Four Renton Born Baseball Pitchers Played in Majors

As the Mariners end the home series against the Cleveland Indians, did you know there were four Renton-born Major League baseball players.

Kevin Hagen was born on March 8, 1960 and graduated from Auburn High School and was 23 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 4, 1983, with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played two years with the Cardinals going 3-2 and striking out 9. He left the game and returned in 1989 playing for Tuscon of the Pacific Coast League going 10-11, striking out 45 in 131 innings pitched. He played in 1989 for Oklahoma City AA and then retired.

Erik Plantenberg, a pitcher, was born on  October 30, 1968 and was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on July 31, 1993, with the Seattle Mariners. He attended Newport High School in Bellevue then attended San Diego State University and drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 16th round of the 1990 amateur draft. He played two seasons with the Mariners in 1993 and 1994, he pitched 26 games and only stuck out four batters. He played three seasons in the minors and returned to the majors in 1997 with the Phillies where he pitched in 35 games with 12 strike outs in 25.2 innings. Plantenberg returned to the minors to finish his careers; while in the minors his record was 38-31 in 302 games pitched with 491 strikeouts in 585.2 innings pitched.

David Riske, a pitcher, was born on October 23, 1976 and graduated from . He was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues as a pitcher on August 14, 1999, with the Cleveland Indians. In 2011 Riske attempted to join the Baltimore Orioles as a non-roster invitee. He was unable to make the cut and remains on the non-active roster. His record overall was 31-30 and played in 675 games and pitched 772.3 innings with 785 strikeouts. He had one at bat in on April 22, 2008 with the Milwaukee Brewers with a no result at bat according the game box score.

Doug Sisk, a relief pitcher, was born in Renton on September 26, 1957. He was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 6, 1982, with the New York Mets. His primary pitch was a sinker that was difficult for batters to drive in the air. During his nine-year major-league career, Sisk allowed only 20 home runs in 267 innings pitched, including 195 strikeouts. He retired after the 1991 season after being sent down by the Atlanta Braves' AAA minor league club.  

Although Tim Lincecum, a pitcher, was born in Bellevue he is a graduate of Renton area's Liberty High School and is often seen in Renton in the offseason. Lincecum enjoyed more successes than any other Renton-area-born pitcher. He was born on June 15, 1984 and made his first major league appearance with the San Fransico Giants on May 6, 2007 at the age of 22. In five seasons, he played in 155 games with a 69-42 record and a 3.01 ERA. He has 1,124 strikeouts with three National League titles for strikeouts in 2008-2010. He also won two Cy Young Awards in 2008, 2009. And was a World Series Champion in 2010.

As a side note, Fred Hutchinson is buried at Renton's Mount Olivet Cemetery. Hutchinson was a local baseball star who first played for the Seattle Rainiers in 1938 and went on to play for the Detroit Tigers in 1939-1953. In 1955, he returned to the Seattle Rainiers, this time to be the team's manager. The Hutch Award was established in 1965 to honor baseball great Fred Hutchinson, who died of cancer the previous year at age 45. This prestigious award is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies Fred's honor, courage and dedication on and off the field.

(Information and data for this story were provided by www.baseball-almanac.com and Major League Baseball)