Stanley Raymond Bahnsen (born December 15, 1944) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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

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

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

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 ...

, Oakland Athletics,

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 ...

, California Angels, and Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed the "Bahnsen Burner," he once made 118 starts over a three-year stretch while playing with the

in the mid-1970s.

Early life

Bahnsen attended Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Career

New York Yankees

Bahnsen was drafted out of the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

by the

in the fourth round of the

1965 Major League Baseball Draft The 1965 Major League Baseball Draft is the first year in which a draft took place for Major League Baseball. It was held on June 8–9 in New York City. In Major League Baseball's first Free Agent Amateur Draft, the Kansas City Athletics selec ...

. After two seasons in the minor leagues, in which he went 12-9 with a 2.87

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 ...

, he received his first call up to the majors in September . In four games with the Yanks, he was 1-1 with a save and 3.52 ERA. He earned an invitation to Spring training camp in , but was assigned to the triple A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. After arriving at camp late due to an army commitment, Bahnsen was given a second chance at a roster spot in . He made the club, and proceeded to go 17-12 with a team best 2.05 ERA and struck out a career-high 162 batters to be named 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 ...

Rookie of the Year. His finest performance of the season and only

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

came on August 1 against 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 eigh ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

. He struck out twelve, while allowing only three hits and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

no one. Bahnsen spent three more seasons with the Yankees, never matching his rookie success. Perhaps the most famous moment of his Yankee career from that point forward was a brawl with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

Vada Pinson Vada Edward Pinson Jr. (August 11, 1938 – October 21, 1995) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball for 18 years (1958–1975), most notably for the Cincinnati Reds, for who ...

in which he was knocked down with one punch.

Chicago White Sox

Bahnsen was traded from the Yankees to the

for

Rich McKinney Charles Richard McKinney (born November 22, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between and . Originally an infielder when he came up with the Chicago Wh ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 2, 1971. White Sox manager

Chuck Tanner Charles William Tanner (July 4, 1928February 11, 2011) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A left fielder and pinch hitter who appeared in 396 games in Major League Baseball between 1955 and 1962, he was known for his unwav ...

employed a unique strategy with his starting rotation for the season. Recognizing the talent he had at the top of his rotation, he started

Wilbur Wood Wilbur Forrester Wood Jr. (born October 22, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched for the Boston Red Sox (1961–64), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1964–65), and the Chi ...

, Bahnsen or Tom Bradley as much as possible, leaving only 24 starts for the rest of the staff. The strategy worked, as the White Sox finished over .500 for the first time since , and in second place in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

. For his part, Bahnsen made 41 starts, and went 21-16 with a 3.60 ERA in his first season with the South Siders. The next season, Bahnsen made 42 starts, however his record dipped to 18-21 as the White Sox finished the season in fifth place. In one of those 18 wins, a 4-0 shutout over the Cleveland Indians on August 21 at Municipal Stadium, Bahnsen had a no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth on a single by former teammate

Walt Williams Walter Ander "The Wizard" Williams (born April 16, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. A sharpshooting 6'8" forward/guard, Williams attended school at the University of Maryland from 1988 to 1992, and is credited by many ...

. Bahnsen made another 35 starts for the White Sox in . Along the way, he started another bench-clearing brawl; this time with the Kansas City Royals'

John Mayberry John Claiborn Mayberry Sr. (born February 18, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball player who was active from 1968 to 1982 for the Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. He was a two-time All Star. High ...

. Coincidentally, Pinson was also a member of the Royals, and in the starting line-up that day. He was 4–6 in twelve starts when he was dealt along with

Skip Pitlock Lee Patrick Thomas "Skip" Pitlock (born November 6, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. A left-hander noted for his unusual wind-up, he had a "herky-jerky" motion which deceived major league batters, and led to 124 career st ...

from the White Sox to the Oakland Athletics for Dave Hamilton and

Chet Lemon Chester Earl Lemon (born February 12, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, he grew up in Los Angeles. He was drafted in the first round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft and played 16 season ...

at the non-waiver trade deadline on June 15, . In a little over three seasons in Chicago, Bahnsen made 130 starts, and was 55-58.

Oakland Athletics

After going 6-7 with a 3.24 ERA for the A's in 1975, he was reunited with former White Sox manager Chuck Tanner for . Tanner employed a similar strategy with the A's to that which he had with the White Sox, starting

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

and

Mike Torrez Michael Augustine Torrez (born August 28, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) starting pitcher. In an 18-season career, he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (1967–1971), Montreal Expos (1971–1974), Baltimore Orioles (1 ...

as much as possible. Bahnsen only made fourteen starts, seeing most of his work in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. He went 8-7 with a 3.34 ERA for the season. Early into the season, he was traded to the

for

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Mike Jorgensen Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who currently works in the St. Louis Cardinals' front office. The New York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the 1966 Major L ...

Montreal Expos

After making 22 starts for the Expos in 1977, Bahnsen became a full-time reliever in , making just one emergency start. He became a valuable member of the bullpen, collecting seventeen saves over the next four seasons with the Expos, and leading the team in innings pitched out of the bullpen in (94.1).

Career twilight

The Expos released Bahnsen at the end of Spring training, just as the season was set to begin. He joined the California Angels shortly afterwards, but was released after seven games with a 4.66 ERA on May 14. Shortly afterwards, he signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies, and went 4-3 with a 4.89 ERA for the triple A

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He appeared briefly with the Phillies that September, giving up just two

earned runs 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 erro ...

in 13.1 innings pitched. After going 0-3 with a 9.59 ERA for the Pacific Coast League's

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

in , he retired. For his career, Bahnsen posted a 146-149 record. Other statistics: 574 games, 327 games started, 73 complete games, 16 shutouts, 90 games finished, 20 saves, 2,529 innings pitched, 2,440 hits allowed, 1,127 runs allowed, 1,013 earned runs allowed, 223 home runs allowed, 924 walks (59 intentional), 1,359 strikeouts, 34 hit batsmen, 89 wild pitches, 10,701 batters faced, three balks and a 3.60 ERA. Bahnsen has a career .117

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, and drove in nineteen runs. His only career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

came on August 19, 1979 against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

' Tony Brizzolara. In 1992 Bahnsen played for one season for the Dutch Major League Team Haarlem Nicols, two years before the team declared bankruptcy.

Career after baseball

Bahnsen works with the promotions department of MSC Cruises seeking and securing retired major league players to participate in activities on cruise ships such as autograph and story-telling sessions. He also works with

640 AM 640 AM - The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 640 kHz: 640 AM is a North American clear-channel frequency. KFI in Los Angeles, California, KYUK in Bethel, Alaska, and CBN in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada share ...

, a south Florida radio station that broadcasts Yankee games.

References

External links

Stan Bahnsen
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahnsen, Stan 1944 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Iowa California Angels players Chicago White Sox players Columbus Confederate Yankees players Gold Coast Suns (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Montreal Expos players Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City 89ers players Philadelphia Phillies players Portland Beavers players Sportspeople from Council Bluffs, Iowa Syracuse Chiefs players Toledo Mud Hens players American expatriate baseball players in the Netherlands