Steve Ellsworth

Steven Clark Ellsworth

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 8", Weight 220 lb.
• School Fresno City College, California State University, Northridge
• High School Bullard High School (Fresno)
• Debut April 7, 1988
• Final Game July 8, 1988
• Born July 30, 1960 in Chicago, IL USA

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Biographical Information

Steve Ellsworth is the son of Dick Ellsworth and a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox in 1988.

Towering over most of his teammates at 6'8" tall (and 220 pounds), this righthander attended Bullard High School in Fresno, CA. He then went on to attend Fresno City College and Cal State Northridge.

He was drafted twice in 1980, in January by the Minnesota Twins in the seventh round and June by the Cleveland Indians in the third round. He didn't sign either time. He was drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1981 amateur draft, 9th overall, signing with scout Joe Stephenson. His professional career started off bumpy - he appeared in only one professional game that year, with the low-A Elmira Pioneers, of the New York-Penn League. In that one game, he gave up two runs in one inning pitched, while walking two and striking out none.

Between 1981 and 1988, he was used both as a starter and a reliever in the minors. In 1983 with the Winston-Salem Red Sox, he went 13-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 164+ innings as a starter. In 1986 with the Pawtucket Red Sox, he went 6-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 83 innings of work as a reliever.

On April 7, 1988 at the age of 27, he made his Major League debut. He pitched two innings that game, giving up 8 hits and 5 earned runs. He struck out two, but still earned a loss. The rest of his career didn't fare him too well either: overall, he went 1 and 6 with a 6.75 ERA in 36 innings. He gave up seven home runs, walked 16 and struck out 16. He also hit one batter and threw one wild pitch. Perhaps the best start of his career was his second, on April 16th, when he gave up only one run while striking out five in seven innings against the Texas Rangers. Even though he pitched well that game, he still got the loss. His only win came on April 21st against the Detroit Tigers. With that win, he and his father became the first father/son combination to both earn a win for the Red Sox. In the field, he made no errors for a fielding percentage of 1.000. Ellsworth played his final game on July 8th. Like so many other first rounders, he never quite lived up to the hype.

Other information

• He earned $62,500 in 1988.
• He was teammates with Rob Woodward longer than anybody else - 6 seasons.
• He wore number 28.
• He currently resides in Clovis, CA.

Related Sites

• Steve Ellsworth at the SABR Bio Project