Renko frequently fell just short of stardom in an erratic, 15-season ML career. He was drafted out of Kansas University by the Mets in 1965 and began in the minors as a first baseman (a position he returned to for one game in 1972) but switched to pitching in 1967. He joined the Expos in 1969. Wild at first, the 6'5" righthander threw 19 wild pitches in 1974 and once tossed 3 in one inning. He won 15 games for Montreal in both 1971 and 1973, but was 1-10 in 1972. After seven and a half seasons with the Expos, he became an oft-traded player, pitching sometimes effectively for six teams in his remaining eight seasons. On October 3, 1972 he struck out seven consecutive Mets. (CP)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»June 15, 1969: The Mets help their power needs by adding 1B Donn Clendenon. The 33-year-old had refused a January trade that would send him from Montreal to Houston, but agrees to go to New York. The Expos receive Steve Renko, Kevin Collins, and two minor leaguers. The Expos also purchase P Dick Radatz from the Tigers.
»July 4, 1970: The Cards send three pinch hitters to the plate in the 8th inning and all three strike out. Steve Renko of the Expos fans 10 in the game, including Jim Beauchamp, Vic Davalillo, and Leron Lee in the 8th, to give Montreal an 8–0 win.
»June 9, 1971: Expo Steve Renko pitches the first of two one-hitters of the season. He beats the Giants 4–0 exactly a month before he will top the Phillies 3–0. Dick Dietz's single is the only hit.
»July 13, 1979: California's Nolan Ryan and Boston's Steve Renko (with one-out help from Bill Campbell) each lose no-hitters in the 9th inning, and each settle for one-hit victories: 6–1 over New York, and 2–0 over Oakland, respectively. Rickey Henderson has the one-out hit off Renko.
»January 23, 1981: Faced with the possibility of losing star OF Fred Lynn to free agency because of a front-office blunder, the Red Sox trade Lynn and P Steve Renko to the Angels for pitchers Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey and OF Joe Rudi. The Players' Association contends that Lynn and C Carlton Fisk are free agents because the Red Sox failed to mail their new contracts by the deadline provided for in the Basic Agreement. Lynn signs a 4-year deal with the Angels and agrees to drop his case. Fisk's case will go to arbitration.
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