Editing Dave Stieb (section)

== Professional career ==
Stieb entered the Blue Jays farm system with very little pitching experience. Over the course of his college career, he pitched a grand total of 17 innings, mostly in relief. Nevertheless, he made four starts with the Single-A [[Dunedin Blue Jays]] in 1978, working to a 2.08 ERA. In 1979, he was promoted to the Blue Jays' AAA affiliate, the [[Syracuse Chiefs]], working to a 2.12 ERA over a 5–2 record and 51 innings pitched. He made his first start for the Blue Jays on June 29, 1979, just a year after being drafted as an outfielder and with just 128 innings pitched in the minors.<ref name="sabr" />

Stieb made 18 starts in [[1979 Toronto Blue Jays season|1979]], ending with seven [[complete games]], a 4.31 ERA, and an 8–8 record (the best [[winning percentage]] on the pitching staff). Nevertheless, the Blue Jays were the worst team in the majors, struggling to a 53–109 record. The [[1980 Toronto Blue Jays season|1980 season]] was a big step for Stieb (if not for the team), who worked to a 3.71 ERA and established himself as the No. 2 starter in the rotation (behind [[Jim Clancy (baseball)|Jim Clancy]]). This was after an April where he was named [[Major League Baseball Pitcher of the Month Award|AL Pitcher of the Month]], pitching to a 1.06 ERA over four games (three complete). At the end of April, the Blue Jays were atop the AL East, but faltered as the season went on and ended with a meager 67–95 record. However, Stieb was named to his [[1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|first]] [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]].

With a 3.19 ERA, Stieb led the Blue Jays staff in [[1981 Toronto Blue Jays season|1981]] (ranking third among AL pitchers for [[Wins Above Replacement|WAR]]), though the season was shortened due to the [[1981 Major League Baseball strike|1981 strike]]. Friction between Stieb and management led to talk of an offseason trade (including one with the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] for [[Ryne Sandberg]]), but he was eventually considered too valuable to trade.<ref name="sabr" />

In [[1982 Toronto Blue Jays season|1982]], Stieb worked to a 3.25 ERA, good enough for fifth in the AL, and a 17-14 record. He led the league in complete games (19) and innings pitched, with 288.1 (22 more than teammate Clancy, the next closest). For the first time he received votes for the [[Cy Young Award]], finishing fourth behind winner [[Pete Vuckovich]] (who led the league in wins but had a worse ERA); he did win the [[Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award|''Sporting News'' Pitcher of the Year Award]]. At the end of the season, he signed a six-year, $5 million contract with Toronto.<ref name="sabr" /> In [[1983 Toronto Blue Jays season|1983]], he again won 17 games and finished third in AL ERA (3.04) and second in IP (278.0). However, he did not receive any Cy Young votes.<ref name="sabr" />

[[File:Dave Stieb in 1985.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Stieb pitching for the Blue Jays in 1985]]
Stieb finished with a 16-8 record in [[1984 Toronto Blue Jays season|1984]], as Toronto finished second in the [[American League East|AL East]] to the [[Detroit Tigers]], headlined by Stieb's rival [[Jack Morris]], who eventually won the [[1984 World Series]]. Stieb worked to a 2.83 ERA, started the [[1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]], and led the majors in IP (267.0) and in WAR (7.9), but finished seventh in Cy Young voting. The [[1985 Toronto Blue Jays season|1985 season]] saw Stieb led the AL with a 2.48 ERA, as well as the Blue Jays' first postseason appearance; Stieb started three games (1, 4, and 7) in the [[1985 American League Championship Series|ALCS]], but the Blue Jays fell to the eventual [[1985 World Series|World Series champion]] [[Kansas City Royals]].<ref name="sabr" /> Despite his strong campaign, he again finished seventh in Cy Young balloting, losing out to [[Bret Saberhagen]] of the Royals.

In 1985, Stieb signed with the Blue Jays what was then one of the most lucrative [[contracts]] in baseball.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 9, 1985 |title=Struggle Ends for Dave Stieb |page=5C |work=[[Star–Banner]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g5oTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UAYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6683,6399533 |access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref>  The contract, including options exercisable by the team, was for a term of eleven years and specified a salary that increased to $1.9 million in 1993, $2 million in 1994, and $2.1 million in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 9, 1985 |title=Jays sign Stieb to 11-year deal for $25 million |page=D-13 |work=[[Montreal Gazette]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nhgiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3KUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=786,3304378 |access-date=March 16, 2010}}</ref>  While this was seen to be generous at the time the contract was signed, by the time the later years of the contract came around this was a bargain, considering that several players were receiving several times the amount per year. The Blue Jays voluntarily renegotiated the last three years of his contract to pay him a higher amount in recognition of his years of service.

Stieb finished the [[1986 Toronto Blue Jays season|1986 season]] 7-12, struggling to a 4.74 ERA. He improved in [[1987 Toronto Blue Jays season|1987]], finishing with a 4.09 ERA in 185 IP, and in [[1988 Toronto Blue Jays season|1988]], with a 3.04 ERA. However, Toronto struggled to repeat the success it found in 1985.

Stieb was known for flirting with, and struggling to close out, [[no-hitter]]s. He took a no-hitter into the ninth inning in a 1985 game; this bid was broken up by back-to-back home runs and Stieb was replaced in the game before he recorded an out in the ninth.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 24, 1985 |title=Toronto Blue Jays at Chicago White Sox Box Score, August 24, 1985 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CHA/CHA198508240.shtml |access-date=January 29, 2013 |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |language=en}}</ref> In 1988, he was a single strike away from a no-hitter in two successive starts, on September 24 against [[Cleveland Guardians|Cleveland]] and September 30 against [[Baltimore Orioles|Baltimore]]; both attempts were broken up on 2-2 counts by the 27th batter ([[Julio Franco]] and [[Jim Traber]], respectively).<ref name="sabr" /> On August 4, 1989, he nearly had a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]], but it too was broken up with two outs in the ninth.<ref>{{cite book |last=Porter |first=David L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HXAxPvFtwqIC&pg=PA1480 |title=Biographical Dictionary of American Sports |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-313-29884-4 |volume=3 |page=1480 |access-date=September 5, 2009}}</ref> On September 2, 1990, he pitched the first (and, {{as of|2024|lc=y}}, only) [[no-hitter]] in Blue Jays history, defeating the [[Cleveland Indians]] 3–0.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Most recent no-hitters, by team |url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/21/26/index.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081019224633/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/21/26/index.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2008 |access-date=October 19, 2008 |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

Going into the [[1989 Toronto Blue Jays season|1989 season]], Stieb brought a scoreless streak to 34 straight innings, the longest such streak in franchise history, before giving up one run to the Royals on April 5, 1989.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former All-Star pitchers face off in Yankees-Jays finale |url=https://www.reuters.com/sports/baseball/former-all-star-pitchers-face-off-yankees-jays-finale-2023-05-18/ |work=Reuters |date=May 17, 2023}}</ref> He finished the season at 17-8 with a 3.35 ERA, but lost both of his starts in the [[1989 American League Championship Series|ALCS]], as Toronto fell to the eventual-[[1989 World Series|world champion]] [[Oakland Athletics]]. In [[1990 Toronto Blue Jays season|1990]], Stieb finished with a 2.93 ERA, fifth in the AL, and earned his seventh and last All-Star nomination. He also finally pitched his no-hitter against the Indians in September.<ref name="sabr" />

After an excellent 1990 season, a series of shoulder and back injuries early in the [[1991 Toronto Blue Jays season|1991 season]] ended his effective pitching years, culminating in a 4–6 season in 1992 that resulted in his release after the season ended.<ref name="Freese">{{cite book |last=Freese |first=Mel R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RP6pvrO2aPEC&pg=PA264 |title=Charmed Circle: Twenty-Game-Winning Pitchers in Baseball's 20th Century |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-7864-0297-7 |page=264}}</ref> He was awarded a [[World Series ring]] after the Blue Jays won their first championship later that year, despite not pitching in the postseason due to injuries. In 1993, he played four games with the [[Chicago White Sox]], before finally retiring due to lingering back problems.<ref name="Freese" />

In 1998, Stieb returned to the Blue Jays as a spring training coach. Despite a five-year hiatus from [[baseball]], Stieb noticed that his old injuries did not bother him while throwing, and he eventually asked manager [[Tim Johnson (baseball)|Tim Johnson]] for the opportunity to pitch.<ref name="sabr" /> At 40 years old, he worked his way through the minors and eventually pitched in 19 games (three starts) for the major league club, going 1–2 with a 4.83 ERA.<ref name="Porter" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Dave Stieb Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/stiebda01.shtml |access-date=September 14, 2022 |website=[[Baseball-Reference.com]] |language=en}}</ref>