Dick Stigman
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Richard Lewis Stigman (born January 24, 1936) is an American former professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
player, a
left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply l ...
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, ...
who appeared in seven Major League seasons (1960–1966) for 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 ...
,
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
and
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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
. Born in Nimrod, Minnesota, he graduated from Sebeka High School. Stigman was listed as tall and weighed . Stigman's professional career lasted from 1954 to 1967. In his
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
campaign, with Cleveland, he had posted a 4–4
win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...
with three
complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
s and a 3.32
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 ...
through June 30. Surprisingly, he was selected to the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...
team by
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
Al López Alfonso Ramón López (August 20, 1908 – October 30, 2005) was a Spanish Americans, Spanish-American professional baseball catcher and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Ro ...
, but he failed to appear in either of that summer's All-Star games (from 1959–1962, two such games were played each year). He spent two full years with the Indians, and then—on the brink of the season—he was traded to his hometown Twins with
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
Vic Power Victor Felipe Pellot Pové (November 1, 1927November 29, 2005), known professionally as Vic Power, was a Puerto Rican professional baseball first baseman. He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia / Kansas C ...
for
right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...
pitcher
Pedro Ramos Pedro ("Pete") Ramos Guerra (born April 28, 1935) is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the expansio ...
. That set the stage for Stigman's two most successful MLB campaigns. In 1962, he helped pitch the Twins to a shocking second-place finish in the American League. He worked in 40 games, alternating between
starting Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Starts use in sport race * Standing start, and rolling start, i ...
and
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
, and went 12–5 (3.66) with six complete games in 15 starts and three saves out of the bullpen. Then, in , Stigman took a regular turn in the Minnesota rotation, making 33 starts and working in 241
innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...
. Although he had only a .500 record (15–15), he threw 15 complete games and three
shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...
, posting an ERA of 3.25. All were career bests as the Twins finished third in the league. But was a setback for both Stigman and the Twins. He won only six of 21 decisions and his ERA rose to 4.03; the Twins, meanwhile, fell into a tie for sixth place in the AL. It cost Stigman his place in the Twins' starting rotation, as he reverted to a swing-man role. He went 4–2 (4.37) in 33
games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher. The statistic is also referred to as appearances, especially to refer to the number of ...
, with eight starts and four saves out of the bullpen. However, he contributed to the Twins' 1965 American League pennant, the club's first title since it moved to
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...
in 1961. Stigman did not appear in the
1965 World Series The 1965 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1965 season. The 62nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Amer ...
, won by the
Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
in seven games. The following spring, he was traded to the second-division
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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, where he closed out his major league career. One of his two victories came on May 31, a 1–0 complete game shutout over the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
in which Stigman scattered seven hits.
Retrosheet Retrosheet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores fr ...
br>box score: 1966-05-31
/ref> Boston traded Stigman to the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
during the off-season, and he pitched one more season of Triple-A before retiring. In his 235 big-league games pitched, including 119 starts, Stigman posted a 46–54 record. In 922 innings pitched, he surrendered 819 hits and 406
bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...
; he fanned 755. He had 30 complete games, five shutouts and 16 career saves. In retirement, he became a businessman in Minneapolis–Saint Paul. In his honor, a park in his home town of Nimrod was named Stigman's Mound. Stigman's Mound is a favorite stop for picnics, launches or finishes by canoe enthusiasts on the adjacent
Crow Wing River The Crow Wing River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 29, 2012 tributary of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States. The river rises at an elevation ...
, a tributary of the
Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. The Nimrod Gnats, amateur baseball team in Nimrod, named their baseball field after him.


References


External links


Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stigman, Dick 1936 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Nicaragua American League All-Stars Baseball players from Minnesota Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Fargo-Moorhead Twins players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Mobile Bears players Olean Oilers players People from Wadena County, Minnesota San Diego Padres (minor league) players Tifton Indians players Vidalia Indians players 20th-century American sportsmen