Mark Joseph Petkovsek (born November 18, 1965) is an American 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 ...

. He played for the Texas Rangers (1991 and 2001),

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1993),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

(1995–98) and

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1999–2000). He attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where he threw a seven-inning no-hitter in March 1987. In 1985 and 1986, Petkovsek played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL). He compiled a 14-4 mark in the two seasons with Chatham, and in 2016 was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame. Petkovsek was a first-round pick of the Rangers in 1987, and in 1991, he made his major-league debut with the club, pitching 4 and taking the loss against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. The Rangers granted him his free agency following the year, and he signed with Pittsburgh for 1992. He spent the year at AAA Buffalo, where he co-aced for the club with

Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...

. After Petkovsek appeared in 23 games for Pittsburgh in '93, the Pirates let Petkovsek walk, and the right-hander signed with the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division, having moved to the div ...

for 1994. They assigned him to AAA

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

out of Spring Training, and he spent the entire year there. On May 16, 1994, Petkovsek threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in Tucson franchise history,Mark Petkovsek Throws the First Nine-Inning No-Hitter in Tucson Toros History
''The Arizona Daily Star''. Article published on May 16, 1994. Retrieved on May 8, 2016. beating the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

, 5–0, in his only complete game of the year. For his effort, Petkovsek was named PCL Pitcher of the Week. As had the Rangers and Pirates before them, the Astros granted Petkovsek his free agency after the 1994 season, and he found a home in the Cardinals organization, pitching at both AAA

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and for the major league Redbirds in 1995. His 21 major league starts that year were a career high. He helped the Cardinals win the 1996 National League Central Division, winning 11 times against only two defeats as a

swingman A swingman is an athlete capable of playing multiple positions in their sport. Basketball In basketball, the term “swingman” (a.k.a. “wing” or “guard-forward”) denotes a player who can play both the shooting guard (2) and small forwa ...

. The 11 wins he had for St. Louis were a career high, regardless of professional level.

Sources

External links

Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petkovsek, Mark 1965 births Living people American people of Slovenian descent Anaheim Angels players Baseball players from Texas Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charlotte Rangers players Chatham Anglers players Gulf Coast Rangers players Lake Elsinore Storm players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Texas Longhorns baseball players Texas Rangers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Tulsa Drillers players