David Lawrence Lemanczyk ( ; born August 17, 1950) is a former

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

with an eight-year

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career from 1973 to 1980. He played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

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

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 ...

, all of the

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Early life and amateur career

Lemanczyk attended

Westhill Senior High School Westhill Senior High School is a public high school located in the western suburbs of, and immediately adjacent to, the City of Syracuse, New York. It serves grades 9 through 12, primarily from the neighborhood of Westvale (located in the Tow ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

and

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for the Hartwick Hawks.

Major League career

Detroit Tigers

Lemanczyk was drafted by the Tigers in the 16th round of the 1972 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut on April 15, 1973, his only major league game that season, allowing three runs in innings as the Tigers lost 7-0 to 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 ...

. In 1974, Lemanczyk appeared in 22 games with Detroit, three of them starts, as he had a 2-1 record and a 4.00 ERA. He made his first career start on August 2, earning his first victory in a 4-1 win over 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 ...

as he allowed one run in seven innings. Lemanczyk struggled in 1975, going 2-7 with a 4.46 ERA in 26 games, six of them starts. He then went 4-6 with a 5.09 ERA in 20 games, ten of them starts in 1976 with the Tigers. On November 5, 1976, the

selected Lemanczyk in the

1976 MLB Expansion Draft The 1976 MLB Expansion Draft was held November 5, 1976. This expansion draft was conducted by Major League Baseball to stock the major league rosters of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, new major league expansion franchises establ ...

with the 43rd pick.

Toronto Blue Jays

Lemanczyk led the Blue Jays in victories in the 1977 season, as he had a 13-16 record with a 4.25 ERA in 34 starts. He pitched a team-high 252 innings, and had 11 complete games, second-best on the team. He was named the Blue Jays

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

starter in 1978, but Lemanczyk lasted only innings in a 6-2 loss to the Tigers. He struggled throughout the season, losing his first seven decisions, and finishing the season with a 4-14 record and a 6.26 ERA. Lemanczyk rebounded in 1979, as on April 24, he pitched a one-hitter against the Texas Rangers as Toronto won the game 2-0. Lemanczyk went into the All-Star break with a 7-5 record with a 3.15 ERA and was named to the 1979 All-Star team; however, he did not appear in the game. Lemanczyk struggled in the latter half of the season, and suffered injury problems as he finished the season with a record of 8-10 with a 3.71 ERA. He began the 1980 season with a 2-5 record with a 5.40 ERA in 10 games with Toronto, eight of them starts, which included starting the season opener; however, Lemanczyk was traded to the

for future considerations on June 3. The Angels sent Ken Schrom to the Blue Jays on June 10 to complete the trade.

California Angels

Lemanczyk finished the 1980 season with the Angels, going 2-4 with a 4.32 ERA in 21 games, and was released by them on October 24. He then retired from the game, finishing his career with a 37-63 record with a 4.62 ERA in 185 games.

Personal life

He is a 1973 graduate of

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the seminary became a four-year coll ...

and was inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995. He is also a 2006 inductee of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.Dave Lemanczyk – Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.
Retrieved June 7, 2020 He currently operates a baseball school for young athletes in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, first in the town of Franklin Square, and is now in Lynbrook. He has been a full-time pitching coach at the New York Baseball Academy for 20 years. His nickname when playing was 'Tarzan'.

References

External links

Retrosheet.org boxscore of Lemanczyk's one-hitter: April 24, 1979
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemanczyk, Dave 1950 births Living people Detroit Tigers players Toronto Blue Jays players American expatriate baseball players in Canada California Angels players American League All-Stars Hartwick Hawks baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Syracuse, New York American people of Polish descent Evansville Triplets players Lakeland Tigers players Montgomery Rebels players Toledo Mud Hens players Hartwick Hawks men's basketball players