Michael John Kinnunen (born April 1, 1958) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in parts of three seasons between and . He holds the major league record for most pitching appearances without a decision of any kind (win, loss or save) with 48.

Career

Kinnunen attended

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

from 1977 to 1979. Kinnunen was selected by the

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 ...

in the 10th round of the

1979 Major League Baseball Draft The 1979 Major League Baseball draft was held on June 5–7, 1979, via conference call. First round selections The following are the first-round picks in the 1979 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Compensation Picks Other ...

, and was quickly promoted to the majors in 1980. Although he pitched reasonably well, he spent in the minors before being traded to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. He finally made it back to the majors in after bouncing around the minors for several years. As of 2008, Kinnunen was living in

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...

, where he worked at

Roberto Clemente Stadium Roberto Clemente Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Roberto Clemente) is a multi-purpose stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico. It is currently used mostly for baseball games and is the home of Gigantes de Carolina. The stadium holds 12,500 people and was ...

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnunen, Mike 1958 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arkansas Travelers players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Seattle Columbus Clippers players Denver Zephyrs players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Chicks players Mexican League baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Omaha Royals players Orlando Twins players Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Missions players Tigres del México players Toledo Mud Hens players Tuneros de San Luis Potosí players Washington State University alumni Washington State Cougars baseball players Wichita Aeros players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players 20th-century American sportsmen