Mark Philip Schaeffer (June 5, 1948 – June 1, 2022) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He 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), ...

as a left-handed

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 ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in . He batted and threw left-handed. Schaeffer was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, and attended Grover Cleveland High School in

Reseda, California Reseda is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1912, and its central business district started developing in 1915. The neighborhood was devoted to agriculture for many years. Earthquakes ...

. He was drafted by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the second round of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded along with

Derrel Thomas Derrel Osbon Thomas (born January 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and utility player from to . Thomas was a member of the 1981 World Series winning ...

and

Bill Greif William Briley Greif (born April 25, 1950) is a retired professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1971 to 1976, for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals. Astros G ...

from the Astros to the Padres for Dave Roberts on December 3, 1971. Schaeffer made his major league debut on April 18, 1972, at the age of 23 with the San Diego Padres. Schaeffer was strictly a relief pitcher in MLB (41 appearances, zero starts). On July 29, 1972, during a 17 inning, 4–3 victory over the Reds, Schaffer picked up his lone MLB save by retiring the final batter of the game. Schaeffer died June 1, 2022.

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Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
1948 births 2022 deaths Baseball players from Santa Monica, California Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Florida Instructional League Astros players Florida Instructional League Red Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Pittsfield Red Sox players San Diego Padres players Savannah Senators players Waterloo Hawks (baseball) players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Burials at Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub