Petter Vesterlund

Petter Vesterlund

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.

• Born February 13, 1974 in Skellefteå Sweden

Biographical Information

Petter Vesterlund spent over a decade on the Swedish national team.

Vesterlund was with Sweden when they won Bronze in the 1993 European Championship, tossing 2 2/3 shutout innings despite battling control issues (0 H, 4 BB, WP, HB, K). He got a crucial win in the third Bronze Medal game against French national team after taking over for Calle Skogkvist with one out in the 6th (1 2/3 IP, 3 BB); Sweden would rally while Vesterlund was on the hill and Tobias Rantzén took over with a 8-6 lead in the 8th. He was on the first Swedish team to play in a Baseball World Cup. At age 20, he was 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in the 1994 Baseball World Cup, the only ERA under 7 on the squad for someone who worked over an inning. Petter allowed 15 hits and 4 walks in 12 2/3 innings, striking out five. In the 1995 European Championship, the right-hander was Sweden's worst pitcher, allowing 10 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks in just an inning and a third, going 0-1 in 3 appearances; his 67.50 ERA was the only one over 9 on the staff.

In the 1999 European Championship, Vesterlund walked six in 3 2/3 innings and was 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA. He was better as a part-time center fielder in the event, playing flawless defense and going 2 for 8 with 2 walks at the plate. In 2000, Vesterlund pitched for RCH in Hoofdklasse. He was 10th in the league with 94 innings pitched but still managed to strike out 138 batters, 18 more than runner-up Tetsuhiro Monna, a former NPB hurler. He tied for 7th in the league with 3 complete games. He failed to finish among the ERA leaders or win leaders despite his strikeout totals.

Vesterlund went 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in the 2003 European Championship, striking out 12 in 11 2/3 innings. He allowed two runs in seven against Germany in the 2005 European Championship, dueling Martin Almstetter evenly before Nicklas Melin relieved. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, Vesterlund was 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA. In 10 2/3 innings, he struck out 10 but walked 15. He allowed 7 runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Dutch national team for a loss to David Bergman. He then got Sweden's lone win, beating South Africa and former minor leaguer Barry Armitage, 10-8. It was Sweden's second win in World Cup history. Vesterlund held South Africa to one run in 7 innings despite four former US minor leaguers in the South African lineup. He allowed just 3 hits but walked 8; he also struck out 8.

In the Swedish Elitserien in 2005, Vesterlund went 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA, striking out 45 but walking 32 in 38 1/3 innings. He allowed only 15 hits. His .117 opponent average was over 70 points better than anyone else. He was third in Elitserien in ERA and second in strikeouts.

Sources

• Swedish league statistics
• Marco Stoovelaar's Dutch baseball site
• Defunct IBAF site
• Harry Wedemeijer's international tourney stats
• Wayback Archive of the 2005 European Championship site