Stephen George Ridzik (April 29, 1929 – January 8, 2008) was an American right-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, ...

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 ...

who played for five teams from 1950 to 1966, primarily the

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 ...

and Washington Senators. Born in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, Ridzik was signed by the Phillies at the age of 16 and made his major league debut on September 4, 1950, pitching in relief. In 1953, Ridzik started 12 games and relieved in 30 more going 9-6 with an

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 ...

of 3.77. The Phillies traded him on April 30, 1955, along with Smoky Burgess and Stan Palys, to the Cincinnati Redlegs for Andy Seminick, Glen Gorbous, and Jim Greengrass. After having his contract sold to Seattle of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

that same year, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

claimed him the next month in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Ridzik pitched for the Giants from 1957 to 1958 appearing in 56 games including 5 starts. On April 8, 1958, the Giants sold his contract to 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

where he would pitch in six more games before his contract was sold again to 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 ...

. He would not pitch a major league game with the Cubs before his contract was sold to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. Ridzik signed with the Washington Senators three years later in 1963 after developing a

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch (baseball), pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from Laminar flow, lamin ...

. He would appear in 132 games, mostly in relief, over the next three years for the Senators. On April 13, 1966, his contract was sold back to his original team, the Phillies. He would appear in two games with the Phillies that year before calling it a career. After life as a baseball player, Ridzik worked in the Washington, D.C. area for a military food distributor until moving to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the late 1980s. In Florida, he helped with the organizing of charity events featuring former Major League players. He also helped establish the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association with a former Senators teammate, Chuck Hinton. He died on January 8, 2008, after fighting heart disease for several years.Ridzik, who pitched for Phillies' 1950 World Series team, dies
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Steve Ridzik
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridzik, Steve 1929 births 2008 deaths Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Fort Worth Cats players Greensboro Patriots players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players New York Giants (baseball) players Baseball players from Bradenton, Florida Philadelphia Phillies players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Schenectady Blue Jays players Baseball players from Yonkers, New York Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Utica Blue Sox players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players