#175 Kirk McCaskill

About the Front: Kirk McCaskill appears to be checking the runner. In case you were wondering, runners had a 47% successful stealing rate against him in his career, compared to a cumulative league average of 67%. He picked off 21 runners in 12 seasons, with a high of four in 1990.

About the Back: I'm wincing at Kirk's 1991 won-lost record. He was 7-8 as of June 25, but lost 11 of his last 15 starts. The only no-decision in that span came in a 2-1 loss to the Orioles on July 15; he left after eight innings with a 1-0 lead only to see closer Bryan Harvey surrender a two-run homer to Chito Martinez. When McCaskill suffered loss number 18 on September 4, the Angels pulled him from the rotation for a few weeks to help him avoid the ignominy of 20 L's.

Triple Play:

1. Kirk was an All-American hockey player at the University of Vermont and a fourth-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 1981. He played one season of minor-league hockey before choosing baseball full-time.

2. On September 14, 1990, he famously surrendered back-to-back home runs to the father-son combo of Ken Griffey Senior and Junior. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to permit such a familial feat.

3. McCaskill is now the head baseball coach at Torrey Pines High School in California.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: Kirk pitched in the first game I ever attended at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, getting bombed for five runs in an inning of relief in a 15-6 O's win. That certainly put him in my good graces.

Bill James Said: "McCaskill has not been an effective pitcher for years, and probably would be out of work by now except that he looks good on the mound."

On This Date in 1993: March 13. The Great Blizzard of 1993 touches down in the Eastern United States; 184 deaths are reported due to the extreme weather. That makes me feel a bit better about the bitter cold winds that swept away our 60-degree temps last night.