Dave Stenhouse, Jr.

David Paul Stenhouse

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 190 lb
• School College of the Holy Cross

• Born December 26, 1960

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Dave Stenhouse Jr. played six years in the minor leagues, half of them at AAA. He is the son of Dave Stenhouse and the brother of Mike Stenhouse.

Stenhouse won Gold with Team USA in the 1981 World Games. He was a fifth-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1982 amateur draft, one round before fellow backstop Pat Borders. Dave debuted with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays, hitting .305/~.401/.476 with 8 HR in 187 AB. The Pioneer League was a hitter's league, but Dave's production was a bit better than Borders, though nowhere close to a third teammate, Cecil Fielder. Dave tore a tendon in his right thumb that season.

In 1983, Dave got to go with the Jays to major league spring training camp. He played for the Florence Blue Jays that season. He batted .308/~.401/.487 with 13 HR in 318 AB but missed several weeks due to calcium and bone deposits that had to be removed from his right foot. Had he qualified, he would have ranked 10th in the South Atlantic League in average. He was third on the club in homers, three less than Fielder. Like Fielder, he made the SAL All-Star team, being named the top catcher in the circuit. Among his challenges that year was trying to throw out Vince Coleman, who swiped a minor league record 145 bases against the SAL's backstops. Stenhouse had 45 assists in 69 games, one of the league's better rates.

Stenhouse must have impressed the team as he was promoted several levels, skipping to AAA in 1984 with the Syracuse Chiefs. Dave only hit .235/~.312/.316 in 89 games, serving as Syracuse's primary catcher. He pulled a knee ligament during the year.

Sent down to AA in 1985, Dave played for the Knoxville Blue Jays. He only appeared in 26 games and batted .228/~.358/.253; one presmues he was injured.

Back in Syracuse for 1986, Stenhouse reboundwd to some extent, hitting .284/~.322/.340 in 68 games. He concluded his career with the 1987 Chiefs, batting just .221/~.314/.271 in 64 contests while splitting action with Greg Myers. Dave's old teammate Borders was still in AA but had a much longer span ahead of him in pro ball.

After his playing career ended, Stenhouse joined brother Mike, Dave Stapleton, Jim Lonborg and Dalton Jones as part of Bill Lee's barnstorming Grey Sox.

Sources include Mendoza's Heroes by Al Pepper, 1983-1985 Baseball Guides, 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Reports, 1988 Baseball Almanac, "Young Stenhouses join Hitting Fraternity" by Steven Krasner in the 6/13/83 edition of the The Sporting News, 1984 TSN note about Stenhouse's injury that year