Edward David Wojna (pronounced Woah-shuh-nuh) (born August 20, 1960) 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 ...

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 parts of four seasons 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 ...

(MLB) with 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. ...

and

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 ...

. Wojna is of Polish descent.

Early career

Wojna attended

Masuk High School Masuk High School is a public high school in Monroe, Connecticut, United States, and includes grades 9 through 12. It is located on Connecticut Route 111 (Monroe Turnpike) in Monroe, between Old Coach Road and Pond View Road. The school has a 25- ...

and then played at Indian River Junior College. He was drafted by the

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 ...

. He was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with

Marty Decker Dee Martin Decker (born June 7, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who appeared in four games for the San Diego Padres in . He batted and threw right-handed. Early life Decker was born in Upland, California. He attended Placer High ...

, Darren Burroughs and Lance McCullers to the San Diego Padres on August 31, 1983, as part of trade in which the Padres gave up

Sixto Lezcano Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras (born November 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during ...

and a player to be named later ( Steve Fireovid).

Major league career

Wojna made his debut with the Padres in 1985, but was seldom used on a very strong pitching staff. In 1986 he enjoyed his best season by going 2–2 with a 3.23

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. The highlight of the season, and his career, came on September 11, 1986, at

Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California, United States. Opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium; it was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium for sportswriter Jack Murphy from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadium's namin ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. That night he hurled a 9 inning

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 ...

and defeated the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

9 to 1. He allowed only three hits in the game (two singles by

Ken Griffey George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mari ...

and one by Rafael Ramírez) and only one

unearned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

. During the 1987 season Wojna did not pitch well and was up and down between San Diego and their Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

team, the Las Vegas Stars. He was traded to 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 ...

after the season, spending a year in their organization before being traded to the Indians. His last appearance in the major leagues came in 1989 out of the Indians bullpen for a handful of games. He spent 1990, his last professional season, with the

Tacoma Tigers Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mou ...

in 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 ...

organization. For his career Wojna won 4 games, lost 10, and had a 4.62 ERA over 132.1 innings. He pitched in 36 games and started 20 of them.

Last name humor

* The Padres' broadcasting crew of

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 19 ...

and Dave Campbell often had trouble with Wojna's Polish name. Fellow Padre teammates

Garry Templeton Garry Lewis Templeton (born March 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and New York Mets from 1976 ...

and Marvell Wynne pronounced his name as "Wash-nuh" despite manager

Steve Boros Stephen Boros Jr. (September 3, 1936 – December 29, 2010) was an American professional baseball infielder, coach, manager, scout, and administrator. Best known for his scientific approach to the sport and his use of computers, Boros' baseball ...

' attempts to teach them otherwise. * In the Polish language, "wojna" means war.

Other

According to a story in Beckett Baseball Card Monthly in June 1986, a production error by

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

Baseball Cards caused his card to appear ten times more often than any other card in the 1986 Topps wax packs.

References

Sources

* * 1987 San Diego Padres Media Guide

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wojna, Ed 1960 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American people of Polish descent Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Indian River State Pioneers baseball players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Major League Baseball pitchers Peninsula Pilots players Reading Phillies players San Diego Padres players Spartanburg Phillies players Baseball players from Connecticut Baseball players from Fairfield County, Connecticut Baseball players from Bridgeport, Connecticut Tacoma Tigers players Vancouver Canadians players 20th-century American sportsmen