Professional career
The Oakland Athletics selected Steinbach in the ninth round of the 1983 Major League Baseball Draft. Steinbach signed with the Athletics,and made his professional debut in the minor leagues. After two years as a third baseman,the Athletics moved Steinbach to catcher,and played him for two years in Class AA of the minor leagues. [5]
Steinbach made his major league debut on September 12,1986,against the Cleveland Indians. He hit a home run off of Greg Swindell in his first major league at-bat. During his 1987 rookie year he had a .284/.349/.463 line with 16 home runs,56 RBIs and 16 doubles. He also caught 37 would-be base stealers,3rd highest in the American League.
He was elected to the All Star Game in 1988. His selection was controversial because Steinbach had posted modest numbers in the first half of the season. However,during the game he accounted for both AL runs with a home run and sacrifice fly,and was named the game's MVP. The same year he hit .364 with a double in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In all,Steinbach played for four division championship teams from 1988 to 1992,which won three American League pennants and the 1989 World Series. In the 1989 series,he went 4-for-18 but drove in seven runs to go with a home run in the four-game sweep by Oakland. For his career,he hit .281 with two home runs and fourteen RBIs in 25 postseason games. Offensively,his best year was 1996,when he hit 35 home runs with 100 RBIs,25 doubles for a .272/.342/.529 slash line,and he finished 21st in the AL MVP ballot. He occasionally played first base,third base and both left and right field. After playing for the Athletics for eleven seasons,he went on to play for his home-state Minnesota Twins for the 1997 season. At ages 35 to 37,he averaged 15 home runs,71 RBIs and 23 doubles per every 162 games as the Twins starting catcher. He also caught two no-hitters during his career (Dave Stewart in 1990,Eric Milton in 1999). He was a free agent after the 1999 season and had offers to play in the fall of 2000 for either St. Louis or the US Olympic team but suffered a torn hamstring in a waterskiing accident. He never played professional baseball again. [6]
On August 17,2024,Steinbach was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame. [7]
Personal life
Steinbach and his wife,Mary,have three children. Their two sons both played college baseball. [5] [9]
Terry's brother,Tom,was a teammate on the Golden Gophers' baseball team. Tom was the right fielder. [14]
In August 2024,Steinbach was inducted into the Oakland Athletics Hall of Fame. [15] [16]
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