Charles Oscar Hartenstein (May 26, 1942 – October 2, 2021) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for five different teams between the 1966 and 1977 seasons. Listed at , , Hartenstein batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He was signed by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in 1964 out of the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He played for them until 1968, before joining the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

(1969–70),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

(1970),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

(1970) and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

(1977).

Career

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

star pitcher, Hartenstein led his team to the

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

CWS tournaments. After being signed by Chicago, he led the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

with a 2.19

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 1965 while pitching for the Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs. On June 17, 1965, Hartenstein performed one of the most impressive pitching feats in Texas League history, in a game against the Austin Braves as the starter, the Spurs had a 1–0 lead going into the ninth inning when he gave up a tying run. The game continued that way with Hartenstein pitching 18 innings. He allowed only one run, eight hits, walked four and struck out seven. The game continued through the 25th inning, with Austin winning 2–1. At the time, it was the longest game in Texas League history. Hartenstein entered the majors in 1965 with the Cubs, appearing in one game as a pinch runner. His most productive season came in 1967 while with Chicago, when he went 9–5 with a 3.08 ERA and 10 saves, all career-numbers. He also enjoyed a solid season with the 1969 Pirates, going 5–4 with a 3.85 ERA and 10 saves in a career-high 95

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. Hartenstein was traded, along with Glenn Redmon, from the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

for Skip Pitlock on February 8, 1973. In a six-season career, Hartenstein posted a 17–19 record with a 3.63 ERA and 23 saves in 187 relief appearances, including 88

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is the ...

, a 1.52 strikeout-to-walk ratio (135-to-89), and 297 innings of work. After six years pitching in the minors, Hartenstein appeared in his last major league season with the expansion

in 1977. His nickname while with the Blue Jays was "Olde Frankenstein". Following his playing career, Hartenstein coached for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

(1979) and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

(1987–89). After he was fired by the Brewers, Hartenstein was hired to be a scout for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

. In 2004, Hartenstein was inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor. Hartenstein died on October 2, 2021.

References

External links

Chuck Hartenstein
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartenstein, Chuck 1942 births 2021 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Texas Baseball players from Texas Boston Red Sox players California Angels scouts Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians coaches Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Hawaii Islanders players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Sportspeople from Seguin, Texas Phoenix Giants players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Cloud Rox players St. Louis Cardinals players Tacoma Cubs players Texas Longhorns baseball coaches Texas Longhorns baseball players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Toros players 20th-century American sportsmen