Eric Vaughn Plunk (born September 3, 1963) is an American 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, ...

who played 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 ...

from 1986 through 1999. He pitched for 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 ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

Career

The

selected Plunk in the fourth round of the

1981 MLB draft The 1981 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1981. The draft saw the Seattle Mariners select Mike Moore (baseball), Mike Moore first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1981 Major League Ba ...

. On December 5, 1984, the Yankees traded Plunk with Tim Birtsas,

Jay Howell Jay Canfield Howell (born November 26, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds (1980), Chicago Cubs (1981), New York Yankees (1982–1984), Oakland Athletics (1985–1987), Los Angeles Dodgers (19 ...

Stan Javier Stanley Julián Antonio Javier ah-ve-ERR(born January 9, 1964) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 to 2001. A switch-hitter with good production from both sides of the pla ...

, and

José Rijo José Antonio Rijo Abreu (born May 13, 1965) is a Dominican former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Reds (1988–1995 and 2001–2002). Signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur ...

to the

for

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (December 25, 1958 – December 20, 2024), nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, inc ...

, Bert Bradley, and cash. On June 21, 1989, he was traded by the Oakland Athletics with

Greg Cadaret Gregory James Cadaret (born February 27, 1962) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 1998 for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals ...

and

Luis Polonia Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte (born December 10, 1963) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, California Angels, Atlanta B ...

to the Yankees for Henderson. Plunk signed with the

as a free agent after the 1991 season. He was the winning pitcher in the first ever game played at

Jacobs Field Progressive Field is a baseball stadium in the downtown Cleveland, downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio. It is the ballpark of the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball and, together with Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Rocket Arena, is part of ...

on April 4, 1994. Plunk became one of the most reliable set-up men in baseball, posting a sub-3.00 earned run average in four consecutive seasons from 1993 to 1996. On September 17, 1996, Plunk pitched the final three innings and got the save in the Indians' 9-4 win over the White Sox that clinched Cleveland's second consecutive Central Division title. Plunk's regular season success never translated over to the postseason. In 15 playoff appearances with the Athletics and Indians, Plunk had a 7.53 ERA and walked 10 batters in 14 innings of work. He was the losing pitcher for Game 3 of the

1997 World Series The 1997 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1997 season. The 93rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National ...

, his final postseason appearance. Days before the trade deadline during the 1998 season, the Indians traded Plunk to the

for Doug Jones. Plunk pitched one more season in the major leagues for the Brewers in 1999.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plunk, Eric 1963 births Baseball players from Los Angeles Canton-Akron Indians players Cleveland Indians players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players Huntsville Stars players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Paintsville Yankees players Tacoma Tigers players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players People from Wilmington, Los Angeles