Stephen Stepanovich Rachunok (a.k.a. "The Mad Russian") (December 5, 1916 – May 11, 2002), was a professional baseball

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 ...

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), ...

for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

. A native of in

Rittman, Ohio Rittman is a city in Medina and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. All but a small portion of the city is in Wayne County, within commuting distance of Akron, Canton and Cleveland. The population was 6,131 at the 2020 census. Geograph ...

, Rachunok appeared in two games during the 1940 season, one as a starter, where he pitched a complete game. His Major League Baseball (MLB) debut came on September 17, 1940, where he pitched the top of the ninth inning surrendering 1 walk while striking out 1 as the Dodgers were defeated 5–0 by the visiting

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 ha ...

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five p ...

. His only other MLB appearance came 9 days later in the second game of a doubleheader at Ebbets Field when facing the

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

surrendering 5 runs (all earned), striking out 9, while walking 4, en route to a 5–4 loss. Rachunok died on May 11, 2002 in

Corona, California Corona (Spanish for "Crown") is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 157,136, up from 152,374 at the 2010 census. The cities of Norco and Riverside lie to the north and north ...

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Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Ohio Brooklyn Dodgers players People from Rittman, Ohio People from Corona, California 1916 births 2002 deaths Jackson Senators players Beaumont Exporters players Lake Charles Skippers players Sioux City Cowboys players Henderson Oilers players Montreal Royals players Indianapolis Indians players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub