Mike Loynd

Last updated
1⁄3 innings pitched.

Professional career

Loynd, age 22, made his debut on Thursday, July 24, 1986. Like the much-heralded David Clyde in 1973, Loynd was expected to contribute immediately upon being called to the Majors, as the Rangers were involved in a close pennant race, and manager Bobby Valentine was strapped for pitching. Loynd won his first start in front of 34,256 fans with a 6–3 win over future Hall of Famer Phil Niekro and the Cleveland Indians. Loynd threw for 6 innings, allowing 3 runs, walking 3 batters, and striking out 6 others.

After his next three starts resulted in no decisions, Loynd was back in the win column again on August 14, 1986, after defeating Teddy Higuera and the Milwaukee Brewers 8–2. Loynd surrendered only one run over 7 strong innings while giving up only 5 hits and one walk. He struck out 4 batters. The victory improved his undefeated record to 2-0 and moved the Rangers just 1.5 games behind the first-place California Angels.

Afterwards, Loynd would begin to struggle. Many experts felt it was due to his not having pitched as many innings before during a season. Rangers' manager Bobby Valentine began to use him more selectively, but yet he struggled greatly and for the year ended with 2 wins, 2 losses, and an ERA of 5.36.

In 1987, he began the year in the bullpen and had some initial success in the first month. The Rangers, however, had been a team predicted by many pundits to contend for their first title. Instead, the club started the year 1-10 and never recovered. Perhaps the most iconic moment of that frustration involved Loynd in front of a hometown crowd at Arlington Stadium. On Saturday, May 9, 1987, Loynd was brought in relief of Edwin Correa against the Toronto Blue Jays. After Tony Fernández connected off him for a home run that pushed the score to 7–0, Loynd vented his anger by hitting the next batter, Lloyd Moseby, with a pitch. Moseby proceeded to charge the mound while Loynd ran away. Both were ejected from the game and Toronto ended up winning 15–4. Loynd concluded the 1987 season with 1 win, 5 losses, and an ERA of 6.10. It was his last time playing in the Major Leagues.

Loynd was traded from the Rangers to the Houston Astros for Robbie Wine during spring training on March 25, 1988. [1] He spent the next seven seasons in the minor league organizations of the Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Braves before ending his career with the West Palm Beach Expos of the Florida State League in 1994. Loynd currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri with wife Lori.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Clemens</span> American baseball player (born 1962)

William Roger Clemens, nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably with the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and New York Yankees. He was one of the most dominant pitchers in major league history, tallying 354 wins, a 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time MLB All-Star and two-time World Series champion, Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher in history. Clemens was known for his fierce competitive nature and hard-throwing pitching style, which he used to intimidate batters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nolan Ryan</span> American baseball player

Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr., nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Ryan pitched for the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. After his retirement in 1993, Ryan served as chief executive officer (CEO) of the Texas Rangers and an executive advisor to the Houston Astros. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest MLB pitchers of all time.

Antonio José Castillo Jiménez is a Venezuelan former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. Listed at 5' 10" [1.78 m.], 177 lb. [80 k.], he batted and threw left-handed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Moyer</span> American baseball pitcher (born 1962)

Jamie Moyer is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, and Colorado Rockies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Darwin</span> American baseball player (born 1955)

Danny Wayne Darwin, known as "the Bonham Bullet" and "Dr. Death", is an American professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, and San Francisco Giants, from 1978 through 1998. Over his MLB career, he amassed 171 wins and 182 losses, with a 3.84 earned run average (ERA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. R. Richard</span> American baseball player (1950–2021)

James Rodney Richard was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed starting pitcher for the Houston Astros from 1971 to 1980. Richard led the National League (NL) twice in strikeouts and was named an NL All-Star player in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Cordero</span> Dominican baseball player (born 1975)

Francisco Javier Cordero is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Houston Astros from 1999 through 2012, often serving as the closer. On June 1, 2011, Cordero recorded his 300th career save with the Reds, becoming only the 22nd player to reach that mark. He completed his major league career with 329 saves and is a three-time MLB All-Star.

John David Burkett is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He compiled 166 wins against 136 losses, 1,766 strikeouts, and a 4.31 earned run average. He pitched from 1987 to 2003, with the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox.

Edward John Vosberg is a former left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who had a 10-year career. He played with the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos in the National League, and the Oakland A's and Texas Rangers in the American League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wandy Rodríguez</span> Dominican baseball player

Wandy Fulton Rodríguez is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros from 2005 to 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2012 to 2014 and the Texas Rangers in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Witt</span> American baseball player (born 1964)

Robert Andrew Witt Sr. is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Florida Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cleveland Indians, and Arizona Diamondbacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Clyde</span> American baseball player (born 1955)

David Eugene Clyde is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five seasons with the Texas Rangers (1973–1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978–1979). He is noted for his once promising baseball career, which ended at age 26 because of arm and shoulder injuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig McMurtry</span> American baseball player (born 1959)

Joe Craig McMurtry is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played eight non-consecutive seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Atlanta Braves (1983–86), Texas Rangers (1988–90) and Houston Astros (1995).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yovani Gallardo</span> Mexican baseball player (born 1986)

Yovani Gallardo is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft out of Trimble Technical High School in Fort Worth, Texas. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Cincinnati Reds. Gallardo was an All-Star in 2010, and won the Silver Slugger Award for pitchers that year.

The Texas Rangers1988 season involved the Rangers finishing sixth in the American League West with a record of 70 wins and 91 losses.

The Houston Astros' 1988 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League West. It was the final season with Nolan Ryan as an Astro, as he left for the Texas Rangers in the offseason.

Raymond Alton Hayward is a former left-handed Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played from 1986 to 1988 for the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers. He is currently the pitching coach for the collegiate Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Clancy (baseball)</span> American baseball player (born 1955)

James Clancy is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1977–88), Houston Astros (1989–91) and Atlanta Braves (1991). He batted and threw right-handed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Musgrove</span> American baseball player (born 1992)

Joseph Anthony Musgrove is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Romano</span> Canadian baseball player (born 1993)

Jordan Robert Romano is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB).

References

Sources

Mike Loynd
1987 Rob Broder Rookies Mike Loynd.jpg
Pitcher
Born: (1964-03-26) March 26, 1964 (age 60)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 24, 1986, for the Texas Rangers
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1987, for the Texas Rangers
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.