Young Angels farmhand Dave Schuler pitched his Salinas team to the win this night in May 1977 and he explained to The Salinas Californian afterward how he did it.
"When I pitch, I just concentrate to throw pitches," Schuler told The Californian. "I feel I can pinpoint all my pitches. And then I just try to battle and keep the ball down."
Schuler eventually pitched himself on to the majors for brief stints over three seasons. He then went on to a long career helping other young pitchers concentrate and on to the majors as a minor league pitching coach.
Schuler's long career in baseball began in 1975, taken by the Indians in the 10th round of the draft out of the University of New Haven.
Schuler started with the Indians at single-A San Jose. He moved to the Angels and Salinas and AA El Paso for 1977. He made AAA Salt Lake City for 1978, then, in September 1979, he made California.
Schuler pitched in one game, 1.2 innings, and gave up two earned. He returned for eight more outings with the Angels, 12.2 innings, giving up five earned.
He then didn't return to the majors until five years later, 1985, with the Braves. He got into nine final major league games. He gave up eight earned in 10.2 innings.
Schuler played one more season in the minors. He then turned to his career as a coach.
He started as a coach at AA Vermont. He then moved to high-A Fort Lauderdale for 1989 and 1990. He then made AA Albany-Colonie and worked with young Yankees top pick Brien Taylor, during Taylor's best professional season.
"Brien is a special talent, so we treat him specially," Schuler told The Bennington Banner. "He's got that competitive spirit behind him, so he should get better as the competition gets better."
Schuler made AAA Columbus in 1995. He later moved to the Orioles system, then the Braves and the Rockies. He's most recently credited as working as pitching coach at AAA Colorado Springs in 2014.
In 2013, he worked with a young Drew Pomeranz at Colorado Springs.
"Drew has done a great job developing his changeup," Schuler told The Denver Post. "When he pitches in the big leagues, he'll face mostly right-handed hitters, and for a left-handed pitcher, a change up is very important. He definitely has the pitches to be in the big leagues."
- Salinas Californian, May 27, 1977: Schuler hurls Angels to 31st victory
- Bennington Banner, Aug. 19, 1993: Taylor not worried about future
- CBSSports, Denver Post, May 14, 2013: Drew Pomeranz succeeding thanks to changeup
Players/Coaches Featured:3,599
Made the Majors:1,246-34.6%
Never Made Majors:2,353-65.4%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:519
10+ Seasons in the Minors:305
Great photo!
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