Mark Lawrence Huismann (born May 11, 1958) is an American former

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relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

Early years

Huismann was born in

Littleton, Colorado Littleton is a home rule municipality city located in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statis ...

, and attended Colorado State University upon graduation from

Thomas B. Doherty High School Thomas B. Doherty High School, commonly referred to as Doherty High School (DHS), is a public high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. Established in 1975, it is the newest school in the Colorado Springs School District 11, servi ...

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. Shortly after his 21st birthday, he was drafted by 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 locate ...

in the 23rd round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign. After going undrafted in the 1980 Major League Baseball Draft, 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 expa ...

as an amateur

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Kansas City Royals

After four seasons in the minors, in which he compiled a 20–15 record with 49 saves and a 2.29

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 numb ...

, Huismann made his major league debut on August 16, 1983 against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. Huismann drove his parents' car to the game, and almost didn't make it, as the car overheated three times on the way to Royals Stadium. He made it in time to enter the game in the fifth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

, and with runners on first and third and two

outs In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a ...

, Huismann induced a fly ball to center from

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", i.e., drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the us ...

Lance Parrish to end the threat. The Royals erupted for nine runs in the seventh to make a winner of Huismann in his debut. Huismann began the season with the Royals, but after going 0–2 with a 6.75 ERA in thirteen appearances, he was optioned back to triple A Omaha. He was far more effective when he returned in July, going 3–1 with a 2.79 ERA and three saves over the rest of the season. He made his only post season appearance in game one of the 1984 American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers. Despite this progress, he did not make the Royals' roster for 1985. Instead, he compiled an American Association record 33 saves for the Omaha Royals to earn the league's Most Valuable Pitcher Award. He received a call-up to the majors when rosters expanded that September, and was 1–0 with a 1.93 ERA in nine games, but was not part of the Royals' post season roster.

Seattle Mariners

With Dan Quisenberry in his prime, there was little room for a closer on the Royals. On May 21, 1986, he was traded to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

for

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

Terry Bell. He made his only career

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 * ...

for the M's on July 21 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 ...

. He was pulled in the fourth inning after having surrendered six runs (5 earned), and took the loss. Otherwise, he spent the rest of the season in a lefty/righty platoon with Matt Young closing games for Seattle. Huismann finished fourteen games, picking up four saves.

Cleveland Indians

He appeared in just six games for the Mariners in before being dealt 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 ...

for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Dave Gallagher. He was 2–3 with two saves and a 5.09 ERA for the Indians when he was optioned down to the triple A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

on July 15. The Indians released Huismann during

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

the following season. Shortly afterwards, he signed with the

. Huismann pitched in all or part of nine seasons in the majors for six different teams from 1983 until 1991. Despite spending parts of nine seasons in the major leagues, Huismann pitched in more than 20 games in the majors just three times, spending more time at the minor league level than the majors in nearly every season (1986 being the only season during that stretch that he did not spend any time in the minors). In 1992 he played his final season of baseball for the Omaha Royals.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huismann, Mark Major League Baseball pitchers Kansas City Royals players Seattle Mariners players Colorado State Rams baseball players Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Baltimore Orioles players Pittsburgh Pirates players Gulf Coast Royals players Charleston Royals players Fort Myers Royals players Jacksonville Suns players Omaha Royals players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Toledo Mud Hens players Rochester Red Wings players Baseball players from Colorado 1958 births Living people