Cy Young Profile: Steve Bedrosian, 1987

Pitcher, Philadelphia Phillies

Age:  29

2^nd season with Phillies

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 200

Prior to 1987:

A native of Methuen, Massachusetts, Bedrosian was chosen by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 1978 amateur draft after having posted a 13-3 record with 3 saves for the Univ. of New Haven team that participated in the ’78 College World Series. Utilized as a starting pitcher in the minor leagues, he went a combined 7-3 with two teams at the Rookie and Class A level that year. The hard-throwing Bedrosian moved up to Savannah of the Class AA Southern League in 1979 where he had a 5-5 record and 3.03 ERA in 13 starts. Returning to Savannah in 1980 he compiled a 14-10 tally and a 3.09 ERA with 161 strikeouts over 29 starts. Bedrosian advanced to Richmond of the Class AAA International League in 1981 where he was 10-10 with a 2.69 ERA and 144 strikeouts. Called up to the Braves in August, he pitched almost exclusively as a reliever. Over 24.1 innings pitched he posted a 1-2 record with a 4.44 ERA and 9 strikeouts. Bedrosian earned a spot in Atlanta’s bullpen in 1982. Typically utilized in the middle innings, he accumulated 137.2 innings over the course of 64 appearances and was 8-6 with 123 strikeouts and 11 saves for the NL West champions and finished seventh in NL Rookie of the Year balloting. The Braves contended again in 1983 and Bedrosian appeared in 70 games and contributed a 9-10 record and 19 saves with a 3.60 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 120 innings pitched. It was more of the same with an 80-82 club in 1984 until a bout with tendinitis ended his season in August after appearing in 40 games and compiling a 9-6 record with 11 saves and a 2.37 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 83.2 innings pitched. Bedrosian was moved into Atlanta’s starting rotation in 1985 with mediocre results. In 37 starts he had a 7-15 record with a 3.83 ERA. In the offseason he was traded to the Phillies along with outfielder Milt Thompson for RHP Pete Smith and catcher Ozzie Virgil. The Phillies returned “Bedrock” to the bullpen where as the closer he recorded 29 saves with an 8-6 record and a 3.39 ERA in 1986.

1987 Season Summary

Appeared in 65 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 65 [15]

Games Started – 0

Complete Games – 0

Wins – 5

Losses – 3

PCT - .625 [Non-qualifying]

Saves – 40 [1]

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 89

Hits – 79

Runs – 31

Earned Runs – 28

Home Runs – 11

Bases on Balls – 28

Strikeouts – 74

ERA – 2.83 [Non-qualifying]

Hit Batters – 1

Balks – 1

Wild Pitches – 3

League-leading saves were +4 ahead of runner-up Lee Smith

Midseason Snapshot: 3-2, ERA - 2.77, G – 35, SV – 24, SO - 44 in 48.2 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 4 (in 2 IP) vs. Atlanta 5/14

10+ strikeout games – 0

Batting

PA – 4, AB – 4, R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .000, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 10

Put Outs – 3

Assists – 7

Errors – 0

DP – 0

Pct. - 1.000

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

All-Star

16^th in NL MVP voting (6 points, 2% share)

NL Cy Young voting:

Steve Bedrosian, Phila.: 57 pts. – 9 of 24 first place votes, 48% share

Rick Sutcliffe, ChiC.: 55 pts. – 4 first place votes, 46% share

Rick Reuschel, Pitt./SF: 54 pts. – 8 first place votes, 45% share

Orel Hershiser, LAD.: 14 pts. – 2 first place votes, 12% share

Dwight Gooden, NYM: 12 pts. – 1 first place vote, 10% share

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Phillies went 80-82 to finish fourth in the NL Eastern Division, 15 games behind the division-winning St. Louis Cardinals.

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Aftermath of ‘87:

Bedrosian remained effective in 1988, recording 28 saves. During the 1989 season he was traded to the San Fransisco Giants where he helped to solidify their bullpen as they topped the NL West and went on to win the NL pennant. Overall for the season he compiled 23 saves and added another three in the NLCS win over the Cubs. He slipped to 17 saves with a 9-9 record and 4.20 ERA in 1990, during a season overshadowed by his young son Cody’s battle with leukemia. In the offseason he was dealt to the Minnesota Twins where he was utilized as a setup man in the bullpen, compiling a 5-3 record with 6 saves and a 4.42 ERA in 56 appearances for the AL West champs who won the World Series. Bedrosian sat out the 1992 season due to a hand injury and he returned to the Braves as a free agent in 1993, contributing a 5-2 record and 1.63 ERA out of the bullpen for the NL West champs. No longer a dominating power pitcher, he was still an effective reliever during the strike-shortened 1994 season but performed poorly in ’95 and retired. Overall, Bedrosian had a 76-79 major league record with 184 saves and 921 strikeouts and a 3.38 ERA in 1191 innings pitched. 21 wins and 103 saves were accumulated with the Phillies, where he was an All-Star for the only time. Bedrosian went on to become an assistant pitching coach at East Coweta High School in Georgia and was inducted into the Univ. of New Haven Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. His son Cameron became a major league relief pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.