Wesley Brian Gardner (born April 29, 1961) is a retired

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 (AL), ...

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 draw ...

who was drafted by the

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in the 22nd round of the

1982 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

, out of the

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New York Mets

Gardner made his major league debut with the Mets on July 29, , pitching a perfect ninth inning in the Mets' 5-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

. He appeared in thirty games for the Mets in 1984 and , going 1-3 with a 6.03

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 number ...

Boston Red Sox

On November 13, 1985, Gardner was traded to the

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

along with John Christensen, Calvin Schiraldi and La Schelle Tarver for

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, John Mitchell and Chris Bayer. He emerged as the team's closer in , leading Boston with ten saves. On July 28, he made his first start since with the

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Little Falls Mets The Little Falls Mets were a minor league baseball team located in Little Falls, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League, and were affiliated with the New York Mets. Their home stadium was Little Falls Veterans Memorial Park. ...

. During the off-season,

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acquired

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to assume closing duties for . After starting the season in the Red Sox's bullpen, Gardner was moved into the starting rotation on June 28. In his first start, Gardner gave up only one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

in seven innings pitched to earn the win. Gardner won his first four decisions as a starter, and enjoyed career highs in wins (8),

strikeouts 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 deno ...

(106), ERA (3.50) and innings pitched (149) for the season. Gardner's only post-season appearance came in game three of the

1988 American League Championship Series The 1988 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that pitted the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. It was the second meeting between the two in ALCS play. The Athlet ...

against the Oakland Athletics. He replaced Mike Boddicker in the third inning with the Sox behind 6-5, and had a no decision in the 10-6 loss to the A's.

Final season

Gardner spent two more seasons with the Red Sox before being traded to the

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for two minor leaguers on December 15, . Gardner pitched poorly in

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, and was released on May 31, . He signed with the Kansas City Royals a month later, spending most of the season with their American Association affiliate, the

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. Gardner only gave up one earned run in 5.2 innings with the big league club, however, he was released on August 8, 1991.

In , Gardner was inducted into the University of Central Arkansas Bears Hall of Fame.

Personal

Gardner lists training bird dogs among favorite activities.

References

External links

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Baseball Almanac
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Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Wes 1961 births Living people Baseball players from Arkansas Boston Red Sox players Central Arkansas Bears baseball players Kansas City Royals players Little Falls Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Benton, Arkansas San Diego Padres players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tidewater Tides players University of Central Arkansas alumni