Ed Sprague, Sr.

Edward Nelson Sprague, Sr. (born September 16, 1945) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball for four different teams between 1968 and 1976. Listed at 6' 4", 195 lb., he batted and threw right-handed.

A hard-thrower, Sprague did not play at school level. He was scouted while pitching in the Army in Germany and was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966. A year later he was sold to the Oakland Athletics. He entered the majors in 1968 with the Athletics, playing for them until 1969 before joining the Cincinnati Reds (1971-73), St. Louis Cardinals (1973) and Milwaukee Brewers (1973-76). He filled various pitching roles, coming out from the bullpen as a closer or a middle reliever, and as an occasional starter as well. His most productive season came in 1974 with Milwaukee, when he set career-highs in wins (7), strikeouts (57) and earned run average (2.39) in 20 games, including 10 as a starter, before damaging knee ligaments during the midseason which ruled him out for the year.

In an eight-season career, Sprague posted a 17-23 record with 188 strikeouts and a 3.84 ERA in 198 games, including 23 starts, three complete games, nine saves and 408.0 innings pitched.

Following his playing career, Sprague became the owner of the Stockton Ports and his wife the owner of the Lodi Crushers. His son, Ed Jr., was the Toronto Blue Jays' first pick in the 1988 draft and played in the majors from 1991-2001.

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Baseball Library
• Retrosheet