Peter Irvine Redfern (born August 25, 1954) 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 ...

. He had a seven-season career in the majors, from until , all with the

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 ...

. Redfern was the Twins' first-round pick, and the first pick overall in the secondary phase of the 1976 draft. After pitching in just four games in the

minor leagues 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 ...

with the Tacoma Twins, he made his major league debut on May 15 against the

California 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 ...

. Although he gave up four runs in five innings, he was the winning pitcher (beating

Sid Monge Isidro Monge Pedroza (born April 11, 1951) is a Mexican retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher who pitched from 1975 to 1984. He played for the California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers, all of the American League and the Ph ...

) in a 15–5 Twins victory. On April 6, 1982, Redfern was the starting pitcher in the first Twins game at the

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

, facing 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 ...

. He lost the game to

Floyd Bannister Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (–), Seattle Mariners (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Kansas City ...

. That season would be his last with the Twins, as he was released at the end on March 25, 1983. Shortly afterwards, Redfern came into dispute with Minnesota Twins over how much money he was owed. A released player in 1983 would get $26,000 severance pay but Redfern and his lawyers said x-rays showed he had an elbow injury and therefore the Twins owed him $160,000. He signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, but appeared in just six games for their top farm team, the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fra ...

that season. In October 1983, Redfern was almost killed in a diving accident at

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

, which left him

paralyzed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

and ended his playing career. He uses a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

but is able to walk short distances with a

walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

. His son, Chad, was a minor league pitcher.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redfern, Pete Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Tacoma Twins players Toledo Mud Hens players Albuquerque Dukes players Baseball players from California Sportspeople from Glendale, California USC Trojans baseball players People with tetraplegia 1954 births Living people Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Baseball players at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players