| Dan Quisenberry | |
|---|---|
 Quisenberry in 1986 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1953-02-07)February 7, 1953 Santa Monica, California, U.S. | |
| Died: September 30, 1998(1998-09-30) (aged 45) Leawood, Kansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 8, 1979, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 23, 1990, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 56–46 |
| Earned run average | 2.76 |
| Strikeouts | 379 |
| Saves | 244 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Daniel Raymond Quisenberry (/ˈkwɪzənbɛri/; February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998), nicknamed "Quiz", was an American right-handedrelief pitcher inMajor League Baseball who played primarily for theKansas City Royals.[1][2] Notable for hissubmarine-style pitching delivery and his humorous quotes, he led theAmerican League (AL) insaves a record five times (1980, 1982–85). In each season he led the league in saves, Quisenberry finished in the top five of the ALCy Young Award voting, including runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1984 toLaMarr Hoyt andWillie Hernández, respectively. He retired in 1990 with 244 saves, the fifth-highest total in major league history at the time.
In addition to playing for the Royals, Quisenberry spent parts of two seasons with theSt. Louis Cardinals and his final season with theSan Francisco Giants.
Quisenberry was born inSanta Monica, California. His name is the English mutation of the German surnameQuestenberg, a village inSaxony-Anhalt. His parents divorced when he was 7 years old, and his mother remarried Art Meola, aRockwell International engineer who encouraged him and his older brother to play baseball. Quisenberry played baseball atCosta Mesa High School/Middle School. In 1973, while attendingOrange Coast College, he was named team MVP. He was then recruited by theUniversity of La Verne, aChurch of the Brethren college, where he met his future wife, Janie Howard, while attending a class insquare dancing.[3]
Quisenberry signed with the Royals as an amateurfree agent in1975 for aClass A team inWaterloo, Iowa, and pitched acomplete game in his first start. At the end of the season, he was promoted to theDouble-A team inJacksonville, Florida. At the time, he worked for a sporting goods store during the day and a mortuary at night.[3] In the winter of 1978, he attendedFresno Pacific University, affiliated with theMennonite Brethren Church, to get a teaching degree in case his baseball career was not successful.[4]
On July 8,1979, at the age of 26, he made his major league debut with theKansas City Royals against theChicago White Sox, pitching2+2⁄3 scoreless innings, and surrendering just two hits and no walks. Quisenberry appeared in 32 games and posted a3–2 record with a 3.15earned run average and five saves.[3]
During spring training in1980, managerJim Frey suggested that Quisenberry learn the submarine-style delivery fromPittsburgh Pirates relieverKent Tekulve to confuse hitters, because he could not overpower them with a fastball.[5] From1980 to1985, Quisenberry was the American League's dominantcloser leading the American League in saves every season except thestrike-shortened1981 season. During that time, he posted an ERA of 2.45 and won theRolaids Relief Man Award each season. He also finished in the top five in voting for theCy Young Award during this span.[3] He won theSporting News Reliever of the Year Award every year from 1982 to 1985.[6]
Unlike many closers, Quisenberry did not possess a hardfastball, and thus had to rely on pinpoint control, guile, and deception, which was augmented by the submarine delivery he first used in 1980. His primary pitch was asinking fastball, which causes hitters to hit the ball on the ground rather than in the air. He also threw acurveball, achangeup he developed in1984, and an occasional knuckleball.[7][8] Although Quisenberry was not a strikeout pitcher (averaging only 3.3 strikeouts per nine innings during his career), he offset this deficiency by seldom walking batters or throwingwild pitches. His 45 saves in1983 set a single-season MLB record, later tied in 1984 byBruce Sutter and broken in1986 byDave Righetti, and set a team record that was tied in 1993 byJeff Montgomery and surpassed in 2013 byGreg Holland.[9][10] Quisenberry was the first pitcher in major league history to save more than 40 games in a season twice in his career. He won a World Series with the Royals in1985 and was the winning pitcher ofGame 6, notorious forDon Denkinger'sblown call at first base.[11]
In 1983, the Royals signed Quisenberry to a lifetime contract, similar to the contract of teammateGeorge Brett. However, a rocky start in1988 led to Quisenberry's relegation to middle relief and mop-up duty. Shortly before theAll-Star break, he was released by the Royals.
Ten days later, theSt. Louis Cardinals, managed by ex-Royals managerWhitey Herzog, signed Quisenberry as a free agent. After pitching for a year and a half in St. Louis, Quisenberry signed to play with theSan Francisco Giants in1990. He tore hisrotator cuff just five appearances into the 1990 season; this was the first serious injury of his career.[3] Quisenberry retired from baseball in1990 with 244 saves, then the fifth-highest total in major league history.[12]
In the1996 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting by theBaseball Writers' Association of America, Quisenberry received 18 votes, just under the 24 vote (5%) cut-off to remain on the ballot. In the same election,Bruce Sutter, a pitcher with remarkably similar overall statistics,[13] received 137 votes; Sutter went on to be elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 2006. In 2013, Quisenberry's Hall of Fame candidacy was given a second look by theExpansion Era Committee, which re-examines the credentials of overlooked players from 1973–present, but he fell short of the 12 votes needed from the 16-member panel.[14]
Along with Sutter andRich Gossage, Quisenberry was part of the transition from"fire men" to the ninth inningcloser popularized by managerTony La Russa.[15]
Quisenberry and his wife lived in Kansas City. They had two children, Alysia and David. The family supported the Harvesters Food Bank.[16]
Quisenberry was religious.[16] Originally considered a hothead, Quisenberry credited his wife as well asChristianity for calming him.[3]
After his baseball career ended, Quisenberry published book of poetry,On Days Like This, in 1998.[17] He was also one of baseball's most quotable characters, withbon mots like "I found a delivery in my flaw" and "I've seen the future and it's much like the present, only longer."[18][8] The latter quote, however, had been published verbatim nearly two decades prior.[19]
In January 1998, Quisenberry cut short a snowboarding vacation in Colorado because of headaches, dizzy spells, and blurred vision.[20] Quisenberry was diagnosed with grade IVastrocytoma, a highly malignant form ofbrain cancer.[21][22] He died at age 45 on September 30, 1998, inLeawood, Kansas.[1][23]
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