Dale Robert Mohorcic (born January 25, 1956) is a former relief pitcher 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 ...

. He played from 1986 to 1990. Mohorcic was a star at

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

. After playing on farm teams for the

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 ...

and

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 ...

, Mohorcic signed with the Texas Rangers in . His first two years, Mohorcic pitched well, having an ERA under 3.00. He holds a major league baseball record of 13 consecutive team games with a relief appearance, which he set from August 6–20, 1986. His 16 saves with the Rangers in 1987 was tied for 6th best in the AL and is the all-time single season record for pitchers named Dale. He was traded on August 30, 1988, to the

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

for

Cecilio Guante Cecilio Guante Magallanes (born February 1, 1960) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ended his career after playing with the Cleveland Indians. He fi ...

. His last year was with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

in . He shares the Major League record for most consecutive games pitched at 13 with Mike Marshall. In a 1987 game against the

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 ...

, Mohorcic was accused of doctoring the baseball. Umpires found no evidence of wrongdoing at the time, but after the game Mohorcic complained of a sore throat, and was admitted to a hospital where it was discovered that he was suffering internal bleeding as a result of having Crohn's disease and taking the pain reliever naproxen. It was erroneously reported by

Peter Gammons Peter Gammons (born April 9, 1945) is an American media personality and recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Early life and education Gammons was bo ...

that Mohorcic's bleeding was caused by swallowing sandpaper. He lives in

Maple Heights, Ohio Maple Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 23,701 at the 2020 census. History In 1935, the city created Maple Heights Transit to provide connections to Downtown Cleveland, c ...

References

External links

Box score of the Mohorcic "sandpaper game"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohorcic, Dale 1956 births American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Slovenian descent Baseball players from Cleveland Cleveland State Vikings baseball players Columbus Clippers players Hawaii Islanders players Indianapolis Indians players Living people Lynn Pirates (1983) players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Nashua Pirates players New York Yankees players Oklahoma City 89ers players Portland Beavers players Salem Pirates players Texas Rangers players Tri-C Triceratops baseball players Victoria Mussels players People with Crohn's disease American expatriate baseball players in Italy Fortitudo Baseball Bologna players