Stephen Wayne Bedrosian (born December 6, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball player of Armenian descent.[1] Nicknamed "Bedrock", he played from 1981 to 1995 with the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Minnesota Twins. In 1985, his only full season as a starter, Bedrosian went 7–15 and set a Major League record for most starts in a single season without a complete game (37).[2]
At University of New Haven Bedrosian put up a career record of 13-3 and 3 saves. He helped the chargers to a third place finish in the 1978 college world series. He was then drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 1978 MLB draft, where he won NL Rookie of the Year in his first season.[3]
Bedrosian was traded by the Braves to the Phillies in the off-season and was converted to a reliever before the 1986 season. In his first year in relief, he saved 29 games. His best season came in 1987 when he posted a 5–3 record for the Phillies with a 2.83 earned run average, recorded a league-leading 40 saves, and was named the National League Cy Young Award winner.[4] Since Bedrosian, only three other relievers, Mark Davis, Dennis Eckersley and Éric Gagné, have won Cy Young honors (Davis won the National League award in 1989 while with the San Diego Padres; Eckersley won the American League award and was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1992 with the Oakland Athletics; Gagné won the National League award in 2003 with the Los Angeles Dodgers).
He was traded to the Giants during the 1989 season to help their pennant drive that year.[5] In 1990, he won the Willie Mac Award, voted upon by his teammates, honoring his spirit and leadership (his then two-year-old son, Cody was battling leukemia).
As a member of the Minnesota Twins, Bedrosian faced his former team in the 1991 World Series.
Personal
Currently, Bedrosian resides in Newnan, Georgia, where he served on the Coweta county board of education, through 2010, and is an assistant baseball coach at East Coweta high school. In 2008, Bedrosian was inducted into the Coweta Sports Hall of Fame.[6]
Bedrosian also played college baseball at the University of New Haven and has been inducted into its Hall of Fame.[7]
Bedrosian has four sons: Cameron, who plays for the Los Angeles Angels, drafted by them in the 2010 MLB draft; Kyle, who played for Mercer University and is a pitching coach at local baseball academy Home Plate; Cody, and Carson who also played for East Coweta High. Bedrosian was referenced in the It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia A Very Sunny Christmas episode.
See also
References
- ↑ Sammy Sucu (April 24, 2012). "The 10 Most Influential Armenians in Sports History". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
- ↑ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.107, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ↑ "UNH Bedrosian hall of fame induction".
- ↑ Murray Chass (November 11, 1987). "Phillies' Bedrosian Cy Young Winner". Archived from the original on December 10, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Phillies Trade Bedrosian to Giants, Samuel to Mets". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. June 19, 1989. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
- ↑ Camp, Tommy (October 14, 2008). "Bedrosian, Cronic among Hall of Fame class". Times Herald-Record. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
- ↑ "Hall of Fame". New Haven Chargers. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
External links