Dennis Paul Kinney (born February 26, 1952) is a former

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, ...

. He played all or parts of five seasons in the majors, from until . He played high school baseball for

Bedford Senior High School Bedford Public Schools is a public school district in Temperance, Michigan. It is the smallest division 1 school district in Monroe County in terms of area. The district includes all of Bedford Township and a very small portion of Whitefor ...

Temperance, Michigan Temperance is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,188 at the 2020 census. The CDP is located within Bedford Township. The community was established ...

. Kinney was selected by 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 the 10th round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft, and he played in their organization through his major league debut in 1978. He was given a chance at closing games for the Indians, notching five saves in 18 games. That June, however, he was traded to the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

for pitcher

Dan Spillner Daniel Ray Spillner (born November 27, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1985. He played for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. He led the ...

. Kinney's one full season in the majors came in for the Padres. That year, he pitched in 50 games as a reliever, compiling a 4–6 record with a 4.25 ERA and one save. In December, he was traded to 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 ...

for outfielder Dave Stegman, but appeared in just six games for the Tigers before being released in the offseason. After a brief trial with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in , his major league career was over. On August 21, 1980, with the Padres trailing the host

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, 7–6, Kinney came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th inning surrendering a single and a run-scoring double to the first two batters he faced. The Padres rallied with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 9th inning to tie the score, 8–8. The relief appearance lasted 9 innings as

Bake McBride Arnold Ray McBride (born February 3, 1949), nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake" and "the Callaway Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, a ...

's triple plated a run in the bottom of the 17th inning for the Phillies' 9–8 victory.

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Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players San Diego Padres players Detroit Tigers players Oakland Athletics players Gulf Coast Indians players Reno Silver Sox players San Antonio Brewers players San Jose Bees players Williamsport Tomahawks players Toledo Mud Hens players Jersey City Indians players Hawaii Islanders players Evansville Triplets players Tacoma Tigers players Baseball players from Ohio 1952 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub