Dan Plesac

Dan Plesac
Pitcher
Born: February 4, 1962 (1962-02-04) 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
Career 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 selection (1987, 1988, 1989)

Daniel Thomas Plesac (born February 4, 1962 in Gary, Indiana) 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. Plesac is of Croatian decent.

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.

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 Sept. 28, 2003. The Phillies lost to the Braves, 5-2.

Plesac worked as a news telecaster for Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, cohosting as a highlighter for Chicago Cubs and pre and postgame shows 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.

Plesac was recently elected to the North Carolina State Hall of Fame.

Plesac played for North Carolina State University in the early 1980s. He was No. 26 in 1983 and 1984 with the Wolfpack.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
• List of most experienced baseball players never to play in a World Series

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube