Steven John Dunning (born May 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.[1] He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between 1970 and 1977 for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, Montreal Expos and the Oakland Athletics. Dunning was the 1st round draft choice by the Cleveland Indians in the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.[2]

Steve Dunning
Dunning in 1974
Pitcher
Born: (1949-05-15) May 15, 1949 (age 75)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 14, 1970, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1977, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record23–41
Earned run average4.56
Strikeouts390
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Baseball career

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Dunning was born in Denver, Colorado. He was the second player to go straight to the Major Leagues after being drafted without spending a day in the minors.

On May 11, 1971, Dunning had the distinction of hitting a grand slam home run off of Oakland Athletics pitcher Diego Seguí.[3] This remained the last grand slam hit by an American League pitcher until Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners accomplished the same feat June 23, 2008 in a game against the New York Mets.

He was traded from the Indians to the Rangers for Dick Bosman and Ted Ford on May 10, 1973.[4] He went from the Rangers to the Chicago White Sox for Stan Perzanowski on February 25, 1975.[5] He was dealt for a second time within a year, along with Bill Melton from the White Sox to the Angels for Jim Spencer and Morris Nettles on December 11, 1975.[6] After a campaign in which he went 2–6 with a 4.15 earned run average (ERA) in 32 appearances, he was sent along with Tony Scott and Pat Scanlon from the Expos to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bill Greif, Sam Mejías and Ángel Torres on November 8, 1976. All three players coming to St. Louis had spent some of the 1976 season with the Denver Bears which were led by recently-hired Cardinals manager Vern Rapp.[7]

He became an attorney in 1982. His wife Kim was on Tic Tac Dough in 1983 and won over $10K.

References

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  1. ^ "Steve Dunning at Baseball Reference". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "1970 First Round Draft". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "This Date in Baseball: May 11". Sports Illustrated. May 3, 2006. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  4. ^ "Bosman Sent to Indians By Rangers for Dunning," The Associated Press (AP), Thursday, May 10, 1973. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  5. ^ "Cleveland plucks Boog from Birds," The Associated Press (AP), Wednesday, February 26, 1975. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "Angels most active traders," United Press International (UPI), Friday, December 12, 1975. Retrieved May 2, 2020
  7. ^ "6-Player Baseball Trade Completed by Cards, Expos," The Associated Press (AP), Tuesday, November 9, 1976. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
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