Greg Minton
Greg Minton | |
---|---|
Pitcher | |
Born: Lubbock, Texas | July 29, 1951|
Batted: Switch | Threw: Right |
MLB debut | |
September 7, 1975 for the San Francisco Giants | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 29, 1990 for the California Angels | |
Career statistics | |
Win–loss record | 59–65 |
Earned run average | 3.10 |
Strikeouts | 479 |
Saves | 150 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
Gregory Brian Minton (born July 29, 1951 in Lubbock, Texas) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played for the California Angels and San Francisco Giants.
Career
Minton enjoyed a 16-year major league career, from 1975 to 1990, and was a member of the 1982 National League All-Star Team. His nickname, "Moon Man," stemmed from various escapades such as the hijacking of the team bus and the flooding of a minor league ballpark so he could leave Amarillo one day early at the end of the season.
Minton went three full seasons (269⅓ innings) without allowing a home run until John Stearns homered against him on May 2, 1982. This is the longest such streak in the post-1920 live-ball era. A crippling injury in 1979 caused Minton to alter his delivery. Instead of using his high leg kick, Minton shortened his stride to take pressure off his knee. The new delivery gave Minton a 92-mph sinker that batters were unable to drive. On August 14, 1986, Minton gave up the last of Pete Rose's Major League record 4,256 career hits.
After his career as a player, Minton was a pitching coach in the California Angels organization and managed the independent Lubbock Crickets for two years.
See also
- List of MLB individual streaks
- List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference