Dennis Konuszewski

Dennis John Konuszewski (born February 4, 1971) is an American former professional baseball pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. He appeared in one game with the Pirates during the 1995 season.[1]

Dennis Konuszewski
Pitcher
Born: (1971-02-04) February 4, 1971
Bridgeport, Michigan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 4, 1995, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
August 4, 1995, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Games played1
Innings pitched0.1
Earned runs2
Teams

Konuszewski attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Michigan where he played baseball, basketball and football.[2] As a junior in 1988, he had an earned run average of 1.47 followed by a 0.78 ERA in 1989. Over his final two seasons of high school he tallied 187 strikeouts in 129 innings. He was named all-state as both a junior and a senior and won multiple Michigan baseball player of the year awards.[3]

After recruiting trips to Central Michigan, Texas A&M, Cal State Fullerton and Portland State, Konuszewski committed to play college baseball for Michigan.[3] Konuszewski chose to attend Michigan despite being taken in the fifteenth round of the 1989 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. At Michigan, Konuszewski formed a battery with Mike Matheny and would become the team's top starting pitcher.[4]

Konuszewski was drafted again in 1992, this time in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Konuszewski began his professional career in Pittsburgh's farm system. He was pitching what he considered to be his "best [season] as a professional pitcher" in 1994 when his progress was interrupted by the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike.[4] That offseason, he pitched in the Arizona Fall League where he had the distinction of striking out Scottsdale Scorpions outfielder Michael Jordan in a nationally televised game.[3]

On August 4, 1995, Konuszewski relieved Steve Parris in his first and final Major League Baseball game. Konuszewski faced five Houston Astros batters, among them future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. Konuszewski allowed four of them to reach base before manager Jim Leyland pulled him from the game. By 1997, Konuszewski was relegated to Double-A at 26 years old. After 15 games that season, he asked for his release and quietly retired.[4]

By 2017, Konuszewski had returned to Michigan where he managed the North Saginaw Township team to the 2017 Junior League World Series.[5] As of 2018, he and his wife, Marcia, had two children and Konuszewski had been working in sales for Stryker Corporation for over a decade.[4] In 2018, he was inducted into the sports hall of fame for Saginaw County.[3]

References
  1. "Dennis Konuszewski Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  2. "Saginaw Co. Sports Hall of Fame inducts Class of 2018". Saginaw Township View. November 15, 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. "Dennis Konuszewski". Saginaw County Sports Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  4. Bernreuter, Hugh (15 October 2018). "Former Bridgeport, U-M star Dennis Konuszewski joins Saginaw Sports Hall of Fame". MLive.com. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  5. "Saginaw County Sports Hall of Fame announces 2018 induction class". International Sports Heritage Association. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
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