Don Schulze

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Donald Arthur Schulze

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Don Schulze played several years in the majors and since that time has been a minor league coach.

A native of suburban Chicago, Schulze was selected by the Chicago Cubs out of high school in the first round of the 1980 amateur draft. He made his pro debut that summer with the GCL Cubs, going 2-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 12 starts. After going 11-9 with a 4.27 ERA in 25 starts for the Iowa Cubs in 1983, he earned a call-up to the majors. He made his big league debut on September 13th, throwing two scoreless innings of relief against the Montreal Expos. Four days later, he made his first start, giving up 4 earned runs in 2 1/3 innings against the New York Mets.

Schulze began 1984 back with Iowa and was called up to Chicago for one start in May. On June 13th, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians as part of a seven-player deal that brought Rick Sutcliffe to the Cubs and was key to their winning the division title that year. He spent about three years with the Indians, splitting time between the majors and AAA and recording 11 big league wins for the Tribe over that span. Early in the 1987 season, he was dealt to the New York Mets for Ricky Nelson. He posted an impressive 11-1 record in 15 starts for the Tidewater Tides following the trade and went 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA in 5 appearances for New York.

After spending 1988 in the Detroit Tigers chain, Schulze signed with the New York Yankees. He began 1989 with the Columbus Clippers, for whom he was 8-4 with a 2.05 ERA in 14 starts and then made a pair of starts for the Yankees. In July, he was traded to the San Diego Padres along with Mike Pagliarulo for Walt Terrell. He went 2-1 with a 5.55 ERA in 7 games for San Diego and was released following the season.

Schulze played in Japan for the Orix Blue Wave from 1990 to 1992, going 12-11 with a 3.39 ERA in 57 games during that span. On May 29, 1991, he became the first pitcher in the Pacific League to homer since the introduction of the DH when he went deep off Motoyuki Akahori of the Kintetsu Buffaloes. He returned stateside in 1993 and posted a 8-5 record and 4.10 ERA for the Rochester Red Wings in what would be his final pro season.

Since 2006, Schulze has been a pitching coach in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Schulze was scheduled to return to Beloit in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the minor league season. In addition to regular season duties, Schulze twice served as a pitching coach in the Arizona Fall League with the Phoenix Desert Dogs in 2012 and the Mesa Solar Sox in 2018.

While playing for the Quad Cities Cubs in 1981, Schulze was involved in an incident with the San Diego Chicken that Schulze claimed caused a separated shoulder. After hitting a home run, Schulze claimed The Chicken (portrayed by Ted Giannoulas) grabbed him and caused him to fall; Giannoulas said Schulze fell after stepping on The Chicken's large feet. Schulze filed a lawsuit asking for $2 million in damages, which eventually reached federal court, but the court ruled in favor of Giannoulas.

Related Sites[edit]

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