Dave Stieb, 1990 Bowman

Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Debut: 6/29/79
Final Game: 9/25/98

Career Line: 176-137, 3.44

When I was a kid, the first Little League team I was on was the Blue Jays. So naturally I rooted for my Major League counterparts. Names like Garth Iorg, Tom Henke, Tony Hernandez, Rance Mulliniks, Lloyd Moseby, and of course, the great George Bell, still roam halls in the back of my mind. But before these names became so familiar to me, there was another one that captured my attention...

That first year of Little League was also the year I got my first "real" baseball glove. And there on the palm was the replicated signature of someone I had never heard of: Dave Stieb. Upon further investigation, I learned that he was a starting pitcher for the Blue Jays. "My glove is signed by a Blue Jay. I am on the Blue Jays!" Naturally Dave Stieb became my favorite player. It mattered little that I knew nothing about him. And in fact, I never really bothered to follow his career. At 9 years old it was enough that he wore the same hat I did, and that his name was etched into my glove.

Dave Stieb was a 7-time All-Star. 3 times he won 17 games, and once in 1990, his last significant season in the Bigs, he won 18. That season he struck out 125 batters, walking only 64, posting a WHIP of 1.16. It was in 1990 that he finally got a no-hit bid to stick, after losing 3 previous attempts with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th. Including in consecutive starts in 1988.

He No-hit the Cleveland Indians September 2nd 1990.

5 years after being released by two teams over the course of the 1993 season, he signed as a Free Agent with the Toronto Blue Jays at age 40. He pitched 50.3 innings that year, striking out 27, and walking 17.