Former San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeff Stember pitched only one game August 5, 1980 at the Houston Astrodome and is the feature of He Was a Giant? by Tony the Tiger Hayes (1980 Topps Baseball Card photo)
Jeff Stember – RHP – 1980 – # 50
He was a Giant?
By Tony the Tiger Hayes
Stember’s big league pitching career could not have gotten off to worse start.
Literally.
On the first pitch Stember ever threw in the majors (8/5/80), Houston’s Terry Puhl squared it up, sending a screaming liner into the rainbow hued left field seats of the Astrodome.
So much for good first impressions.
“As soon as Puhl hit the home run I went out to the mound and told (Stember), ‘Welcome to the National League,” said San Francisco catcher Mike Sadek.
The nervous righty would commit a balk later in the first inning, but actually retired six of the seven Astros following Puhl’s blast. Unfortunately, Houston struck again in the third inning plating two unearned tallies on a Jose Cruz triple.
After Stember retired perennial All-Star Cesar Cedeno on an infield pop-out to end the third, the 6-foot-5, 220 pound New Jersey native’s big league debut – and as it turned out – his MLB career, was over.
With Houston leading 3-1, Max Venable was sent to pinch hit for Stember in the fourth.
The Giants managed to battle back and beat the Astros 9-3. The victory was fueled by a pair of run scoring singles by Sadek. LHP Gary Lavelle recorded the victory with four innings of shutout relief.
Despite the comeback, Giants manager was still chapped about Stember’s outing.
“If he throws the ‘A’ fastball he’ll be alright,” Bristol explained. “It’s that ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ that I don’t like. And I told him that.”
Stember’s first big league game was also his last big league game.
Why was he a Giant?
In the 1970s, Giants scouts found amateur gold on the pitching mounds of New Jersey, signing two pitchers (Ed Halicki and John Montefusco) who would each throw no-hitters for San Francisco in 1975 and 1976 respectively.
San Francisco was looking to repeat that formula when they selected Stember with a 26th round pick in the 1976 draft out of Westfield High School in Westfield, N.J.
While Stember’s big league career ended in a blink of an eye, he was actually the Giants best pick up of the ‘76 amateur draft. Of all the players San Francisco drafted and signed that year – including first round pick, high school IF Mark Kuecker – Stember was the only one to play in the big leagues.
Future stars they passed on included the eventual Hall of Famers: IF Alan Trammell (second round); IF Wade Boggs (seventh) and local OF Rickey Henderson who was selected by his hometown A’s in the fourth round.
Before & After
Stember’s minor league numbers didn’t blow anyone away as he toiled alongside future Giants such as Chili Davis, Bob Brenly and Fred Breining. In six minor league campaigns – all with the Giants organization – he was 38-49 with a 4.98 ERA .
He Never Had a Bobblehead Day. But…
Though he was roughed up by a good portion of the Houston lineup in his only big league appearance, Stember did manage to muzzle the bat of Joe Morgan, the future Giant and Hall of Fame 2B.
In the first, Stember got Lil’ Joe on a ground out and then a pop out in the third.
Giant Footprint
Stember is recognized by the Jewish Baseball Museum as one of the dozens of Jews to have played big league baseball. Others with ties to the Giants include former team president Al Rosen and manager Gabe Kapler and the all-time best Giants play-by-play man Hank Greenwald.
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