I was watching the Yankees-Astros game Tuesday night when Michael Kay and David Cone were talking about pitchers. I wasn’t hearing the exact background but I did perk up when I heard the name Dave Stieb. For those who are unaware, Stieb was one of the great pitchers of the 1980’s, totaling 176 victories over his 16 year career, mostly with the Toronto Blue Jays. Perhaps more memorable was the fact that it seemed like once per season, he would lose a no hitter in the ninth inning.
Dave Stieb twirled five one hitters over the course of his career, three of them coming with two outs in the ninth inning. Finally, on September 2, 1990, “Sir David” completed the elusive no-hitter, beating the Cleveland Indians 3-0. This string of brilliant outings came as no surprise. Stieb is a seven time All Star and finished in the top ten of the Cy Young voting four times. In 1982, he was named the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year as he led the American League in shutouts with five and complete games with 19. When the Blue Jays made their first playoff appearance in 1985, Stieb led the American League with a 2.48 ERA as Toronto finished one game short of the World Series. After four appearances with the Chicago White Sox in 1993, he didn’t pitch for four years and made a comeback with the Blue Jays at age 40. After 19 appearances in 1998, Stieb called it a career; he still holds the most victories by a pitcher in Jays’ history.
Stieb was one of the best pitchers of his era. He gets overshadowed by names like Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan and Jack Morris. However, if I had to win one game against any one of those great pitchers, I wouldn’t hesitate to give the ball to Dave Stieb.
Threeunassisted 