| Floyd Bannister | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bannister in 1981 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1955-06-10)June 10, 1955 (age 70) Pierre, South Dakota, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 19, 1977, for the Houston Astros | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: April 8, 1990, for the Yakult Swallows | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: June 14, 1990, for the Yakult Swallows | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: August 10, 1992, for the Texas Rangers | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 134–143 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.06 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 1,723 | ||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 3–2 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.04 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 31 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955)[1] is an American former professionalbaseball left-handedpitcher, who played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theHouston Astros,Seattle Mariners,Chicago White Sox,Kansas City Royals,California Angels, andTexas Rangers. He also played for theYakult Swallows ofNippon Professional Baseball in1990. Bannister was thefirst overall pick by Houston in the1976 MLB draft. With the Mariners in 1982, he was anAll-Star and led theAmerican League in strikeouts.
In 1973, as a high school senior, Bannister led hisKennedy High School team inBurien, Washington to a state championship, pitching 15 wins and 0 losses with a seasonERA of 0.00.[2] His performance led to him being selected in the third round (71st overall) of the1973 Major League Baseball draft by theOakland Athletics, but he did not sign.[3]
Bannister then attendedArizona State University, where he was named college player of the year byThe Sporting News as a junior.[4] He was later inducted into theSun Devils Hall of Fame andCollege Baseball Hall of Fame.[5][6]
TheHouston Astros selected Bannister as thefirst overall pick of the1976 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with team, earning a $100,000 bonus.[7][4]
After pitching just seven games in the minors in1976, Bannister opened the1977 season with the Astros. He appeared in 24 games (23 starts), going 8–9 with a 4.04earned run average (ERA). He finished fourth in National LeagueRookie of the Year voting.[1] He spent one more season with the Astros before Houston traded him to theSeattle Mariners for shortstopCraig Reynolds on December 8, 1978.[8]
Bannister spent four years in Seattle, with his last year there being his best. Bannister finished the season 12–13 with a 3.43 ERA in 35 starts and was selected his onlyAll-Star Game. He also led theAmerican League with 209 strikeouts, a career best. In 1983 and 1985, he led the American League instrikeouts per nine innings with averages of 8.0 and 8.5, respectively.[1]
On December 13, 1982, Bannister signed a five-year contract with theChicago White Sox as a free agent.[9] During his time in Chicago, he was a solid starting pitcher, averaging 13 wins per season. In his first season with the White Sox, Bannister went 16–10 with a career-low 3.35 ERA in 34 starts, helping the team earn a playoff spot. He also tossed a career-high 11 complete games in 1987, his last season with the White Sox.[1]
On December 10, 1987, Bannister and infielderDave Cochrane were traded to theKansas City Royals for pitchersJohn Davis,Mélido Pérez, Chuck Mount, andGreg Hibbard.[10] Bannister had another solid season in1988, going 12–13 with a 4.33 ERA in 31 starts.[1] However, in June1989, he suffered an injury which knocked him out for the rest of the year. Finding no takers as a free agent, Bannister went to Japan in1990, playing for theYakult Swallows. In nine starts for the Swallows, he went 3–2 with a 4.04 ERA.[11]
On December 13, 1990, Bannister signed a minor league contract with theCalifornia Angels,[12] where he was converted into areliever. He recorded a 3.96 ERA in 16 relief appearances with the Angels before being released on August 29. After one last season with theTexas Rangers in1992, Bannister was released in August, ending his professional career.[1]
Armed with a strongfastball and big breakingcurveball,[13][14] Bannister averaged 6.49strikeouts per nine innings in his career but also shuffled between six different teams in 15 years in the majors. He gave up more than 30 home runs in four different seasons[1] and coaches, includingDon Drysdale andDave Duncan, questioned his mental approach to pitching.[14] Bannister later said he would have been more successful if he threw more curveballs.[4]
Bannister compiled a 134–143 record with a 4.06ERA in 431 games (363 starts). He had 62complete games in his career, along with 16shutouts. He amassed 1,723strikeouts over his career, averaging 147 a year.[1] He held several records for the nascent Mariners franchise, including career strikeouts and complete games, that have since been bested by several pitchers.[15]
Bannister is married and resides nearPhoenix, Arizona. They have three children, all of whom pitched competitively.[4][16]Brian Bannister pitched for five seasons in the majors for theNew York Mets and theKansas City Royals.[4][17] Brett Bannister pitched for theUSC Trojans and played one season in the minors after being drafted by the Mariners.[18] Cory Bannister pitched atStanford.[19] Bannister was teammates with future brother-in-law Greg Cochran at Arizona State. Cochran later reached Triple-A.[20][16]
Bannister manages Brian's professional photography studio in Phoenix.[4] He has also has an indoor training facility in a commercial building he owns in Phoenix.[16]
· Baseball Almanac| Preceded by | Opening Day starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners 1982 | Succeeded by |
