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Greg Minton

Greg Minton was born July 29, 1951 in Lubbock, Texas. Nicknamed Moon Man for his practical jokes such as the hijacking of the team bus and the flooding of a minor league ballpark so he could leave Amarillo one day early at the end of the season. Minton enjoyed a 16-year major league career, from 1975 to 1990, and was a member of the 1982 National League All-Star Team. He  played for the California Angels and San Francisco Giants.

A crippling injury in 1979 caused Minton to alter his delivery. Instead of using his high leg kick, Minton shortened his stride to take pressure off his knee. The new delivery gave Minton a 92-mph sinker that batters were unable to drive. Minton went three full seasons  without allowing a home run until John Stearns homered against him on May 2, 1982. As of 2020, this is the longest such streak in the period for which game-by-game data is available (since 1904). On August 14, 1986, Minton gave up the last of Pete Rose's MLB record 4,256 career hits.

In 1989, Minton made 62 appearances in relief. He earned eight saves and a 2.20 earned run average (ERA). Over portions of 1988 and 1989, he pitched another ​105 2⁄3 consecutive innings without giving up a home run, which was the longest stretch of this type by any pitcher in Angels history. He signed a one-year extension for 1990 worth $850,000. He spent much of the 1990 season on the disabled list with elbow problems, and he pitched only ​15 1⁄3 innings before announcing his retirement that October.

After his career as a player, Minton was a pitching coach in the California Angels organization and managed the independent Lubbock Crickets for two years.

Resources:

Greg Minton Baseball (Amazon)

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