Steve Buechele
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Steven Bernard Buechele (born September 26, 1961 in Lancaster, California) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. Buechele played from 1985 to 1995 for the Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs. He joined the Rangers in 1985 after he was named the Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year.[1] He was traded from the Rangers to the Pirates in 1991 following of the emergence of Dean Palmer. He returned to the Rangers for an eighth season in 1995.[2]
1991 was a career year for Buechele. While with Texas, he had a batting average of .267 along with 18 home runs and 66 RBI while only committing 3 errors for an MLB-record .991 fielding percentage at third base.[2] Although he did not fare as well in 31 games with the Pirates, hitting just .246, he still finished the year with career highs in hits, home runs, slugging percentage, RBI, and runs scored. He also made his only postseason appearances, hitting .304 for Pittsburgh in the 1991 National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves.
Buechele's career stats include 137 home runs, 547 RBI, and a .971 fielding percentage. Throughout his career, Buechele was known for hitting solo home runs.[3]
Buechele ranks 12th in Rangers' club history for total games with 889 games played and 16th for at-bats (2723). Additionally, the 25 times he was hit by a pitch is the 13th highest in the Rangers' franchise history and his 73 grounded into double plays is the 14th highest. In Rangers' fielding stats, he is 21st (2476) in total chances, 7th (1675) in assists, 15th (66) in errors, and 33rd (165) in double plays. He was a candidate for the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and 2006.[2][4]
Buechele continues to be a part of the professional baseball world including serving as one of the hosts and coaches for the Texas Rangers 2006 Media Spring Training.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Diamond and Metcalf named Rangers Minor League Pitcher and Player of the Year (2006). Retrieved on July 19, 2007.
- ^ a b c 2006 Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame ballot announced (2006). Retrieved on July 19, 2007.
- ^ Jamey Newberg (2005). The Newberg Report. Retrieved on July 19, 2007.
- ^ John Wetteland and Mark Holtz selected as 2005 inductees to Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame (2006). Retrieved on July 19, 2007.
- ^ Abby Teaff (2006). First Media Spring Training a success. Retrieved on July 19, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Career statistics at MLB.com
