Mark Edward Langston (born August 20, 1960) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He pitched for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

(1984–1989),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

(1989), California / Anaheim Angels (1990–1997),

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

(1998), and

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 , they have ...

(1999). During a 16-year baseball career, Langston compiled 179 wins, 2,464

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s, and a 3.97

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

Baseball career

Langston pitched collegiately at San Jose State and was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the

1981 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * Darrin Jackson, 2nd round, 28th overall by the Chicago Cubs *Mike Gallego, 2nd round, 33 ...

. He was chosen as a compensation pick from the Texas Rangers for the signing of Bill Stein. Langston debuted for the Mariners in 1984 with fellow rookie Alvin Davis. Davis' performance won him the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

Rookie of the Year award, but Langston's performance was voted worthy of the Rookie Pitcher of the Year award, as he finished the year with a league-leading 204 strikeouts. In 1989, the Mariners traded Langston, who was their top pitcher at the time, to the Montreal Expos for a package of three young pitchers: Randy Johnson,

Gene Harris Gene Harris (born Eugene Haire, September 1, 1933 – January 16, 2000) was an American jazz pianist known for his warm sound and blues and gospel infused style that is known as soul jazz. From 1956 to 1970, he played in The Three Sounds tri ...

and Brian Holman. In 1990, he pitched the first seven innings for a 2–0 combined

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

with

Mike Witt Michael Atwater Witt (born July 20, 1960) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1981 and 1993, and threw the 11th perfect game in MLB history in 1984. Amateur career Prior to ...

. Witt, who had pitched a perfect game back in 1984, tossed the final two frames. This combined no-hitter remained the last one in Angels history until Ervin Santana pitched a no-hitter on July 27, 2011. Langston was the Angels starting pitcher for the

1995 American League West tie-breaker game The 1995 American League West tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 regular season; the California Angels and Seattle Mariners met to determine the winner of the American League's (AL) West Division. I ...

. The Seattle Mariners defeated the California Angels to advance to the first regular

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

. In the

1998 World Series The 1998 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1998 season. The 94th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees and the National ...

, Langston's 2–2 pitch to

Tino Martinez Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from ...

appeared to be over the plate, but was called ball 3; Langston's next pitch was hit for a grand slam in the seventh inning of Game 1 to give the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

a 9–5 lead. The Yankees went on to sweep the San Diego Padres in four games. Noted for his

pickoff In baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher or catcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base. A pickoff attempt occurs when this throw ...

move to

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, his 91 career pickoffs were, at the time of his retirement, the most in baseball history. Langston is one of only eight pitchers in MLB history to pick off three runners in a single game which he accomplished against the Cubs in 1989. Today, he has the fourth-most pickoffs in baseball history, behind only

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

, Terry Mulholland and Andy Pettitte, all of them also left-handed pitchers.

Broadcasting

Langston serves as a radio color commentator for the

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

during all games and is also a co-host of the Angels post-game call-in show ''Angel Talk'' on radio station KLAA. On September 20, 2019, after announcing the starting lineups for an away game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

, Langston suffered from

ventricular fibrillation Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is an abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver. It is due to disorganized electrical activity. Ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest with loss of consciousness and n ...

and collapsed in the broadcast booth. He was revived and taken to a hospital, where he later had a

defibrillator Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''coun ...

installed; Jose Mota took over Langston's place in the radio broadcasts. Langston returned to California on September 28 and resumed his Angels radio duties the next day.

Personal life

Right after retirement Langston was the head coach for

Lutheran High School of Orange County Lutheran High School of Orange County (commonly known as Orange Lutheran High School or OLu) is a private Lutheran high school in Orange, California, in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, founded in 1973. The school offers on-campus, online, and ...

for two years. Langston appeared as himself in an episode of '' Sabrina, The Teenage Witch'', entitled "To Tell a Mortal", where he plays catch with Harvey.

References

External links

* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Langston, Mark 1960 births Living people American League All-Stars Anaheim Angels players California Angels players Cleveland Indians players Montreal Expos players San Diego Padres players Seattle Mariners players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Anaheim, California Gold Glove Award winners American League strikeout champions Bellingham Mariners players Bakersfield Mariners players Chattanooga Lookouts players Lake Elsinore Storm players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players San Jose State Spartans baseball players Baseball players from San Diego American expatriate baseball players in Canada Los Angeles Angels announcers

Baseball career

Broadcasting

Personal life

See also

References

External links