1967
Born December 6, 1967
Lancaster, CA, USA
Kevin Appier Marquee
b. December 6, 1967 · Kansas City Royals 1989–1999, 2003–2004, Oakland Athletics 1999–2000, New York Mets 2001, Anaheim Angels 2002–2003
In 1993 he went 18-8 with a 2.56 earned run average, the lowest in the American League, and finished third in the Cy Young voting behind Jack McDowell and Randy Johnson. Kansas City finished third that year and was not good again while he was there.
Sixteen seasons gave him 169 wins against 137, a 3.74 earned run average, 2,595 innings and 1,994 strikeouts. Eleven of the seasons were with the Royals, for whom only Paul Splittorff, Dennis Leonard and Mark Gubicza have won more games.
He threw across his body with a delivery that pitching coaches said would break him, and it eventually did — shoulder trouble from 1998 and elbow reconstruction at thirty-five. He was on the Anaheim staff that won the 2002 World Series. The 2010 ballot gave him one vote of 539.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1995 |
| Pitcher of the Month | 2 | 1992, 1995 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1993 |
| The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1990 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | KCR | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1990 | KCR | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1991 | KCR | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1992 | KCR | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1993 | KCR | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1994 | KCR | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995 | KCR | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1996 | KCR | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1997 | KCR | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 |
| 1998 | KCR | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1999 | KCR/OAK | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2000 | OAK | 31 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .167 |
| 2001 | NYM | 33 | 62 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 0 | .113 |
| 2002 | ANA | 32 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| 2003 | ANA/KCR | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 2004 | KCR | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 414 | 83 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 0 | .096 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | KCR | 1 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 21.2 | 34 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 9.14 |
| 1990 | KCR | 12 | 8 | 32 | 24 | 0 | 185.2 | 179 | 57 | 54 | 127 | 2.76 |
| 1991 | KCR | 13 | 10 | 34 | 31 | 0 | 207.2 | 205 | 79 | 61 | 158 | 3.42 |
| 1992 | KCR | 15 | 8 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 208.1 | 167 | 57 | 68 | 150 | 2.46 |
| 1993 | KCR | 18 | 8 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 238.2 | 183 | 68 | 81 | 186 | 2.56 |
| 1994 | KCR | 7 | 6 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 155.0 | 137 | 66 | 63 | 145 | 3.83 |
| 1995 | KCR | 15 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 201.1 | 163 | 87 | 80 | 185 | 3.89 |
| 1996 | KCR | 14 | 11 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 211.1 | 192 | 85 | 75 | 207 | 3.62 |
| 1997 | KCR | 9 | 13 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 235.2 | 215 | 89 | 74 | 196 | 3.40 |
| 1998 | KCR | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15.0 | 21 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 7.80 |
| 1999 | KCR/OAK | 16 | 14 | 34 | 34 | 0 | 209.0 | 230 | 120 | 84 | 131 | 5.17 |
| 2000 | OAK | 15 | 11 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 195.1 | 200 | 98 | 102 | 129 | 4.52 |
| 2001 | NYM | 11 | 10 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 206.2 | 181 | 82 | 64 | 172 | 3.57 |
| 2002 | ANA | 14 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 188.1 | 191 | 82 | 64 | 132 | 3.92 |
| 2003 | ANA/KCR | 8 | 9 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 111.2 | 120 | 67 | 43 | 55 | 5.40 |
| 2004 | KCR | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 13.50 |
| Career | — | 169 | 137 | 414 | 402 | 0 | 2595.1 | 2425 | 1078 | 933 | 1994 | 3.74 |
On this day & linked events
1989
Major-league debut: Kevin Appier
Kevin Appier made a major-league debut on June 4, 1989.
2004
Final major-league game: Kevin Appier
Kevin Appier played a final major-league game on April 23, 2004.