| Stan Bahnsen | |
|---|---|
 Bahnsen in 1970 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1944-12-15)December 15, 1944 (age 80) Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1966, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 2, 1982, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 146–149 |
| Earned run average | 3.60 |
| Strikeouts | 1,359 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stanley Raymond Bahnsen (born December 15, 1944) is anAmerican former professionalbaseballpitcher, who played 16 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB), primarily for theNew York Yankees and theMontreal Expos. Nicknamed the"Bahnsen Burner", he once made 118starts over a three-year stretch while playing with theChicago White Sox in the mid-1970s.
Bahnsen attendedAbraham Lincoln High School inCouncil Bluffs, Iowa.
Bahnsen was drafted out of theUniversity of Nebraska by theNew York Yankees in the fourth round of the1965 Major League Baseball Draft. After two seasons in the minor leagues, in which he went 12–9 with a 2.87earned run average, he received his first call-up to the majors in September1966. In four games with the Yanks, he was 1–1 with asave and 3.52 ERA. He earned an invitation toSpring training camp in1967, but was assigned to the triple ASyracuse Chiefs.[1]
After arriving at camp late due to an army commitment, Bahnsen was given a second chance at a roster spot in1968. He made the club, and went 17–12 with a team-best 2.05 ERA and struck out a career-high 162 batters to be named theAmerican LeagueRookie of the Year. His finest performance of the season and onlyshutout came on August 1 against theBoston Red Sox atFenway Park. He struck out twelve, while allowing only threehits andwalking no one.[2]
Bahnsen spent three more seasons with the Yankees, never matching his rookie success. Perhaps the most famous moment of his Yankee career from that point forward was a brawl with theCleveland Indians'Vada Pinson in which he was knocked down with one punch.[3]
Bahnsen was traded from the Yankees to theChicago White Sox forRich McKinney at theWinter Meetings on December 2, 1971.[4] White Sox managerChuck Tanner employed a unique strategy with his starting rotation for the1972 season. Recognizing the talent he had at the top of his rotation, he startedWilbur Wood, Bahnsen orTom Bradley as much as possible, leaving only 24 starts for the rest of the staff. The strategy worked, as the White Sox finished over .500 for the first time since1967, and in second place in theAmerican League West. For his part, Bahnsen made 41 starts, and went 21–16 with a 3.60 ERA in his first season with the South Siders.
The next season, Bahnsen made 42 starts; however, his record dipped to 18–21 as the White Sox finished the season in fifth place. In one of those 18 wins, a 4–0 shutout over the Cleveland Indians on August 21 atMunicipal Stadium, Bahnsen had ano-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth on asingle by former teammateWalt Williams.[5][6]
Bahnsen made another 35 starts for the White Sox in1974. Along the way, he started another bench-clearing brawl; this time with theKansas City Royals'John Mayberry.[7] Coincidentally, Pinson was also a member of the Royals, and in the starting line-up that day. He was 4–6 in twelve starts when he was dealt along withSkip Pitlock from the White Sox to theOakland Athletics forDave Hamilton andChet Lemon at the non-waiver trade deadline on June 15,1975.[8] In a little over three seasons in Chicago, Bahnsen made 130 starts, and was 55–58.
After going 6–7 with a 3.24 ERA for the A's in 1975, he was reunited with former White Sox manager Chuck Tanner for1976. Tanner employed a similar strategy with the A's to that which he had with the White Sox, startingVida Blue andMike Torrez as much as possible. Bahnsen only made fourteen starts, seeing most of his work inrelief. He went 8–7 with a 3.34 ERA for the season. Early into the1977 season, he was traded to theMontreal Expos forfirst basemanMike Jorgensen.
After making 22 starts for the Expos in 1977, Bahnsen became a full-time reliever in1978, making just one emergency start. He became a valuable member of thebullpen, collecting seventeen saves over the next four seasons with the Expos, and leading the team in innings pitched out of the bullpen in1979 (94.1).
The Expos released Bahnsen at the end of Spring training, just as the1982 season was set to begin. He joined theCalifornia Angels shortly afterwards, but was released after seven games with a 4.66 ERA on May 14.
Shortly afterwards, he signed a minor league deal with thePhiladelphia Phillies, and went 4–3 with a 4.89 ERA for the triple AOklahoma City 89ers. He appeared briefly with the Phillies that September, giving up just twoearned runs in 13.1 innings pitched. After going 0–3 with a 9.59 ERA for thePacific Coast League'sPortland Beavers in1983, he retired.
For his career, Bahnsen posted a 146–149 record. Other statistics: 574 games, 327 games started, 73 complete games, 16 shutouts, 90 games finished, 20 saves, 2,529 innings pitched, 2,440 hits allowed, 1,127 runs allowed, 1,013 earned runs allowed, 223 home runs allowed, 924 walks (59 intentional), 1,359 strikeouts, 34 hit batsmen, 89 wild pitches, 10,701 batters faced, three balks and a 3.60 ERA. Bahnsen has a career .117batting average, and drove in nineteen runs. His only careerhome run came on August 19, 1979, against theAtlanta Braves'Tony Brizzolara.[9]
In 1992 Bahnsen played for one season for the Dutch Major League Team Haarlem Nicols, two years before the team declared bankruptcy.[10]
Bahnsen works with the promotions department ofMSC Cruises seeking and securing retired major league players to participate in activities on cruise ships such as autograph and story-telling sessions. He also works with640 AM, a south Florida radio station that broadcasts Yankee games.