Kennie Steenstra

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=darkblue
bgcolor2=maroon
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Kennie Steenstra
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1970|10|13|
debutdate=May 21
debutyear=by|1998
debutteam=Chicago Cubs
finaldate=June 7
finalyear=by|1998
finalteam=Chicago Cubs
stat1label=Earned run average
stat1value=10.80
stat2label=Win-Loss
stat2value=0-0
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=4
teams=
*Chicago Cubs (by|1998)
highlights=
*1991: Baseball America and collegiate All American
*1991-92: College World Series All-Tournament Team

Kenneth Gregory Steenstra (born October 13 1970 in Springfield, Missouri) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who attended Wichita State University. At 6'5" tall and 220 pounds, he pitched four games for the by|1998 Chicago Cubs.

High school

Kennie attended Plato High School, in south central Missouri. Steenstra broke the record for being the winningest high school pitcher with 65 victories.

Draft

Steenstra was selected in the 12th round, 331st overall by the Cubs in the by|1992 draft.

Minor leagues

Steenstra was used almost entirely as a starter in his pre-major league pro career. In fact, he was used as a reliever only four times. He saw quite a bit of success in the minors, with a string of three very successful seasons between 1992 and by|1994. In 1992, with the Geneva Cubs and Peoria Chiefs, he went a combined 9-3 with a 1.89 earned run average. In by|1993 he went 14-6, and in 1994 he went 9-7 with a 2.61 ERA for the Orlando Cubs.

Major leagues

On May 21, by|1998 at the age of 27, Steenstra made his major league debut wearing number 49 for the Cubs. In one inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he gave up one hit, one walk, struck out one and surrendered no runs. Overall, he finished with a 10.80 ERA in 3⅓ innings, striking out four, but giving up two home runs (the first to Javy López and the second to Magglio Ordóñez). In total, he gave up seven hits and allowed two runners to steal against him. He played his final game on June 7. During the 1998 season, Steenstra earned $170,000.

After the majors

After his brief stint in the majors, Steenstra bounced around in the minors until by|2002 in the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles and Florida Marlins organizations. Over the course of his professional career, he was teammates with Pedro Valdes, Dave Swartzbaugh and Mike Hubbard for six professional seasons-longer than any other teammates. After his playing days, he became the pitching coach for the Lincoln Saltdogs in by|2004 and the Delmarva Shorebirds in by|2005 and by|2006. At last check, he resides in Liberty, Missouri.

External links

*baseball-reference|id=s/steenke01