts. His sophomore season with the Cardinals saw Kepshire keep his place in the starting rotation through most of the season and win ten more games, but his effectiveness diminished. He allowed 155 hits, 16

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 ...

and 77 bases on balls in 153 innings pitched, with only 67

strikeout 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 deno ...

s. In his final two starting assignments, both against the Cubs, he lasted only one full inning on September 9; then, five days later, he walked the first three batters he faced without recording an

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 ...

before being relieved. The Cardinals were embroiled in a tight pennant race against the New York Mets, and Kepshire made only two more appearances that year, both in relief. The Redbirds would win the

National League East Division The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

and National League championships, but Kepshire did not appear on the Cards'

1985 NLCS The 1985 National League Championship Series was played between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers from October 9–16. It was the 17th NLCS and the first played under the new best-of-seven format. In previous years, the NLCS had b ...

1985 World Series The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the Na ...

roster. Kepshire made only two more Major League appearances, both in April 1986. As a starter, he went seven five-hit innings in a 3–2 loss to Montreal on April 13, then one inning of relief against the Cubs ten days later. Then the Cardinals sent him to the minors, where he struggled through a 3–13 season split between Triple-A and Double-A. He left the Cardinal system in 1987 and pitched in Mexico before returning to the affiliated minors for two final seasons, in the Montreal 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 ...

' organizations. All told, Kepshire appeared in 51 MLB games, 46 of them starts, winning 16 of 31 decisions, and allowing 263 hits and 119 bases on balls in 270 innings pitched. He struck out 144. After retiring from baseball, Kepshire was a correctional officer at Bridgeport Correctional Institute in Bridgeport, Connecticut for many years before leaving behind his home in Oxford, Connecticut and relocating to

Bonita Springs, Florida (beautiful), eng, beautiful springs , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Bonita_Beach.JPG , imagesize = 250x200px , image_caption = Bonita Beach , image_flag ...

in 2014 with his domestic partner, where he resides to this day.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kepshire, Kurt 1959 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Billings Mustangs players Cedar Rapids Reds players Eugene Emeralds players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers New Haven Chargers baseball players Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players Baseball players from Bridgeport, Connecticut Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players Waterbury Reds players Central High School (Connecticut) alumni Diablos Rojos del México players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico