David Wendell Skaugstad (January 10, 1940 – July 16, 2023) was an American

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 ...

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, ...

. The left-hander appeared in two games for the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

during the 1957 season. He was listed as tall and . He was also the first person born in the 1940s to make his MLB debut. Born in Algona, Iowa, and a graduate of

Compton High School Compton High School is a high school in Compton, California, United States, part of the Compton Unified School District. History Compton Union High School opened in 1896. Both the high school and Compton Junior High School were severely damag ...

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, Skaugstad was signed by the Redlegs on September 7, 1957, at the age of 17. His first MLB appearance came just 18 days later, on September 25, at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) a ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He entered the game in the top of the sixth inning with the Reds trailing 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 ...

, 7–2. He pitched four shutout innings, giving up three

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and three walks while striking out four batters. Four days later, he made his second and last appearance in the majors, facing the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

at County Stadium. He entered the game in the bottom of the sixth inning in a scoreless game. He pitched a flawless sixth inning, but ran into trouble in the next frame, giving up one hit, three bases on balls, and one run.Retrosheet box score for September 29, 1957
/ref> In the

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

that he pitched in the major leagues, Skaugstad faced four future Hall of Famers:

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

Eddie Mathews Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Boston / Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (19 ...

Red Schoendienst Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst ( ; February 2, 1923 – June 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB), and is largely known for his coaching, managing, and playing years wi ...

and

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

. After that game, Skaugstad never pitched in another MLB game. In his MLB innings pitched, he faced 27 hitters, allowed four hits, six bases on balls, and one earned run; he struck out four. In , he was assigned to the minors, where he pitched for the Visalia Redlegs and

Wenatchee Chiefs The Wenatchee Chiefs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington. Founded in 1937, the team was a part of the Class B Western International League through 1954, although the team did not opera ...

. He continued to pitch professionally until , although he missed the 1961–63 seasons while in the military. After debuting at age 17, Skaugstad's career was finished at the age of just 25.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaugstad, Dave 1940 births 2023 deaths Baseball players from Iowa Cincinnati Redlegs players Geneva Redlegs players Knoxville Smokies players Macon Peaches players Major League Baseball pitchers People from Algona, Iowa Salem Senators players Baseball players from Compton, California Topeka Reds players Visalia Redlegs players Wenatchee Chiefs players Compton High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen