Michael David Hedlund (born August 11, 1946) 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 ...

who played for six seasons. He played for the

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 F ...

in 1965 and 1968 and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

from 1969 to 1972.

Cleveland Indians

Hedlund was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, and signed as an amateur free agent with the

upon graduation from Arlington High School in . He was just eighteen years old when he made his major league debut on May 8, against 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 ...

. He appeared in just six games, and pitched a total of 5.1

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s before returning to the minors. He returned to the majors in as a September call up, and appeared in three games. After the season, he was selected by the

in the

1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expansi ...

Kansas City Royals

Hedlund went 3–6 with a 3.24

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

during the Royals' inaugural season. Used as both a starter and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, he was far more effective out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

, posting a 1.69 ERA and earning two saves. His finest start came on September 18 when he held the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

to just 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 ...

, and struck out eight to earn the

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

victory. After the season, Hedlund pitched for

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. He set a league record by not allowing an

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

for the first 53 innings he pitched, and finishing with a 0.75 ERA. While in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, Hedlund would contract the

Hong Kong flu The Hong Kong flu, also known as the 1968 flu pandemic, was a flu pandemic whose outbreak in 1968 and 1969 killed between one and four million people globally. It is among the deadliest pandemics in history, and was caused by an H3N2 strain of ...

and

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

, causing him to lose thirty pounds. But he recovered and served as a reinforcement for the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

, eventual champions of the 1970 Caribbean Series. Hedlund began the in the majors, but was ineffective, and was reassigned to the triple A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. In , the Royals boasted one of the most talented young starting rotations in the majors with Hedlund,

Dick Drago Richard Anthony Drago (born June 25, 1945) is a former American League relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals (-), Boston Red Sox (-, -), California Angels (-), Baltimore Orioles (1977) and Seattle Mariners ( ...

and

Paul Splittorff Paul William Splittorff Jr. (; October 8, 1946 – May 25, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Roya ...

all under 27 years old. After narrowly avoiding one hundred losses in 1970, the Royals improved to 85–76, in 1971 to finish second in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

. For his part, Hedlund rebounded to go 15–8 in with the league's fourth best ERA, 2.71. After the season, Hedlund traveled to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

with a group of Major League ballplayers on a tour of hospitals and military bases. Hedlund started in the Royals' rotation, but after starting the season 0–5, was moved into the bullpen. He improved considerably at that point; winning his next four starts when used by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, National Ba ...

as a spot starter. At the 1972

Winter meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

he was traded back to the Cleveland Indians for

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Kurt Bevacqua Kurt Anthony Bevacqua (; born January 23, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from 1971 to 1985. Bevacqua is notable for his performance during the 1984 World Series when h ...

Minor leagues

The Indians intended to use Hedlund as a long reliever and spot starter, but he failed to make the club out of

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 ...

. He spent the entire season with the triple A

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, going 7–8 with a 4.44 ERA. The following

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

, he was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

for minor league

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Ken Hottman Kenneth Roger Hottman (May 7, 1948 – April 16, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, Hottman hit for power in minor league baseball, but his Major League Baseball, Major League service was limited to six games playe ...

. Despite a respectable 2.90 ERA, Hedlund was 5–8 in for the Iowa Oaks. He was traded again after the season, this time to 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 ...

for

Ozzie Osborn Danny Leon "Ozzie" Osborn (born June 19, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Chicago White Sox in . After his lone season in the majors, he was traded a ...

, but never played a game with them at any level.

Sources

External links

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hedlund, Mike 1946 births Baseball players from Dallas Burlington Indians players (1958–1964) Cleveland Indians players Iowa Oaks players Kansas City Royals players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City 89ers players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Indians players Portland Beavers players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Waterbury Indians players American people of Swedish descent