Dave Stieb

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David Andrew Stieb, known as "Sir David" to many of his fans, was a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. Born on July 22, 1957 in Santa Ana, California, he played for the Blue Jays from 1979 to 1992 and again in 1998. On September 2, 1990, he pitched the first (and so far only) no-hitter in Blue Jays history, defeating the Cleveland Indians 3-0. Previously, Stieb had no-hitters broken up with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning in two consecutive 1988 starts. In 1989 he had yet another no-hit bid broken up with two outs in the ninth; this was a potential perfect game. In 1993 he played four games with the Chicago White Sox, before retiring due to back problems. In 1998, after a five year hiatus from baseball, Stieb returned to the Blue Jays and pitched in 19 games. He recorded one win, two saves and started three games.

In 1985 Stieb signed with the Blue Jays what was then one of the richest contracts in baseball. The contract, including options exercisable by the team was for a term of ten years, specified an increasing salary which went up to $1.9 million in 1993, $2 million in 1994, and $2.1 million in 1995. While this was seen to be an extremely generous amount at the time the contract was signed, by the time the later years of the contract came around this was a bargain considering that several players were receiving several times the amount per year. The Blue Jays voluntarily renegotiated the last three years of his contract to pay him a higher amount, in recognition of his years of service.

During his career Stieb won 176 games while losing 137. He holds career records for Toronto pitchers in wins, games started, shutouts, strikeouts, and a variety of other marks. He was extremely popular among fans in Toronto. Stieb appeared in seven All-Star games, also a Blue Jays team record. He is often cited as one of the finest pitchers of the 1980s.

1 Strengths and weaknesses
2 Hall of Fame eligibility
3 Books
4 External links

[edit] Strengths and weaknesses

Stieb entered the league primarily as a power pitcher, relying on a high, inside fastball to strike batters out. The brushback pitch was an integral part of his repertoire to back batters off the plate, and was especially tough on right-handed hitters in this respect. As a result, he led the league in hit batsmen a few years.

Later on in his career he developed his breaking ball repertoire, and he became very effective with a "dead fish" curveball that would break into the dirt as the batter swung.

Stieb had a high-strung personality and was known as a fierce competitor on the mound; he was regularly seen having animated conversations with himself during pitches when in difficult situations. Whereas with other pitchers this would be seen as a sign of weakness, with Stieb it was rather the best way to motivate himself to get out of a jam.

[edit] Hall of Fame eligibility

In 2004, his first year of eligibility, Stieb received less than 5% of the vote (he received 7 votes; the threshold was 25) from the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, thus becoming ineligible to appear on future BBWAA ballots.

However, Stieb may eventually be considered for induction into the Hall by the Veterans Committee once 20 years have passed from his date of retirement (therefore, in the year 2019), in accordance with current Hall of Fame rules (enacted in 2001).

In 2005, Stieb was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.