Dan Plesac, baseball player, 1986-2003

Dan Plesac

Born: 2/4/1962 in Gary, IN, USA

MLB Debut: 1986-04-11 | Final Game: 2003-09-28

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'5" | Weight: 205 lbs

Full name: Daniel Thomas Plesac

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Biography

Dan Plesac was a professional baseball pitcher who made a significant impact in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 until his retirement in 2003. Born in 1962, Plesac began his career with the Chicago Cubs and displayed remarkable versatility and consistency throughout his time in the league. He finished his career with a record of 65-71, an earned run average (ERA) of 3.64, and accumulated 1,041 strikeouts along with 158 saves. His ability to effectively close games and contribute across multiple roles in the bullpen made him a valuable asset to every team he played for. Plesac was selected as an All-Star three times during his career, showcasing his prowess on the mound and his ability to compete among the league's best. He played during an era that emphasized the evolution of the relief pitcher, as teams increasingly relied on specialized roles within their bullpens. Plesac's contributions helped to shape the modern expectations of relief pitching, and he remains recognized for his durability and effectiveness, leaving a lasting legacy in the game.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
65 71 1064 14 0 0 158 1072.0 977 433 105 402 1041 3.64 0

Career ERA 3.64 vs. league average 4.25 across their career seasons — 14.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1986 ATL AL 10 7 51 0 0 0 14 91.0 81 30 29 75 2.97 3.97 (+25%) -
1987 ATL AL 5 6 57 0 0 0 23 79.3 63 23 23 89 2.61 4.29 (+39%) -
1988 ATL AL 1 2 50 0 0 0 30 52.3 46 14 12 52 2.41 3.73 (+36%) -
1989 ATL AL 3 4 52 0 0 0 33 61.3 47 16 17 52 2.35 3.71 (+37%) -
1990 ATL AL 3 7 66 0 0 0 24 69.0 67 34 31 65 4.43 3.86 (-15%) -
1991 ATL AL 2 7 45 10 0 0 8 92.3 92 44 39 61 4.29 3.91 (-10%) -
1992 ATL AL 5 4 44 4 0 0 1 79.0 64 26 35 54 2.96 3.75 (+21%) -
1993 CHC NL 2 1 57 0 0 0 0 62.7 74 33 21 47 4.74 4.19 (-13%) -
1994 CHC NL 2 3 54 0 0 0 1 54.7 61 28 13 53 4.61 4.51 (-2%) -
1995 PIT NL 4 4 58 0 0 0 3 60.3 53 24 27 57 3.58 4.45 (+20%) 1830.4
1996 PIT NL 6 5 73 0 0 0 11 70.3 67 32 24 76 4.09 4.61 (+11%) 3277.6
1997 TOR AL 2 4 73 0 0 0 1 50.3 47 20 19 61 3.58 4.39 (+19%) 642.6
1998 TOR AL 4 3 78 0 0 0 4 50.0 41 21 16 55 3.78 4.43 (+15%) 1809.0
1999 TOR AL 0 3 30 0 0 0 0 22.7 28 21 9 26 8.34 4.71 (-77%) 218.2
1999 AZ NL 2 1 34 0 0 0 1 21.7 22 8 8 27 3.32 4.71 (+29%) -
2000 AZ NL 5 1 62 0 0 0 0 40.0 34 14 26 45 3.15 4.77 (+34%) -
2001 TOR AL 4 5 62 0 0 0 1 45.3 34 18 24 68 3.57 4.42 (+19%) 1792.4
2002 TOR AL 1 2 19 0 0 0 0 13.3 11 5 6 14 3.38 4.28 (+21%) 364.7
2002 PHI NL 2 1 41 0 0 0 1 23.0 16 12 12 27 4.70 4.28 (-10%) -420.3
2003 PHI NL 2 1 58 0 0 0 2 33.3 29 10 11 37 2.70 4.40 (+39%) 1122.8

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1064 15 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0.067 0.067 0.067 0.133 0.0

Career AVG .067 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 74.7% below league average.

Career OBP .067 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 79.9% below league average.

Career SLG .067 vs. league average .410 across their career seasons — 83.7% below league average.

Career OPS 0.133 vs. league average 0.742 across their career seasons — 82.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1986 ATL AL 51 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 ATL AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 ATL AL 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 ATL AL 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 ATL AL 66 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 ATL AL 45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 ATL AL 44 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 CHC NL 57 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1994 CHC NL 54 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1995 PIT NL 58 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1996 PIT NL 73 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1997 TOR AL 73 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1998 TOR AL 78 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1999 TOR AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1999 AZ NL 34 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2000 AZ NL 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2001 TOR AL 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2002 TOR AL 19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2002 PHI NL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 PHI NL 58 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1999 NLDS2 ARI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 1 0 0 0.3 3 2 0 0 54.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1999 NLDS2 ARI 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 3 2 0 0 54.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 1064 14 9 100 3 6

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1986 ML4 P 51 0 1 11 0 0
1987 ML4 P 57 0 0 12 2 1
1988 ML4 P 50 0 0 6 0 0
1989 ML4 P 52 0 2 8 0 0
1990 ML4 P 66 0 1 7 0 1
1991 ML4 P 45 10 2 5 0 0
1992 ML4 P 44 4 1 8 0 1
1993 CHN P 57 0 0 9 1 2
1994 CHN P 54 0 0 3 0 0
1995 PIT P 58 0 1 8 0 1
1996 PIT P 73 0 0 1 0 0
1997 TOR P 73 0 0 1 0 0
1998 TOR P 78 0 0 1 0 0
1999 TOR P 30 0 0 2 0 0
1999 ARI P 34 0 1 4 0 0
2000 ARI P 62 0 0 2 0 0
2001 TOR P 62 0 0 4 0 0
2002 TOR P 19 0 0 0 0 0
2002 PHI P 41 0 0 3 0 0
2003 PHI P 58 0 0 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 1064

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2003 PHI NL $2,000,000
2002 TOR AL $2,200,000
2001 TOR AL $2,200,000
2000 ARI NL $1,500,000
1999 TOR AL $1,500,000
1998 TOR AL $800,000
1997 TOR AL $800,000
1996 PIT NL $1,100,000
1995 PIT NL $1,091,112
1994 CHN NL $1,700,000
1993 CHN NL $1,700,000
1992 ML4 AL $2,766,667
1991 ML4 AL $1,000,000
1990 ML4 AL $1,466,667
1989 ML4 AL $765,000
1988 ML4 AL $275,000
1987 ML4 AL $180,000
1986 ML4 AL $60,000
Total Career Earnings $23,104,446

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
North Carolina State University Raleigh NC 1981, 1982, 1983

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 3.0 392 0