Lee Guetterman

Arthur Lee Guetterman (born November 22, 1958), nicknamed "Goot," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played from to for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

A southpaw used primarily in the major leagues as a relief pitcher, he stood 6 ft tall.

Arthur Lee Guetterman was born on November 22, 1958, to Arthur Adam Jr. and Ruth Guetterman.

Lee's father was a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy, which Art Jr. served in for 23 years.

Though Art never played baseball professionally, he taught his son to pitch, building him a box mounted on wooden legs to represent a strike zone and providing him with a bucket of baseballs to practice throwing at it.

Guetterman graduated from Oceanside High School in Oceanside, California, and went to Liberty University, where he was coached on the baseball team by former major league pitcher Al Worthington.

Drafted by the Mariners in the fourth round of the 1981 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, he made his major league debut in 1984, though he would not return to the major leagues until 1986.

In his senior year of 1981, he was selected as a 1st Team All-American in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

That same year, the Seattle Mariners selected him in the fourth round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.

In 1981, Guetterman began his professional career with the Single-A short season Bellingham Mariners of the Northwest League.

He made 13 starts for the ballclub, accumulating a 6–4 record, a 2.68 ERA, 55 strikeouts, 44 walks, and 85 hits allowed in 84 innings pitched.

He joined the Bakersfield Mariners of the Single-A California League in 1982, making 26 starts and posting a 7–11 record, a 4.44 ERA, 82 strikeouts, 69 walks, and 172 hits allowed in 154 innings pitched.

With Bakersfield again for the 1983 season, he made 25 starts and had a 12–6 record, a 3.22 ERA, 93 strikeouts, 45 walks, and 164 hits allowed in 156 1⁄3 innings.

Guetterman spent most of the 1984 season with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League, making 24 starts and posting an 11–7 record, a 3.38 ERA, 47 strikeouts, 38 walks, and 174 hits allowed in 157 innings.

At the end of the year, Seattle promoted him to the major leagues as one of their September call-ups.

He made his major league debut as a relief pitcher on September 12, allowing one run in 1 2⁄3 innings pitched in an 8–1 loss to the Texas Rangers.

Guetterman would make three appearances for Seattle in 1984, allowing two runs in 4 1⁄3 innings.

In 1985, Guetterman pitched for the Triple-A Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League (PCL).

He appeared in 20 games (18 starts), posting a 5–8 record, a 5.79 ERA, 48 strikeouts, 44 walks, and 138 hits allowed in 110 1⁄3 innings.

After having the highest earned run average (ERA) of any American League (AL) pitcher with at least 75 innings pitched in 1986, he won 11 games as a starter in 1987, posting an 8–1 record at one point before getting moved to the bullpen due to a loss of control of his pitches.

In 1986, Guetterman made the Mariners' roster out of spring training and spent most of the season as a relief pitcher with the major league club, though he started four games for Calgary as well.

Sixteen of his 41 appearances for Seattle were multiple-inning efforts, such as a game on May 11, when he pitched five scoreless innings of relief in a 4–3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

He started the second game of a doubleheader on June 7 and made three starts from June 28 through July 8, allowing two runs in 6 1⁄3 innings in an 8–5 victory over the Kansas City Royals on July 1, though Guetterman did not get the decision.

In 41 games, he had an 0–4 record, 38 strikeouts, 30 walks, and 108 hits allowed in 76 innings pitched.

His 7.34 ERA was the highest among American League (AL) pitchers with at least 75 innings pitched.

Not even invited to 1987 spring training, Guetterman began the season in the bullpen at Calgary, posting a 5–1 record and a 2.86 ERA in 16 appearances (two starts).

Promoted by the Mariners in late May when another starter went on the disabled list, he entered a tie game against the New York Yankees in the beginning of the sixth inning on May 27, throwing two scoreless innings as the Mariners took the lead.

He was removed in the eighth after walking Don Mattingly to lead off the inning, and Jerry Reed eventually allowed Mattingly to score, but the Mariners held on to win 6–5, and Guetterman was credited with the victory, his first ever in the major leagues.

He then joined the starting rotation, winning his next four decisions for Seattle.

In one of those, on June 26 against the Cleveland Indians, he allowed just three hits in his only major league shutout.

He was traded to the Yankees after the season, and after spending much of 1988 in the minor leagues, he emerged as a part-time closer for the Yankees in 1989, while Dave Righetti was struggling.

He had 13 saves in 1989, then just two the following year, though he would lead the Yankees in wins.

He led the Yankees in wins in 1990 without starting a game.

Guetterman attended Liberty University, where he set several school records on the baseball team.

In 1991, Guetterman became unhappy with his playing time and requested a trade, which he got in 1992, when he was part of the only Yankees-Mets trade between 1987 and 2001.

After finishing the 1992 season with the Mets, Guetterman pitched for the Cardinals in 1993, though he was in the minor leagues until June 30 that year.

He had a 2.93 ERA for the Cardinals that year but did not return to the major leagues in 1994.

After stints with the Mariners again in 1995 and 1996, Guetterman played one year for the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League.

During his time at Liberty, Guetterman set school records that still stood in 2010 for starts (47), innings pitched (334 2⁄3), wins (29), complete games (30), and shutouts (seven).

As a hitter, he batted .325 with 82 runs scored, 11 home runs, and 108 runs batted in (RBI).