Dave Osteen

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David Crosby Osteen

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.

BR minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Dave Osteen reached AAA like his brother Gavin Osteen but fell short of the majors, unlike father Claude Osteen.

Dave was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 31st round of the 1981 amateur draft but opted for college. He was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 30th round of the 1984 amateur draft (between Rodney Peete and Jeff Livesey) but again did not sign. He was 12-3 for Oklahoma State in 1986, going to the 1986 College World Series; he was the only pitcher to beat each Big Eight Conference opponent that year.

Undrafted as a senior, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. In his pro debut, he was excellent for the 1986 Johnson City Cardinals (9-2, 2.26, .91 WHIP; 3 for 10 with a double, walk, run and 2 RBI at the plate) to help the team to the pennant. He tied for the Appalachian League win lead (with Mark Gilles, Toby Nivens and David Sala), was second to John Stewart in ERA (.01 shy) and was second to Jim LeMasters in strikeouts. He was named to the league All-Star team, joining Nivens, Gilles, LeMasters and Mark Grater as the pitchers. Had the league picked a Pitcher of the Year, he would have been a likely candidate given his near-Pitching Triple Crown.

He again hit .300 in 1987 and was 10-3 with a 3.20 ERA for the St. Petersburg Cardinals, walking only 15 in 112 2/3 IP. He posted a 9-8, 3.46 record for the 1988 Arkansas Travelers with only 18 unintentional walks in 156 innings. He was 9th in the Texas League in ERA (between Joe Olker and Greg LaFever). He also batted .269. In 1989, he was 15-5 with a 3.49 for Arkansas. He led the TL in starts (27) and wins (3 ahead of runner-up Omar Olivares) and was 7th in ERA (between Mark Petkovsek and Kevin Armstrong) to help the Travelers win the TL pennant. He joined Andy Benes (the Pitcher of the Year), Olivares, Mike Perez and Julio Valera as the circuit's All-Star hurlers. Among Cardinal minor leaguers, he tied Cory Satterfield for first in victories.

He split 1990 between Arkansas (5-5, 3.01) and the Louisville Redbirds (5-2, 3.42) but did not get the call to The Show. He tied Olivares, Cris Carpenter, Len Picota and Stan Clarke for fifth in the St. Louis farm system in wins. He was only 1-5 with a 6.41 ERA for Louisville in '91, his only poor season as a pro; even his control deserted him (31 BB in 59 IP). That marked the end of his pitching career.

Osteen had gone 54-30 with a 3.43 ERA in 140 minor league games (110 starts). He allowed 165 walks and 761 hits in 754 2/3 IP while striking out 422. He also hit .218/.246/.269 with 12 runs and 8 RBI in 146 plate appearances to help his cause.

Dave coached for the Yakima Bears in 1996-1997 (including one Northwest League title) and the worked with the Dodger farmhands on the Adelaide Giants in the 1996-1997 Australian Baseball League. He was assistant coach at Gulf Coast Community College in 1996-1997 as well (under another baseball son, Darren Mazeroski). From 1998-2000, he was pitching coach for the Bridgeport Bluefish (one of his players was his brother Gavin in 2000). He was pitching coach for Purdue University in 2001 then was a coach for the 2002 High Desert Mavericks.

Sources[edit]

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