BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
Jump to:
Recent jumps
 » John Clarkson
» whitey ford
» gary carter
» 1897
» 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers

What's New?
Current Totals
Free Newsletter

Report An Error
Fixed Bugs

Browser Button
Jump from anywhere!
Link Your Site

Get Published!
Reader Submissions

Team Pages
All Teams
Greatest Teams

The Ballplayers
Historical Matchups
Negro Leaguers
Hall of Famers
MVPs

Bookshelf
New Excerpts
Photo Collections

The Chronology
Flashbacks
Baseball Eras
Today in BB History
Anyday in BB History
Rules: 1845-1899
Rules: 1900-present

FAQ
Authors

BaseballLibrary.com
Copyright © 2002
by The Idea Logical
Company, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Kent Tekulve
Nickname(s): Teke
Born: 1947

RHP 1974-89 Pirates, Phillies, Reds
  • All-Star in 1980

IPW-LERA
Career 1436.194-902.85
League CS 40-04.15
World Series 90-12.89

Books and articles about Kent Tekulve

SHOPPING
» Look for Kent Tekulve books at BN.com
» Look for Kent Tekulve books at Amazon.com
Your purchases keep BaseballLibrary.com online. Thank you!
RELATED LINKS
Corrections
» August 7, 2003 (#303)

Around the Web
» Q&A: Kent Tekulve from post-gazette.com
» Kent Tekulve from baseball-reference.com

Jump directly to Library content from any website!
Until Jesse Orosco broke his record in 1999, Tekulve was the all-time major league leader in relief appearances with 1,050. He went 10-1 as a set-up man for Goose Gossage in 1977, and took over as the Pirates' closer after Gossage signed with the Yankees that November. He established himself as one of baseball's most successful relievers, ranking among the all-time leaders in games, saves, and relief wins. With his sidearm delivery, the bespectacled, 6'4", rail-thin Tekulve proved baffling to both lefthanders and righthanders. In 1978, he set a Pirates record with 31 saves, which he matched the following year. He led the NL in appearances in both 1978 and 1979, setting a club record with 94 in 1979. That fall, he recorded a World Series-record three saves, striking out 10 Orioles in 9.1 innings.

Tekulve led the NL in appearances (85) and relief wins (12) in 1982. He was the Pirates' all-time leader in saves (158) and was second to Roy Face in games (722) when he was traded to Philadelphia in 1985. On September 16, 1986 he broke Face's NL record of 846 games pitched. Back in the set-up role, in 1987 he became the first NL pitcher to have three 90-appearance seasons and, at age 40, the oldest pitcher to lead the NL in appearances. He broke Sparky Lyle's ML record for career games pitched without a start (finishing the season at 943), and helped closer Steve Bedrosian win the Cy Young Award. Let go after 1988, he signed with the Reds and broke Hoyt Wilhelm's record for relief appearances. Midway through the season, with the Reds sinking in the standings, he retired rather than hang on just for the sake of topping Wilhelm's record for total appearances. (ME)

Contribute your recollections of Kent Tekulve by clicking here.
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» September 29, 1978: Pittsburgh's Kent Tekulve sinks the Phillies twice, winning both games in relief. He pitches two innings in the opener and pitches one 1/3 in the nitecap, winning in the 10th.

» October 16, 1979: John Candelaria and Kent Tekulve combine on a 4–0 shutout as the Pirates send the World Series to its 7th game. Omar Moreno notches three singles.

» July 7, 1982: The Reds rally scoring five runs in the top of the 9th to beat the Pirates, 6–3. Wayne Krenchicki's pinch three-run homer off Kent Tekulve is the tie-breaker in the frame.

» December 22, 1983: Free-agent reliever Kent Tekulve re-signs with the Pirates. In 1983 he had 18 saves and a 1.64 ERA for Pittsburgh.

» April 20, 1985: The Phillies and Pirates swap relief pitchers, Al Holland going to Pittsburgh, Kent Tekulve to Philadelphia.

» August 30, 1988: Kent Tekulve becomes the 2nd pitcher in ML history to appear in 1,000 games by pitching two innings in Philadelphia's 7–5 win over San Francisco.

» April 17, 1989: Kent Tekulve pitches two shutout innings in the Reds 3–2, 10-inning win over the Dodgers to pass Hoyt Wilhelm as the major leagues' all-time leader in relief appearances with 1,019.

» July 17, 1989: Reds reliever Kent Tekulve retires, just 20 appearances shy of Hoyt Wilhelm's all-time games-pitched record of 1,070. Tekulve had posted a 5.02 ERA in 37 games this season.

» August 4, 1994: Seattle defeats California, 4-2, as Rich Gossage notches the win in relief. It is Gossage's 1,000th major league appearance on the mound, making him the 3rd pitcher to ever reach that milestone. Only Hoyt Wilhelm (1,070) and Kent Tekulve (1,050) have gotten into more games as pitchers.

» June 25, 1999: In Baltimore's 9–8 loss to the Yankees, O's Jesse Orosco makes his 1,051th relief appearance to break Kent Tekulve's major league record. He's succeeded by Mike Tomlin, who takes the loss when he serves up a 9th inning home run to Shane Spencer. Baines has a pair of homers for the O's, while Tino Martinez has four hits for NY.