Donald William Aase ( ;"The Week (July 24–30)," ''Sports Illustrated'', August 8, 1977.
Retrieved May 20, 2021 born September 8, 1954) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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), ...

from 1977 to 1990. During his MLB career, Aase played with 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 ...

(1977),

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 ...

(1978–84) and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(1985–88), of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. In the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

, he played for 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 ...

(1989) and

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 ...

(1990).

Minor leagues

Aase was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the 1972 amateur draft. That summer he struggled with the Williamsport Red Sox, putting up an 0–10 record to go along with a 5.81

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

. The following season he was with the

Winter Haven Red Sox The Winter Haven Red Sox were a minor league baseball team in the Florida State League (FSL), based in Winter Haven, Florida, from 1969–1992. Team history The franchise began in 1966 in Deerfield Beach, Florida, as the Deerfield Beach Sun Sox ...

and led the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

with 15 losses. However, he bounced back in 1974 with the

Winston-Salem Red Sox Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

, leading the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

in wins, complete games, and shutouts, and was named the circuit's Pitcher of the Year. Before being brought up to the Boston Red Sox, Aase's final minor league team was the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

Boston Red Sox

Aase reached the majors when he joined the

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 ...

rotation in July 1977. He won his first big league game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

on July 26 and then threw a shutout against the

five days later. He added another shutout against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

on September 5 and ended his rookie year with a 6–2 record and a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts (a 146 ERA+).

California Angels

Following his first season in the majors, Aase was traded to the

for infielder

Jerry Remy Gerald Peter Remy (November 8, 1952 – October 30, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and sports broadcaster. Remy played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for ten seasons—three with the California Angels (1 ...

. He was primarily a starter in his first two and a half years with the team, notching 11 wins in 1978. In Game Three of the 1979 ALCS on October 5, 1979, Aase became the first member of the Angels to earn a postseason victory. In that contest, he replaced

Frank Tanana Frank Daryl Tanana (born July 3, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. In a Major League Baseball career that stretched from 1973 to 1993, he pitched for the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, De ...

in the sixth inning with a 2–1 lead over the

. He gave up runs in the sixth and seventh innings to blow the lead but still earned the victory when the Angels scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game and stay alive in the series. Aase was moved to the bullpen in the middle of the 1980 season (he would never start another big league game after that) and was the Angels primary closer in 1981, notching 11 saves. However, in July 1982, he suffered an elbow injury that sidelined him for nearly two years. He came back in June 1984 and made 23 appearances for California, recording 8 saves.

Baltimore Orioles

Following the 1984 season, Aase became a free agent and signed with the

. He won 10 games and saved 14 in his first year with the O's before putting up his best numbers of his big league career in 1986. That season, he saved 23 games in the first half and was named to the American League All-Star team. In the only

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

appearance of his career, he came on in the ninth inning with runners on first and third and one out, and earned the save by inducing

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

to hit into a game-ending double play. Later in the season, he began to show signs of overwork. On August 28, he became the first Orioles pitcher to lose two games in the same day, giving up game-winning hits to

Dave Kingman David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career hom ...

in the first game of the doubleheader 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 ...

and then to

Carney Lansford Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that wo ...

in the nightcap. Nonetheless, Aase set the record for most saves in a season for an Oriole in with 34, surpassing

Tim Stoddard Timothy Paul Stoddard (born January 24, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow Eas ...

's 26 saves in 1980. He held the record until

Gregg Olson Greggory William Olson (born October 11, 1966) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, scout and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most prominently a ...

earned 36 saves in 1990. His 34 saves were also at the time the record for a member of a last place team. Aase's sole win in 1987 came on Opening Day, April 6, pitching an inning and a third of scoreless relief after replacing

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). ...

. After a few more relief appearances, he missed the rest of the season with shoulder surgery.

New York Mets

With the season approaching, 34-year-old Aase signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the

on February 20, 1989. Aase made 49 appearances out of the Mets bullpen in 1989, posting a 1–5 record with a 3.94 ERA over 59 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Exactly one year after coming to terms with the Mets, Aase signed as a

with the

on February 20, 1990. Working out of the Los Angeles bullpen, Aase went 3–1 with a 4.97 ERA over 38 innings in 32 games. His final big league appearance came on the final day of the season, October 3 as the Dodgers hosted 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 ...

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

. With the Dodgers trailing the Padres 4–3, Aase replaced

Dennis Cook Dennis Bryan Cook (born October 4, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Francisco Giants (–), Philadelphia Phillies (1989–, ), Los Angeles Dodgers (1990–), Clevelan ...

and allowed two unearned runs over one-third of an inning before giving way to Darren Holmes. Aase became a free agent after the season, but opted to retire.

Career statistics

References

External links

Don Aase
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aase, Don 1954 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange, California Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers Boston Red Sox players California Angels players Baltimore Orioles players New York Mets players Los Angeles Dodgers players Pawtucket Red Sox players American League All-Stars Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Williamsport Red Sox players Winter Haven Red Sox players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Rhode Island Red Sox players Redwood Pioneers players Rochester Red Wings players Bakersfield Dodgers players