Stephen John Fireovid (born June 6, 1957), is an American former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
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 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), ...
(MLB) 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 penn ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and
Texas Rangers, in all or part of six seasons, between and . Never did Fireovid pitch in more than 10 games in any one MLB season.
Career
He played college baseball at
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...
in
Oxford, Ohio
Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...
, from to . In 1977, he 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 ...
with the
Falmouth Commodores
The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie Alle ...
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 ...
.
In , while pitching for the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
’
Triple-A affiliate
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...
, Fireovid composed a journal of his experiences. The journal was turned into a book, ''The 26th Man: One Minor League Pitcher's Pursuit of a Dream'', in 1991. The book was co-authored by
Mark Winegardner
Mark Winegardner (born November 24, 1961) is an American writer born and raised in Bryan, Ohio. His novels include '' The Godfather Returns'', ''Crooked River Burning'', and ''The Veracruz Blues''. He published a collection of short stories, '' ...
. Fireovid's career is also profiled with a chapter in the book ''Journeymen: 24 Bittersweet Tales of Short Major League Sports Careers'', by Kurt Dusterberg.
Fireovid was initially married to Patty, with whom he has three children (Joseph, Samuel, and Thomas). Subsequently, he wed Michele and had two children (Adam and Rachel).
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fireovid, Steve
1957 births
Living people
Amarillo Gold Sox players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Ohio
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Calgary Cannons players
Chicago White Sox players
People from Bryan, Ohio
Falmouth Commodores players
Hawaii Islanders players
Indianapolis Indians players
Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players
Miami RedHawks baseball players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Omaha Royals players
Oklahoma City 89ers players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Portland Beavers players
Reno Silver Sox players
San Diego Padres players
Seattle Mariners players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Texas Rangers players
Walla Walla Padres players