Steve Rogers

Stephen Douglas Rogers

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 182 lb.
• School University of Tulsa
• High School Glendale High School (Springfield)
• Debut July 18, 1973
• Final Game May 19, 1985
• Born October 26, 1949 in Jefferson City, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Steve Rogers was one of the top-flight pitchers of the National League from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. He was widely credited with having outstanding stuff, and a tenacious drive and desire. He spent his entire career with the Montreal Expos and is the only player with a career lasting more than five seasons to have done so.

Rogers won Silver with Team USA in the 1969 Amateur World Series and played in the College World Series in both 1969 and 1971 with the University of Tulsa. The Expos selected him in the secondary phase of the 1971 amateur draft.

He came on with a bang as a rookie in 1973, after being called up in July, as his 1.31 ERA over his first 14 career starts is the lowest ever for a pitcher, ahead of Tiny Bonham (whose ERA was 1.67 during the same span). He finished his rookie year with a 10-5 record and a 1.54 ERA and made the 1973 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. His outstanding performance was one of the keys to the young Expos still being in the pennant race in the NL East until the final week of the season, before finishing 4th. The following season, in 1974, he was the Expos' lone representative at the 1974 All-Star Game, but suffered a lot of defeats in the second half, ending up with a record of 15-22, 4.47. His 22 losses were tied for most in the National League with Bill Bonham and Randy Jones. It was the first of five All-Star nominations for Rogers, who was the starter in the 1982 classic, which was played in his home ballpark of Stade Olympique. He had seasons of 19 wins, 17 wins (twice) and 16 wins and in 1977 set franchise records for innings pitched (301 2/3) and starts (40). He led the National League in ERA in 1982 and finished second in 1978.

He had some bad luck in his sole appearance in the playoffs, as he is most remembered for surrendering the home run to Rick Monday that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers the National League pennant in the 9th inning of Game 5 of the 1981 NLCS. Prior to surrendering that home run (in a rare relief appearance), he had started and won three games in the 1981 Postseason, including twice beating future Hall of Famer Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies in head-to-head matchups in the Division Series, not counting his run of success to get the Expos in the playoffs to begin with.

After a great run of success that lasted 11 seasons, he suddenly lost it when he was affected by arm woes early in the 1984 season. He went 6-15 that year, then 2-4, 5.68 in his first 8 appearances of the 1985 season. The Expos had worked out a deal to trade him to the Houston Astros in return for Mike Scott, who had not yet broken through as an ace, but Rogers declined the deal as was his right as a veteran of over ten years with at least the last five with the same team. So the Expos released him on May 21st; he signed with the California Angels, but was released at his request when the Angels failed to bring him up after a month in AAA and finished the season in the Chicago White Sox system. He retired at the end of the year.

He is the Expos/Washington Nationals all-time franchise win leader with 158 and holds a slew of other franchise pitching records. He made nine Opening Day starts for the Expos, the most of any pitcher during the franchise's run, with a record of 2-4 and 3 no-decisions.

In 2004, Rogers was a special assistant for the MLBPA.

Notable Achievements

• 1973 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 5-time NL All-Star (1974, 1978, 1979, 1982 & 1983)
• NL ERA Leader (1982)
• NL Complete Games Leader (1980)
• 2-time NL Shutouts Leader (1979 & 1983)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 5 (1974, 1977, 1980, 1982 & 1983)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 9 (1974-1980, 1982 & 1983)
• 300 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (1977)
• 200 Strikeout Seasons: 1 (1977)

Further Reading

• Norm King: "Rogers Leads Expos to NLCS. October 11, 1981: Montreal Expos 3, Philadelphia Phillies 0 At Veterans Stadium", in Norm King, ed.: Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2016, pp. 66-68. ISBN 978-1-943816-15-6
• Norm King: "Rogers Wins Game 3 of NLCS. October 16, 1981: Montreal Expos 4, Los Angeles Dodgers 1 At Olympic Stadium", in Norm King, ed.: Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2016, pp. 69-71. ISBN 978-1-943816-15-6
• Gregory H. Wolf: "Steve Rogers tosses one-hit shutout to win first big-league game; July 26, 1973: Montreal Expos 4, Philadelphia Phillies 0 At Veterans Stadium", in Norm King, ed.: Au jeu/Play Ball: The 50 Greatest Games in the History of the Montreal Expos, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2016, pp. 17-19. ISBN 978-1-943816-15-6

Related Sites

• Steve Rogers at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page