For Haas, though, he wasn't satisfied. A rough start to that seventh inning lead to him being pulled for a reliever.
"That's the thing I'll remember most, unfortunately," Haas told The AP. "That I couldn't finish the inning."
Haas went on to get 10 more starts for the Tigers that year, his second season with time in the majors. He also went further than the seventh on another occasion, pitching a complete game. He ended up getting time in one more big league season.
Haas' career began in 1988, taken by the Tigers in the 15th round of the draft, out of Wichita State University.
Haas played his first season with single-A Fayetteville, going 4-3 over 11 starts, with a 1.81 ERA. He made AA London in his second season, returning there for 1990. In 1990, Haas went 13-8, with a 2.99 ERA.
In 1991, Haas made AAA Toledo. He also made Detroit, called up that September. With the Tigers, Haas got into 11 games in relief, with a 6.75 ERA.
He then returned to Detroit for a total of 12 outings, 11 of them starts, in 1992. Overall, he went 5-3, with a 3.94 ERA. That September, he threw that complete game, a shutout, beating the White Sox on four hits.
"The first couple of innings I came inside a little," Haas told The AP after that shutout. "I was a little wild in the zone. Later on in the game I think that helped my off-speed pitches. I kept the ball down and away and changed speeds."
For 1993, Haas returned to relieving, getting called into 20 games for the Tigers. His ERA went up to 6.11. It was his final year in the majors.
Haas continued playing in the minors through 1997, playing parts of 1995 and 1996 in independent ball.
Haas soon turned to coaching, spending 2001 and 2002 as pitching coach at short-season Boise. In 2002, he worked with future major-leaguer Andy Sisco, trying to get him to do more with less, according to Baseball America.
"Eventually he'll throw 115-120 (pitches) just to get strikeouts," Haas told Baseball America. "There are times I see him throw six pitches to blow three fastballs by a guy."
- Toledo Blade, Associated Press, Aug. 10, 1992: Haas wins first start
- Owosso Argus-Press, Associated Press, Sept. 11, 1992: Haas four-hits White Sox, 8-0
- Baseball America, Aug. 29, 2002: Short-Season Notebook
More: The 1990 London Tigers
1990 Minor League TallyPlayers/Coaches Featured:1,322
Made the Majors: 717 - 54.2%-X
Never Made Majors: 605-45.8%
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 310
10+ Seasons in the Minors: 182
Very cool blog! Would love to see the card backs, too. And could do without the snippet titles.. "Remember Most".. what does that even mean? haha. Just a little constructive criticism. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note and checking out the site. The titles usually come from a quote in the post. In Haas' case, his comes from the first quote, that he would likely remember his first ML start most that he was pulled mid-inning, not that he got the win. Kind of a mini-headline to go with the player's name and card number.
ReplyDeleteSteve