Scott Radinsky

Scott Radinsky

Radinsky as Cleveland Indians pitching coach, 2012
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – No. 63
Pitcher
Born: (1968-03-03) March 3, 1968
Glendale, California
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 9, 1990, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 2001, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics
Win–loss record 42–25
Earned run average 3.44
Strikeouts 358
Teams

Scott David Radinsky (born March 3, 1968) is a left-handed former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball, who had an 11-year career from 1990–1993 and 1995–2001. Radinsky is also the lead singer of the punk rock band Pulley, former lead singer of the bands Scared Straight and Ten Foot Pole and co-owner of the skate park which houses the Skateboarding Hall of Fame.

Radinsky finished his career with a 42–25 record, a 3.44 ERA, and 358 strikeouts in 481-2/3 innings pitched. Radinsky also only gave up 33 home runs throughout his career, an average of 1 every 14.5 innings.

He is arguably one of the most accomplished Jewish pitchers in major league history; he ranks second in career games pitched (557, behind Scott Schoeneweis), fourth in ERA (3.44, behind Barney Pelty, Sandy Koufax, and Erskine Mayer),[1] and eleventh in wins.[2]

He is currently the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Angels.

Baseball career

Radinsky was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the third round in 1986 out of Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, California.[3]

Minor Leagues

Radinsky pitched in the minor leagues from 1986–1989, and parts of later years. In 1989, he had 31 saves, a 1.75 ERA, and averaged 5.7 hits allowed and 12.1 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.

Chicago White Sox (1990–93; 1995)

He made his major league debut for the White Sox on April 9, 1990, retiring the one batter he faced (Greg Brock of the Milwaukee Brewers) on a pop up to short. He picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of relief the following day.

From that point through 1993, he was a fixture in a White Sox bullpen that also included hardthrowing Bobby Thigpen and Roberto Hernández.

In 1990, he posted a record of 6–1 with four saves in his rookie season.[4]

In 1991, Radinsky enjoyed his finest year with the White Sox, going 5–5 with a 2.02 ERA. He was tenth in the league with 67 appearances. He held batters to a .116 batting average with runners in scoring position. In 1992, he was seventh in the AL, pitching in 68 games, and had a 2.73 ERA and a career-high 15 saves.[4] In 1993, he was second in the league, pitching in 73 games, and won a career-high eight games while saving four.[4]

During the 1993–1994 off-season, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease. The treatment for the disease forced Radinsky to miss the entire 1994 baseball season.[4] "Oh, it sucks to have a doctor tell you that you have cancer, but in the same breath, he told me that with aggressive treatment they can treat this particular disease," he remembers. "Thank God I didn’t have Internet back then, so I couldn’t get all wrapped up in it. I didn’t have access to see how bad it could be. They told me I had to go through six months of this and five weeks of that, and that’s all I really looked at: the end."[1]

In his 1995 return to the White Sox, his ERA ballooned to 5.45, prompting the White Sox to release him after the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers (1996–98)

His release from the Sox paved the way for his return home to Southern California to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, with whom he signed as a free agent in January 1996. He enjoyed three excellent years (1996–1998) in Los Angeles, with his ERA never exceeding 2.89. Out of the bullpen, he worked as a set-up pitcher for Todd Worrell and Jeff Shaw, the Dodgers' closers. Radinsky's home-town status, excellent on-the-field performance, blue collar attitude, and at times fiery personality made him an instant fan favorite in Los Angeles.

In 1997, he pitched in a career-high 75 games,[4] 7th in the NL, with a 2.89 ERA.

However, after the 1998 season, the Dodgers and Radinsky decided to cut ties.

St. Louis Cardinals (1999–2000)

He went on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he signed as a free agent in November 1998. He was in 43 games in 1999, with a 4.88 ERA.

Cleveland Indians (2001)

He then pitched for the Cleveland Indians, with whom he signed as a free agent in January 2001. He injured his pitching elbow in his first game with the Indians, requiring Tommy John surgery.[4] After rehabilitating the elbow, he then returned to make two major league appearances in 2001 before retiring.

He played his final major league game for the Indians on October 5, 2001.

Coaching career (2005-present)

Radinsky rejoined the Cleveland Indians organization in 2005 as a pitching coach for the South Atlantic League's Lake County Captains. He held the same post in 2006 with the Double-A Akron Aeros. In 2007, he was promoted by the Indians to serve as the pitching coach for the Buffalo Bisons.[5] in 2009 he was the coach of the Columbus Clippers for the third straight season.[4][6]

On November 16, 2009, Radinsky was named as bullpen coach for the Indians major league club for the 2010 season.[7]

On October 14, 2011, it was announced that Radinsky would be promoted to pitching coach for the Indians for the 2012 season to replace Tim Belcher who stepped down at season's end to spend more time with his family.[8]

On August 9, 2012, the Indians fired Radinsky and replaced him with Ruben Niebla, from their Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers, on an interim basis.[9]

On January 23, 2013, Radinsky was hired as the Pitching Coach for the Ogden Raptors a Rookie Level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, playing in the Pioneer League.[10] He was promoted to pitching coach for the AA Chattanooga Lookouts in 2014 and again in 2015 to pitching coach for the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers.[11]

Music career

Scott Radinsky with Pulley, Groezrock 2013

Besides baseball, Radinsky's other passion is punk rock.[12] A fixture in the 1980s "Nardcore" (Oxnard, California hardcore) scene, he sang for Scared Straight, which recorded an LP ("You Drink, You Drive, You Die") and several compilation cuts for Mystic Records. The band later changed their name to Ten Foot Pole and after recording two albums, eventually parted ways with Radinsky, due to his time-consuming baseball career. He sings as the lead vocalist for the punk rock band Pulley, which has toured three continents and opened for bands such as Green Day.

Skateboard park

Radinsky is also a co-owner of Skatelab in Simi Valley, California, a skatepark with a very comprehensive skateboarding museum that displays pieces from all eras of skateboarding, including many rare and collectible skateboards.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2
  2. ↑ "Jewish Major Leaguers Career Leaders". Jewishmajorleaguers.org. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Scott David Radinsky". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Clippers Announce 2009 Staff – OurSports Central – Independent and Minor League Sports News". OurSports Central. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "Roster | Columbus Clippers Roster". Web.minorleaguebaseball.com. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ Scott Shaw/The Plain Dealer. "Cleveland Indians name Scott Radinsky, Tim Tolman and Steve Smith to Manny Acta's coaching staff". cleveland.com. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  8. ↑ Associated Press/ESPN. "Indians finalize 2012 pitching staff". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Cleveland Indians fire pitching coach Scott Radinsky; Ruben Niebla replaces him from Class AAA Columbus". Cleveland.com. August 9, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Raptors 2013 Coaching Staff has been announced!". Ogden Professional Baseball Inc. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Weisman, Jon (January 12, 2015). "Dodgers announce 2015 minor-league coaching staff". Dodgers.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ Laurila, David (November 11, 2007). "Prospectus Q&A: Scott Radinsky". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved January 23, 2011.
  13. ↑ Wells, Kevin. "Interview: Scott Radinsky from Pulley". Washington Times. Retrieved 18 April 2013.

External links

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