| Stefan Wever | |
|---|---|
 Wever with theNashville Sounds in 1982 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1958-04-22)April 22, 1958 Marburg,Hesse,West Germany | |
| Died: December 27, 2022(2022-12-27) (aged 64) Portland, Oregon, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 17, 1982, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 17, 1982, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 0–1 |
| Earned run average | 27.00 |
| Strikeouts | 2 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Stefan Matthew Wever (April 22, 1958 – December 27, 2022) was a German-born American professional baseballpitcher, who played a singleMajor League Baseball game with theNew York Yankees in 1982, recording the loss, a 27.00earned run average (ERA), and twostrikeouts in that game.
Born in West Germany, Wever moved to the United States as a child and began playing baseball. He played in high school and theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara, which led to him being drafted by the New York Yankees. After four seasons in the minor leagues, Wever made his major league debut on September 17, 1982. In his debut, he suffered a shoulder injury, which he tried to pitch through for two years before having surgery in 1984. He tried to come back from the injury in 1985 but retired. After retiring, he opened a bar in San Francisco, which he continued to run.
Wever was born inMarburg,West Germany, in 1958. He immigrated to the United States with his mother and twin sister at six and lived inBoston until he was 12 when he moved to San Francisco. He attendedLowell High School, where he played on the school's baseball team. During his senior year, Wever helped lead the Lowell Cardinals to the city championship game, and he graduated in 1976.[1]
After graduating from high school, Wever was not looked at by college recruiters due to a lack of competition he faced.[2] As a result, he attended theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara on an academic scholarship, andwalked on to the school's baseball team.[1] In three seasons with the Santa Barbara Gauchos, he had 18 wins, 17 losses, 199strikeouts, and 15complete games; the losses and complete games were at that time school records.[3] After his junior year, Wever was drafted by theNew York Yankees in the sixth round of the1979 Major League Baseball draft. He was given asigning bonus of $16,000, and officially signed with the team shortly after the draft concluded.[2]
Wever began his professional career in 1979 with theOneonta Yankees of theNew York–Penn League (NYPL). He pitched in ten games for the team, finishing the season with a 6–3 record, a 1.77earned run average (ERA), and 70 strikeouts.[4] In the Yankees' championship series against theGeneva Cubs, he pitched ashutout and threw nine strikeouts to win the first game and help the Yankees win the NYPL Championship.[5] The following year, Wever was promoted to theFort Lauderdale Yankees of theFlorida State League. That year, he had a 7–3 record, a 3.64 ERA and 94innings pitched in 15 games.[4]
In 1981, Wever began the season remaining with Fort Lauderdale. He had a 7–3 record and a 2.00 ERA in 12 games before being promoted to theNashville Sounds of theSouthern League, the Yankees' AA affiliate. With Nashville, he had a 5–2 record and 2.05 ERA in nine appearances.[4] Wever's pitching coach in Nashville wasHall of FamerHoyt Wilhelm. Wilhelm felt he had the ability but not the confidence to pitch in the majors, and spent his time in Nashville working on that aspect of Wever's game.[2] The following season, Weber was almost unanimously named to theSouthern League All-Star team, thanks to 11 wins and 116 strikeouts through the end of June.[6] He improved to a 16–6 record, a 2.78 ERA, and 191 strikeouts, won theSouthern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award, and accomplished the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts.[1] He led Nashville to the Southern League championship, and right after doing so, the Yankees called Wever up to the major leagues.[1]
His first and only major league appearance came against theMilwaukee Brewers on September 17, 1982. The first two batters he faced werePaul Molitor andRobin Yount, both future Hall of Famers. The fourth batter he faced wasTed Simmons, also a future Hall of Famer. Partway through the first inning, he felt a twinge in his shoulder; not wanting to leave his first game early, he pitched through it and allowed five runs in the first.[2][7] Partway through the third, after three more runs allowed, Wever was taken out of the game. He pitched for2+2⁄3 innings and had eight earned runs, two strikeouts, and three wild pitches.[7] Entering the 1983 season, Wever was projected to be the fifth starter in the Yankees' starting rotation.[2] Because of continued pain in his shoulder,[2] he instead spent the season with the AAAColumbus Clippers, where he went 1–4 with a 9.78 ERA in seven appearances.[4]
Wever spent 1984 with Fort Lauderdale, where he went 1–3 in seven games.[4] After the seven games, he visited Dr.James Andrews, who diagnosed the twinge he suffered two years earlier as a tornrotator cuff and torn labrum; it explained why he had been throwing 85 mph since the injury, compared to 95 mph beforehand. He had surgery shortly afterward and spent the rest of the yearrehabbing the injury.[1] He attempted a comeback in 1985 with theAlbany-Colonie Yankees and had a 4.91 ERA in five games with the team.[4] In June, having continued to pitch through shoulder pain, Wever retired from baseball and ended his professional career.[2]
After retiring from baseball, Wever returned to school, and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[8] He married Melinda in 1988, and three years later opened up the Horseshoe Tavern, a bar in San Francisco's Marina District, which he continues to run.[2][8]
While working at his bar, Wever returned to baseball in a coaching role. He was named varsity baseball coach atRedwood High School inLarkspur, California in 2008, after having volunteered for the freshman team the year before.[1] Wever was forced to resign in 2010 due to a diagnosis oflarge-cell lymphoma.[9] He went on to continue coaching youth baseball camps and leagues and was bench coach for theSan Rafael Pacifics in 2013.[10]
Wever later spent three days a week feeding the homeless at SF's St. Anthony's Dining Room.
In 2019, Wever moved toPortland, Oregon, to be near his daughter. He continued to volunteer and traveled to San Francisco once a month to continue volunteering at St. Anthony's and to look after his business.
Wever died on December 27, 2022, at the age of 64.[11]