Dan Plesac

Dan Plesac
Pitcher
Born: (1962-02-04) February 4, 1962 Gary, Indiana
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 11, 1986, for the Milwaukee Brewers
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 2003, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Games pitched	1,064
Win–loss record	65–71
Earned run average	3.64
Strikeouts	1,041
Saves	158
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (1986–1992) Chicago Cubs (1993–1994) Pittsburgh Pirates (1995–1996) Toronto Blue Jays (1997–1999) Arizona Diamondbacks (1999–2000) Toronto Blue Jays (2001–2002) Philadelphia Phillies (2002–2003)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (1987–1989)

Daniel Thomas Plesac (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ˈdænˈplêsats], born February 4, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with an 18-year career from 1986 to 2003. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Philadelphia Phillies.

High School

Dan attended Crown Point High School in Crown Point, Indiana where excelled in baseball, basketball, football and track.

College

Plesac played college baseball for the NC State Wolfpack in the early 1980s. Plesac was inducted to the North Carolina State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Major Leagues

A hard thrower with a mid-90 mph fastball and nasty slider, Plesac was originally a starting pitcher before becoming the closer of the Milwaukee Brewers. Plesac served primarily as a left-handed specialist from the mid-1990s until the end of his career, pitching for the Blue Jays twice, the Diamondbacks, and the Phillies.

He was elected to the American League All-Star team three times (1987, 1988 and 1989). He ended with a 65–71 record and a 3.64 ERA in 1,064 games and 1,072 innings pitched. In 1988, Plesac recorded three saves against the Reds in a weekend series immediately preceding the 1988 All Star Game in Cincinnati. Due to travel complications, he flew to Cincinnati on the Reds team chartered plane.

Plesac holds numerous all-time Milwaukee pitching records (minimum 500 innings pitched). He is the career leader in ERA, H/IP, games, saves and ERA+ (adjusted ERA). He is second in K/9 and WHIP (BB + H/IP), in both cases to Ben Sheets, and is fifth in K/BB ratio.

He was the last Phillies pitcher in the history of Veterans Stadium, as he struck out the only batter he faced, Ryan Langerhans, to record the third out in the top of the ninth inning on September 28, 2003. The Phillies lost to the Atlanta Braves, 5–2.

Television career

Plesac worked as a news telecaster for Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, co-hosting as a highlighter for Chicago Cubs and pre and post game shows from 2005 until the end of the 2008 season. He is also a harness race horse trainer in Chicago.

Plesac joined the MLB Network and became an analyst January 2009.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)