- Joe Stanka
Joe Donald Stanka (born
July 23 ,1931 ) is a former major league baseball player fromHammon, Oklahoma . He played for theChicago White Sox in the major leagues, and theNankai Hawks andTaiyo Whales in the Japanese professional leagues.Biography
Stanka spent most of his career in the minor leagues, but managed to make his major league debut with the
Chicago White Sox in1959 at age 28. He ended his major league career with only 2 appearances that year.He signed with the
Nankai Hawks (currentFukuoka SoftBank Hawks ) during the 1959 off-season. He was one of the first players to be signed from the Triple-A class of the minor leagues, and the team calculated that he should be able to win over 20 games in the JapanesePacific League .Stanka entered the starting rotation in his first year, and marked a 17-12 record in his first year, leading the league with 103 walks. He played his best season in
1964 , winning 26 games to receive the league MVP award. He pitched shutouts in Games 1, 6, and 7 of the Japan Series against theHanshin Tigers to win the Japan Series MVP award as well.He continued to pitch for the Hawks in
1965 , but left the team after his eldest son died in a tragic accident. He played for theTaiyo Whales in1966 before retiring. He is tied withGene Bacque for the most wins among foreign players in Japan, going 100-72 during his seven-year career in Japan.ee also
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Chicago White Sox all-time roster External links
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/stankjo01.shtml Career statistics]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Joe_Stanka Baseball-reference.com bullpen]
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