Dave Stieb
One of the most popular Blue Jays players ever, Dave Stieb was the best pitcher in franchise history. He narrowly missed pitching no-hitters in consecutive starts in 1988, was the workhorse of Toronto's rotation in the 1980s, and was still on the team when they won a World Series title in 1992, though he never pitched in the Fall Classic.
Played For
Toronto Blue Jays (1979-1992)
Chicago White Sox (1993)
Toronto Blue Jays (1998)
Best Season: 1985
Though his record was a mediocre 14-13, Stieb paced the league in ERA (2.48) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings. He helped the Blue Jays to their first post-season appearance.
Nearly Matching Johnny
In September, 1988, Dave Stieb nearly joined Johnny Vander Meer as the only pitcher to ever throw back-to-back no-hitters. He came within an eyelash. On the 24th in Cleveland, Stieb kept the Indians hitless for 8 2/3 innings. In the ninth he faced Julio Franco and battled him to a 2-2 count before Franco ruined the no-hitter with a single to center field. Steibe had lost the no-hitter, but won the game 1-0, after he retired the next batter.
Six days later, on the 30th, Stieb held the Orioles without a hit entering the ninth inning in Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, in front of more than 32,000 Jays' fans. In the ninth, Brady Anderson grounded out to first and pinch-hitter Jeff Stone followed with a weak grounder to Stieb for the second out. Once again, Stieb was one out away from a no-hit gem. Pinch-hitter Jim Traber followed. On a 2-2 pitch, Traber produced a single to right field, wrecking Stieb's no-hit bid. Stieb had to settle for his second straight one-hit win, 4-0. he became, as far as is known, the first pitcher to lose a no-hitter with two out in the ninth inning in consecutive starts.
Earlier in 1988, Stieb had one-hit the Brewers. On April 10, 1989, in his second start of the season, Stieb carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning against the Yankees, before settling for a one-hitter. Thus, Stieb had hurled three one-hitters over the span of four starts. Over his last two starts of 1988 and his first two of 1989, Stieb had faced 117 batters and allowed seven hits!
Finally, on September 2, 1990, Stieb got his much-anticipated no-hitter, shutting down the Tribe in Cleveland.
AL Leaders: 1980s
Wins
Morris... 160
Stieb... 140
Hough... 127
Blyleven... 115
ERA (min. 1600 IP)
Stieb... 3.32
Blyleven... 3.62
Hough... 3.64
Guidry... 3.66
Morris... 3.66
Games Started
Morris... 332
Stieb... 331
Tanana... 304
Bannister... 294
Clancy... 291
Complete Games
Morris... 133
Hough... 93
Stieb... 92
Blyleven... 89
M. Witt... 70
Shutouts
Stieb... 27
Clemens... 21
Morris... 20
Blyleven... 19
Zahn... 18
Where He Played
Starting pitcher, though Stieb had been an outfielder in the minor leagues and, like Mike Hampton later, was a good enough athlete and hitter to have been a solid major league position player.
Born
David Andrew Stieb was born on July 22, 1957, in Santa Ana, CA.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: P
Primary Team: TOR
College: Southern Illinois
Major League Debut
June 29, 1979
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1979
Rickey Henderson
Tim Raines
Kirk Gibson
Dickie Thon
Jesse Orosco
Jeff Reardon
Dan Quisenberry
Dave Righetti
Dave Stieb
Uniform Numbers
#37 (1979-1992, 1998), #10 (1993)
Similar Players
Virgil Trucks, Ken Holtzman, Bob Buhl, Rick Sutcliffe
Related Players
Jack Morris was his chief rival for the title of pitcher of the 1980s.
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 2004 |
BBWAA |
7 |
1.4% |
|
No-Hitter
9/2/1990: For TOR (A) vs. CLE (A), 3-0 at CLE. 9 innings pitched.
Post-Season Appearances
1985 American League Championship Series
1989 American League Championship Series
Feats
Threw a no-hitter on September 2, 1990, against the Indians.
Transactions
June 6, 1978: Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th round of the 1978 amateur draft; October 28, 1992: Granted Free Agency; December 8, 1992: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox; May 23, 1993: Released by the Chicago White Sox; June 14, 1993: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals; July 31, 1993: Released by the Kansas City Royals; April 1, 1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays; October 26, 1998: Granted Free Agency; December 7, 1998: Signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays.
All-Star Selections
1980 AL
1981 AL
1983 AL
1984 AL
1985 AL
1988 AL
1990 AL
Replaced
Mark Lemongello, who had struggled to a 1-9 record in the first half of the 1979 season for Toronto.
Replaced By
Stieb's last regular job in the rotation was with Toronto in 1992. He was the fifth starter, and was eventually replaced by David Wells, who also pitched out of the pen.
Best Strength as a Player
Athleticism
Largest Weakness as a Player
His own temper. In that sense, he was similar to Lefty Grove, who often alienated teammates with his grouchy behavior and finger-ointing when things didn't go well.
Learn More about Dave Stieb
Search Amazon.com for Books about Dave Stieb ⇒
Search for Dave Stieb at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
