Stephen George Ridzik (April 29, 1929 – January 8, 2008) was an American right-handed

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), ...

who played for five teams from 1950 to 1966, primarily the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Senators. Born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

, Ridzik was signed by the Phillies at the age of 16 and made his major league debut on September 4, 1950, pitching in relief. In 1953, Ridzik started 12 games and relieved in 30 more going 9-6 with an

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 ...

of 3.77. The Phillies traded him on April 30, 1955, along with

Smoky Burgess Forrest Harrill "Smoky" Burgess (February 6, 1927 – September 15, 1991) was an American professional baseball catcher, pinch hitter, coach, and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . A nine-time All-Star, Burgess became kno ...

and Stan Palys, to the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

for

Andy Seminick Andrew Wasal Seminick (September 12, 1920 – February 22, 2004) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies between 1943 and 1951, and the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs ...

Glen Gorbous Glen Edward Gorbous (July 8, 1930 - June 12, 1990)Sports Illust ...

, and

Jim Greengrass James Raymond Greengrass (October 24, 1927 – September 9, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. A power-hitting outfielder whose career was hindered by phlebitis, Greengrass appeared in 504 games over five seasons (1952–56) in ...

. After having his contract sold to Seattle of the Pacific Coast League that same year, the New York Giants claimed him the next month in the Rule 5 draft. Ridzik pitched for the Giants from 1957 to 1958 appearing in 56 games including 5 starts. On April 8, 1958, the Giants sold his contract to 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 ...

where he would pitch in six more games before his contract was sold again to the Chicago Cubs. He would not pitch a major league game with the Cubs before his contract was sold to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

of the International League. Ridzik signed with the Washington Senators three years later in 1963 after developing a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This cha ...

. He would appear in 132 games, mostly in relief, over the next three years for the Senators. On April 13, 1966, his contract was sold back to his original team, the Phillies. He would appear in two games with the Phillies that year before calling it a career. After life as a baseball player, Ridzik worked in the Washington, D.C. area for a military food distributor until moving to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the late 1980s. In Florida, he helped with the organizing of charity events featuring former Major League players. He also helped establish the

Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created in 1982 by former Washington Senators player Chuck Hinton to promote the game of baseball, raise money for charities, inspire and educate ...

with a former Senators teammate,

Chuck Hinton Charles Edward Hinton Jr. (May 3, 1934 – January 27, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, Hinton played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1961–64), Cleveland Indians (1965–67, 1969–71) an ...

. He died on January 8, 2008, after fighting heart disease for several years.Ridzik, who pitched for Phillies' 1950 World Series team, dies
/ref>

References

External links

Steve Ridzik
at Baseball Almanac
Steve Ridzik
at Baseball Biography
Steve Ridzik
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridzik, Steve 1929 births 2008 deaths Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from New York (state) Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Fort Worth Cats players Greensboro Patriots players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New York Giants (NL) players Sportspeople from Bradenton, Florida Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Schenectady Blue Jays players Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Utica Blue Sox players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players