Richard Eugene Lysander (born February 21, 1953) is an American former professional baseball

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 had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years.

Career

Major League career

Lysander was drafted by 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 ...

in , and he toiled in the minors for several years before finally pitching five games for the A's in . He was then returned to the minors, and remained there for the rest of 1980 and all of . Oakland traded him to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

after the 1981 season, but Lysander never played in the majors for Houston. The Astros traded him on to 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 ...

for Bob Veselic the following off-season, and in Rick was back in the majors. He remained with the Twins until , after which he was released, ending his major-league career.

Post-MLB life

Lysander didn't give up on pitching entirely, and eventually found a home in the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

. In he pitched for the Bradenton Explorers, leading the league in saves with 11. In , he moved on to the Daytona Beach Explorers, pitching in eight games without allowing an earned run. This earned him a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

, and he pitched in ten games for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

that season before retiring. Rick's son, Brent, pitched in the A's minor league organization in 2007-08, and for the independent

Lake Erie Crushers The Lake Erie Crushers (often referred as the Grapes) are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division, and began play as an expansion team in 2009. The Crushers ...

in .

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lysander, Rick 1953 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Birmingham A's players Bradenton Explorers players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chattanooga Lookouts players Daytona Beach Explorers players Jersey City A's players Lewiston Broncs players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players Modesto A's players Oakland Athletics players Ogden A's players People from Huntington Park, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California San Jose Missions players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Tigers players Tigres de Aragua players Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players 20th-century American sportsmen