Richard Eugene Lysander is an American former professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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 attempts to e ...

. 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 (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

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, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

for

Bob Veselic Robert Michael Veselic (September 27, 1955 – December 26, 1995) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher appeared in Major League Baseball in six games and 26 innings, all in relief, for the – Minnesota Twi ...

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 The Daytona Beach Explorers was a baseball club that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990. They were a replacement team when the originals Bradenton Explorers relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, and played its games at ...

, 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) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, and he pitched in ten games for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

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 are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio, a city near the southern shore of Lake Erie. They are members of the West Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Ma ...

in .

External links

Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lysander, Rick 1953 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from California 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 San Jose Missions players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Tigers players Tigres de Aragua players Toledo Mud Hens players Tucson Toros players Vancouver Canadians players