Mark Langston
Mark Edward Langston (born August 20, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners (1984–1989), Montreal Expos (1989), California and Anaheim Angels (1990–1997), San Diego Padres (1998), and Cleveland Indians (1999). During a 16-year baseball career, Langston compiled 179 wins, 2,464 strikeouts, and a 3.97 earned run average.
| Mark Langston | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Pitcher | |||
| Born: August 20, 1960 San Diego, California | |||
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 7, 1984, for the Seattle Mariners | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 24, 1999, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 179–158 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.97 | ||
| Strikeouts | 2,464 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Baseball career
Langston pitched collegiately at San Jose State and was drafted by Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. Langston debuted for the Mariners in 1984 with fellow rookie Alvin Davis. Davis' performance won him the American League Rookie of the Year award, but Langston's performance was voted worthy of the Rookie Pitcher of the Year award, as he finished the year with a league leading 204 strikeouts.
In 1989, the Mariners traded Langston, who was their top pitcher at the time, to the Montreal Expos for a package of three young pitchers: Randy Johnson, Gene Harris and Brian Holman.
In 1990, he pitched the first seven innings for a 2–0 combined no-hitter with Mike Witt. Witt, who had pitched a perfect game back in 1984, tossed the final two frames. This combined no-hitter remained the last one in Angels history until Ervin Santana pitched a no-hitter on July 27, 2011.[1]
Langston was the Angels starting pitcher for the 1995 American League West tie-breaker game. The Seattle Mariners defeated the California Angels to advance to the first regular American League Division Series.
In the 1998 World Series, Langston's 2–2 pitch to Tino Martinez appeared to be over the plate, but was called ball 3;[2] Langston's next pitch was hit for a grand slam in the seventh inning of Game 1 to give the New York Yankees a 9–5 lead. The Yankees went on to sweep the San Diego Padres in four games.
Noted for his pickoff move to first base, his 91 career pickoffs were, at the time of his retirement, the most in baseball history. Langston is one of only eight pitchers in MLB history to pickoff three runners in a single game which he accomplished against the Cubs in 1989. Today, he has the fourth-most pickoffs in baseball history, behind only Kenny Rogers, Terry Mulholland and Andy Pettitte, all of them also left-handed pitchers.
Broadcasting
Langston serves as a radio color commentator for the Los Angeles Angels during all games and is also a co-host of the Angels post-game call-in show Angel Talk on radio station KLAA.[3]
On September 20, 2019, after announcing the starting lineups for an away game against the Houston Astros, Langston suffered from ventricular fibrillation and collapsed in the broadcast booth. He was revived and taken to a hospital, where he later had a defibrillator installed; Jose Mota took over Langston's place in the radio broadcasts.[4][5][6] Langston returned to California on September 28 and resumed his Angels radio duties the next day.[7][8][9]
Personal life
Right after retirement Langston was the head coach for Lutheran High School of Orange County for two years. He lives in the Los Angeles area.
Langston appeared as himself in an episode of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, entitled "To Tell a Mortal", where he plays catch with Harvey.[10]
See also
References
- http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/21/26/index.htm
- Thanks To Rich, Martinez Gets His Pitch
- AM 830 Angels Radio Broadcast Team Archived July 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- "Angels broadcaster Mark Langston undergoing tests at hospital after medical emergency". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- Barron, David (September 22, 2019). "Angels radio announcer Terry Smith recalls terrifying scene during Mark Langston's medical emergency". HoustonChronicle.com. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- "Angels broadcaster Mark Langston undergoes additional procedure on heart". Orange County Register. September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
- "Angels broadcaster Mark Langston says 'life is different' following cardiac emergency". Los Angeles Times. September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- Fletcher, Jeff (September 29, 2019). "Mark Langston is on the Angels radio broadcast right now". @JeffFletcherOCR. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- Rojas, Victor (September 29, 2019). "Great having Mark Langston back at the Big A…he looks & feels great! #Angels @Markgubicza @Patrick_ONeal @TimSalmon15 @TrentRushSports @AngelsRadioKLAA @Angelspic.twitter.com/XxxAxbAFlz". @VictorRojas. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0693161/
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs
- Mark Langston on IMDb
| Preceded by Ron Guidry Mike Boddicker |
American League Gold Glove Award (P) 1987–1988 1991–1995 |
Succeeded by Bret Saberhagen Mike Mussina |
| Preceded by Mike Moore |
Opening Day starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners 1987–1989 |
Succeeded by Brian Holman |
| Preceded by Tom Browning |
No-hit game April 11, 1990 (with Mike Witt) |
Succeeded by Randy Johnson |
| Preceded by Kevin Brown |
American League All-Star Game Starting Pitcher 1993 |
Succeeded by Jimmy Key |