Morris Dale Steevens (October 7, 1940 – June 16, 2024), was 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 ...

left-handed

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 ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

() and

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 ...

(–). During his playing days, Steevens stood tall, weighing .

Baseball career

Morrie attended Salem High School in Salem, Illinois, where he earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball, football, and track. He was signed as a undrafted free agent by the

in 1958. Steevens began his 10-year pro career as a 17-year-old at with the Class D Pulaski Cubs in 1958. In the minors he made the All-Star team in 1959 pitching for the Class D

Paris Lakers The Paris Lakers were a minor league baseball team based in Paris, Illinois from 1950 to 1959. The Lakers played as members of the Midwest League from 1956 to 1959 and its predecessor, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League from 1950 to 1955. The L ...

and in 1960 with the Class C St. Cloud Rox. He pitched a no-hitter, as well, in 1960 for the Rox against the Minot Mallards. After going 11-6 with a 3.35 ERA for the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

in 1961 and making a third-straight All-Star appearance, Steevens made the Cubs' 28-man early-season roster out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 1962. He went unscored upon in four April

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 ...

appearances (covering 3

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 ...

) before being sent back to San Antonio, where he won 15 games. The Cubs recalled Steevens in September and used him in eight games, including his only big-league

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 ...

assignment. On September 19 he went 3 innings against the Phillies at

Connie Mack Stadium Shibe Park ( , rhymes with "vibe"), known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a ballpark located in Philadelphia. It was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) from 1909 to 1954 and the Philadelphia Phillies of the Natio ...

, permitting four

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), 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 ...

, and picking up the

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in a game shortened by rain. Those were the only runs allowed by the

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 ...

Steevens in 15 innings pitched for the 1962 Cubs. Steevens spent all of 1963 back in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

and was traded to the Phillies, during the off-season. After a sparkling 8–1 season with the Triple-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

, he was recalled by the first-place Phils as an extra

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

arm for the stretch drive. In his first relief appearance, on September 19, 1964 (two years to the day after his only MLB start), Steevens came into a 3–3 road game against 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 the bottom of the 16th inning in relief of

Jack Baldschun Jack Edward Baldschun (October 16, 1936 – June 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for the Philadelphia Phillie ...

to face left-handed-hitting

Ron Fairly Ronald Ray Fairly (July 12, 1938 – October 30, 2019) was an American professional baseball player and television sports presenter. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and right fielder from 1958 to 1978, most prominently as a ...

with runners at second and third base and two

outs In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a h ...

. But before he could retire Fairly, Willie Davis, the runner at third, stole home, to give the Dodgers a 4–3 victory. The Phillies recovered to win the next game, but then dropped ten games in a row to fall from the

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(NL) lead and finish second to the

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. Steevens appeared in three more games during the catastrophic losing streak, allowing one earned run in 2 innings pitched. Morris then split 1965 between Triple-A and the Phils, and appeared in six more big-league games. He posted a poor 16.88

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 ...

(ERA), again in only 2 innings of work. Morris then spent and back in the minors before deciding to retire from the game. All told, Steevens lost his only two MLB decisions. In 22 games and 20 innings pitched, he gave up 20

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and 16

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

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

11 batters. Interestingly, he only pitched in April and September in the Major Leagues.

Personal life

After baseball, Steevens lived in San Antonio. He died on June 16, 2024.

References

External links

Morrie Steevens
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Steevens, Morrie 1940 births Amarillo Gold Sox players 20th-century American sportsmen Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Marion County, Illinois Chicago Cubs players Lancaster Red Roses players Major League Baseball pitchers Paris Lakers players People from Salem, Illinois Philadelphia Phillies players Phoenix Giants players Pulaski Cubs players Reading Phillies players St. Cloud Rox players Salt Lake City Bees players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres (minor league) players 2024 deaths