Kevin Dean Wickander (born January 4, 1965) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player. A

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, Wickander played 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, and

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

from to . Wickander attended

Cortez High School Cortez High School is located in Phoenix, Arizona at 8828 N 31st Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85051. It is part of the Glendale Union High School District. The mascot is the Colt and the school colors are primarily black and white with red used as an alter ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at Grand Canyon University. Although he grew up only ten miles from the campus of Grand Canyon, he admitted he had not heard of it until three months before he enrolled. He was the

ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

of the Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball team that won the

1986 NAIA World Series The 1986 NAIA World Series was the 30th annual tournament hosted by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to determine the national champion of baseball among its member colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. ...

. Wickander made his Major League debut with the

on August 10, 1989. He missed most of the 1990 season after breaking his elbow. In May 1991, he sought treatment for

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

and took a leave of absence to be treated in-patient at the Cleveland Clinic. After being successfully discharged from treatment, he pitched his first full Major League season in 1992. In May of the following year, he was traded to the

. Wickander started the 1994 season pitching in Taiwan but, after appearing in seven games, traveled back to the United States for the birth of his first child and did not return to Taiwan. After his playing career ended he spent several years in prison on drug and other related charges.

References

External links

1965 births Living people Baseball players from Iowa Major League Baseball pitchers Canton-Akron Indians players Cleveland Indians players Kinston Indians players Cincinnati Reds players Milwaukee Brewers players Detroit Tigers players Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball players Sportspeople from Fort Dodge, Iowa Batavia Trojans players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Indianapolis Indians players New Orleans Zephyrs players Toledo Mud Hens players Uni-President Lions players Williamsport Bills players American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan American sportspeople convicted of crimes American people convicted of theft Anchorage Bucs players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub