Bob Tiefenauer--1968
Don't you just want to run to the bat
rack, grab some lumber and take a
few swings off Bob Tiefenauer?
I know, I did.
For heaven's sake, he looked like my
dentist. The soft eyes. The gentle
smile. You can just hear him say,
"Now I'm just going to ease the chair
back and take a little look at the
molars on the right side."
No, Tiefenauer didn't strike fear into
many hitters as he fluttered his way
through the 1960s with a knuckleball.
However, he occasionally tricked his
way past a few batters as he logged
13 saves for the Milwaukee Braves in
1964, while the right-hander
registered an impressive 0.79 ERA in
five outings for the Indians in 1967.
Featured in an Indians uniform for his
1968 card, Tiefenauer actually
tossed his last big league pitches
that season for the Cubs.
He then twirled for the Cubs' Triple-A
club in '69, before retiring at the age
of 39 to pursue a career in dentistry
we guess.
Editor's Note: Actually, Tiefenauer
would work for years with the Phillies
as a minor league pitching coach and
also with the big league club as the
bullpen coach. He would wind up with
a career 9-25 record, thus owning
the distinction of being one of the
only pitchers in MLB history to have a
career that spanned ten big league
seasons while recording less than 10
victories.
rack, grab some lumber and take a
few swings off Bob Tiefenauer?
I know, I did.
For heaven's sake, he looked like my
dentist. The soft eyes. The gentle
smile. You can just hear him say,
"Now I'm just going to ease the chair
back and take a little look at the
molars on the right side."
No, Tiefenauer didn't strike fear into
many hitters as he fluttered his way
through the 1960s with a knuckleball.
However, he occasionally tricked his
way past a few batters as he logged
13 saves for the Milwaukee Braves in
1964, while the right-hander
registered an impressive 0.79 ERA in
five outings for the Indians in 1967.
Featured in an Indians uniform for his
1968 card, Tiefenauer actually
tossed his last big league pitches
that season for the Cubs.
He then twirled for the Cubs' Triple-A
club in '69, before retiring at the age
of 39 to pursue a career in dentistry
we guess.
Editor's Note: Actually, Tiefenauer
would work for years with the Phillies
as a minor league pitching coach and
also with the big league club as the
bullpen coach. He would wind up with
a career 9-25 record, thus owning
the distinction of being one of the
only pitchers in MLB history to have a
career that spanned ten big league
seasons while recording less than 10
victories.
