Dan Quisenberry

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Dan Quisenberry autograph on a 1986 Fleer baseball card - 1986 Series, #18

Daniel Raymond Quisenberry (February 7, 1953 – September 30, 1998), nicknamed "Quiz", was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Kansas City Royals. Notable for his submarine-style pitching delivery and his humorous quotes, he led the American League in saves a record five times (1980, 1982-85), and retired in 1990 with 244 saves, then the 6th-highest total in history behind Rollie Fingers (341), Rich "Goose" Gossage (307), Bruce Sutter (300), Jeff Reardon (287), and Lee Smith (265).

1 Career
2 Post-Career
3 Trivia
4 Famous quotes
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Career

Born in Santa Monica, California, Quisenberry signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent in 1975, and was considered a marginal prospect. He did not make his major league debut until the middle of the 1979 season at the age of 26, appearing in 32 games and posting a 3-2 record with a 4.27 earned run average with 5 saves.

However, during spring training the following year, manager Jim Frey suggested that Quisenberry learn the submarine style delivery from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Kent Tekulve to further confuse hitters, since he could not overpower them. From 1980 to 1985, Quisenberry was the American League's dominant closer, winning the Rolaids Relief Man Award in all but the strike-shortened 1981 season, and finishing in the top five in voting for the Cy Young Award — again in all but 1981.

Quisenberry was hardly the prototypical closing pitcher. Unlike many of his peers, he didn't possess a hard fastball, and thus had to rely on guile and deception, which his submarine delivery augmented. His primary pitch was a sinking fastball, which, thrown properly, causes hitters to hit the ball on the ground rather than pop them up, a plus in smaller, hitter-friendly parks. Although he rarely struck batters out, he seldom walked them or threw wild pitches. His 45 saves in 1983 was briefly a record (tied in 1984 by Bruce Sutter and broken in 1986 by Dave Righetti), and Quisenberry was the first pitcher in major league history to save more than 40 games in a season twice in his career.

In 1983, the Royals signed Quisenberry to a lifetime contract, similar to the contract of his teammate, George Brett. He started losing effectiveness in 1986, possibly from the effects of routinely pitching 120 innings in relief, and lost his closer's job. By 1988, he was a seldom-used pitcher in the Royals' bullpen and was released at mid-season. His effectiveness against left-handed hitters fading, Quisenberry pitched for a year and a half in specialized roles for the St. Louis Cardinals. He signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1990 but only pitched five games. Faced with serious injury for the first time in his career, Quisenberry retired rather than go on the disabled list for the first time in his career.

[edit] Post-Career

After his baseball career ended, Quisenberry embarked on a second career as a poet, publishing three poems in 1995 and a book of poetry titled On Days Like This in 1999 (published posthumously).

In December 1997, Quisenberry was diagnosed with brain cancer. Sadly, it was the same disease that killed the popular Dick Howser, Quisenberry's manager from 1981 to 1986, as well as Philadelphia Phillies' Tug McGraw, his rival 'closer' in the 1980 World Series, and Ken Brett, the brother of Royals teammate George Brett. Dan Quisenberry died less than a year later at age 45 in Leawood, Kansas.

[edit] Trivia

Quisenberry's 45 saves in 1983 remains a team record, although his total was matched in 1993 by Jeff Montgomery.
In 1987, Quisenberry and Gene Garber tied for the Royals' team lead with 8 saves apiece; this ranks as the fewest for a team leader in Royals' history.
He held the AL record for career saves from 1987, when he surpassed Fingers' mark of 233, until 1992, when his AL total of 238 was broken by Jeff Reardon.
He was the first pitcher to record 40 saves in a season, doing so with 45 in 1983, and followed with 44 saves in 1984.
He was the only pitcher to earn 40 saves twice until Reardon did so in 1988.
Famous for his pitching control, Quisenberry surrendered only 11 walks in 1983 and 12 in 1984, in over 268 combined innings pitched, and was runnerup for the AL Cy Young Award in both seasons.
Quisenberry has won more Rolaids Relief Awards (5) than any other pitcher in history.
Besides "Quiz", another of Quisenberry's nicknames was "The Australian", as he would pitch from "down under".

[edit] Famous quotes

"The future is just like the present, only longer"
"I have seen the future, and it is much like the present, only moreso." (alternate version)
"They all end up as ground balls eventually."
"I want to thank all the pitchers who couldn't go nine innings, and manager Dick Howser who wouldn't let them go." After winning the 1982 Fireman Award, now the Rolaids Relief Award.
"They're (the California Angels) like the American League All-Star team, and that's their problem, the American League All-Star team always loses."
"A manager uses a relief pitcher like a six shooter, he fires until it's empty then takes the gun and throws it at the villain."
"I found a delivery in my flaw."
"When I came over here (the National League), I always heard it was a stronger league, with amphetamines all over the clubhouse, but all I found was Michelob Dry."