Bob Stanley
Robert William "Bob" Stanley (born November 10, 1954 in Portland, Maine) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox. He is currently the pitching coach for the Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League.
Over his 13-year career, Stanley played only for the Red Sox from 1977-89. Bob was a first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1974.
A sinker ball specialist, Stanley was the club all-time saves leader with 132 until Jonathan Papelbon passed him on July 1, 2009, but to most Red Sox fans, he is simply known as "The Steamer" (he is also known as "Bigfoot"). He is also the all-time leader in appearances with 637 and is a member of the Red Sox Hall of Fame since 2000. His best season came in 1983 when he led the Sox with 33 saves and posted a 2.45 ERA.
Stanley was a key member of the 1986 Red Sox team that came within one strike of winning the World Series but ultimately fell to the Mets in seven games. Stanley entered Game 6 with the Red Sox one out away from clinching their first World Series since 1918. But his wild pitch to Mookie Wilson allowed the Mets to tie the score and then New York won it on Bill Buckner's error. Stanley failed to cover first on the play.
In 1987, Stanley was converted to a starter for the first time since 1979. He went 4-15 with 67 strikeouts and a 5.01 ERA.
On September 25, 1989, Stanley announced his retirement. He compiled a 115-97 career-record with 693 strikeouts, a 3.64 ERA, 21 complete games, seven shutouts, 132 saves, and 1707 innings in 637 games (85 as a starter).
Bob Stanley lives in the Seacoast region of southern New Hampshire. On April 4, 2011, he was named President of the Seacoast Mavericks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL). The Mavs are owned and operated by Dave Hoyt, who owns and operates USA Training Center in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where Bob gives lessons on a part-time basis. On June 10, 2011, Stanley threw out the first pitch to inaugurate the Martha's Vineyard Sharks of the FCBL.
Read more about Bob Stanley: Highlights
Famous quotes containing the words bob and/or stanley:
“Upon entering my vein, the drug would start a warm edge that would surge along until the brain consumed it in a gentle explosion. It began in the back of the neck and rose rapidly until I felt such pleasure that the world sympathizing took on a soft, lofty appeal.”
—Gus Van Sant, U.S. screenwriter and director, and Dan Yost. Bob Hughes (Matt Dillon)
“Rain falls into the open eyes of the dead
Again again with its pointless sound
When the moon finds them they are the color of everything”
—William Stanley Merwin (b. 1927)