Wesley Brian Gardner (born April 29, 1961) is a retired

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 was drafted by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in the 22nd round of the

1982 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players *David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd rou ...

, out of the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only n ...

New York Mets

Gardner made his major league debut with the Mets on July 29, , pitching a perfect ninth inning in the Mets' 5-1 loss to the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.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 ...

Boston Red Sox

On November 13, 1985, Gardner was traded to 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 ...

along with John Christensen,

Calvin Schiraldi Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and Ga ...

and

La Schelle Tarver La Schelle Tarver (born January 30, 1959) is a former backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox during the season. Listed at 5' 11", 165 lb., he batted and threw left-handed. Early years Tarver was born in ...

for

Bob Ojeda Robert Michael Ojeda (born December 17, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member ...

Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...

, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer. He emerged as the team's closer in , leading Boston with ten saves. On July 28, he made his first

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

since with the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

Little Falls Mets The Little Falls Mets were a minor league baseball team located in Little Falls (city), New York, Little Falls, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League, and were affiliated with the New York Mets. Their home stadium was Little Fal ...

. During the off-season,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

acquired

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to assume closing duties for . After starting the season in the Red Sox's

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 ...

, Gardner was moved into the starting rotation on June 28. In his first start, Gardner gave up only one

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 ...

in seven

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

to earn the win. Gardner won his first four decisions as a starter, and enjoyed career highs in wins (8),

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

(106), ERA (3.50) and

(149) for the season. Gardner's only post-season appearance came in game three of the

1988 American League Championship Series The 1988 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that pitted the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. It was the second meeting between the two in ALCS play. The Athlet ...

against 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 ...

. He replaced

Mike Boddicker Michael James Boddicker (born August 23, 1957) is an American right-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles (1980–1988), Boston Red Sox (1988–1990), Kansas City Royals (1991–1992), and Milwaukee Brewers (1993). ...

in the third inning with the Sox behind 6-5, and had a no decision in the 10-6 loss to the A's.

Final season

Gardner spent two more seasons with the Red Sox before being traded to 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 ...

for two minor leaguers on December 15, . Gardner pitched poorly in

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, and was released on May 31, . He signed with 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 ...

a month later, spending most of the season with their

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

affiliate, the

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 ...

. Gardner only gave up one earned run in 5.2 innings with the big league club, however, he was released on August 8, 1991.

In , Gardner was inducted into the University of Central Arkansas Bears Hall of Fame.

Personal

Gardner lists training bird dogs among favorite activities.

References

External links

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Baseball Almanac
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Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Wes 1961 births Living people Baseball players from Arkansas Boston Red Sox players Central Arkansas Bears baseball players Kansas City Royals players Little Falls Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Benton, Arkansas San Diego Padres players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tidewater Tides players University of Central Arkansas alumni