The Greatest Pitchers You've Never Heard Of - Part Two 9/30/12

Hey baseball fans!

As promised, here is The Greatest Pitchers You've Never Heard Of - Part Two!!!! Unlike the pitchers in the original Greatest Pitchers You've Never Heard Of, these pitchers are more current and are not in the Hall of Fame, mainly because they didn't play long enough or were plagued by injuries, but nonetheless were pretty great while they pitched. Hope you enjoy:

Dave Stieb:
In a 14-year career from 1979-1993, with the Blue Jays and White Sox, Stieb was known as one of the very good pitchers of his time, not the best, but very good. A seven-time All-Star, his career record is 175-135 with a 3.44 ERA. Known for a dazzling slider, the California native won one World Series, 1992, but he only went 4-6 in that year. Sadly, the six-foot, 189-pound right-hander is not in the Hall of Fame, but at least he gave excitement to Toronto for over a decade.

Andy Messersmith:
From 1968-1979, Messersmith was a pretty good pitcher. A not too shabby career record of 130-99 helped him get on this list. Also, he has an ERA of 2.86. That's better than Nolan Ryan!!!! With the Angels, Dodgers, Braves, and Yanks, he went to four All-Star Games, pretty good for someone who only played 12 years in the Bigs. Like Stieb, Andy is not on a plaque in Cooperstown, but if he played for another seven or eight years, it might have been possible.

Herb Score:
In an eight-year career with the White Sox and Indians, from '55-'62, Score was a two-time All-Star and won the ROY in 1955.  His career record was 55-46 with an ERA of 3.70. He won 20 games only once in '56, when he went 20-9 with a 2.53 ERA, after going 16-10 with a 2.85 ERA in his rookie year. He was really dominant!! But on May 7, 1957, Score was struck in the face by a line drive hit by Yankee Gil McDougald that left him with many injured bones in his face, forcing him to not play the rest of the season. He returned later in the 1958 season with so-so vision, but was never like his 1955/1956 self for the rest of his career. Bob Feller said that had he not been injured, he could've been the greatest left-handed pitcher ever!! Of course, he isn't in the Hall, but he was a great pitcher that a lot of people haven't heard of. Unfortunately, a serious baseball injury, like what I recently blogged about, ended his career way too soon.

Dan Quisenberry:
A lot of people probably grew up knowing this guy, but he is one of the most not-talked about and best relievers of the eighties. From 1979-1990 with the Royals, Cardinals, and Giants, Dan dominated the closer position, compiling 244 saves in his 12-year career. Known for his submarine delivery, Q (as he was nicknamed), pitched in three All-Star Games. In 1985, he helped the Royals beat the Cardinals in the World Series. Oh, did I mention that his career ERA in 2.76? Yeah, he was just that good. Like everyone else I've blogged about in this post, Dan is not in Cooperstown. If he played another five years with similar performance, I think he's in the Hall easily.

Well, there you have it: more great pitchers you've never heard of. Now I know some of you older folks probably have heard of these guys, but remember that I'm just a kid. Anyway, I hope you all liked this post a lot.

Also, vote on my mustache survey on the top right column of my blog. It's about who has the best mustache now: Luis Tiant or Rollie Fingers. Well, I will be putting up more stuff very soon so check back here every day for new posts. Thanks again for reading!