Steve Hargan obit

Former Blue Jays, Indians All-Star Pitcher Dies

The journeyman pitched for four teams in a 12-year major league career, winning 87 games as a starter and reliever.

 He was not on the list.

Steve Hargan, an All-Star once in 12 seasons as a major league pitcher, and a member of the inaugural 1977 Toronto Blue Jays team, has died according to a post to his Facebook page. He was 83.

Hargan went 87-107 with a 3.92 ERA in 354 games (215 starts) for the Cleveland Indians (1965-72), Texas Rangers (1974-77), Blue Jays (1977), and Atlanta Braves (1977).

A native of Fort Wayne, Indiana, Hargan was chosen to the American League All-Star team in 1967, but didn't pitch in the game.

"The last game with the Indians prior to the All-Star Game, I pulled a leg muscle rounding third," Hargan said in a 2010 interview. "I got caught in the grass and pulled a hamstring, so I could hardly walk; that's the reason why I didn't pitch that day."

When the game lasted 15 innings, one pitcher — Catfish Hunter — threw the final five innings for the AL.

"I felt bad about [the game] going that long and not being able to pitch," Hargan said in the same interview.

Hargan signed with Cleveland out of Ball State University and pitched four seasons in the minor leagues prior to his 1965 debut.

In a May 1966 game against the California Angels, Hargan entered a 4-4 game in the seventh inning, having pitched two innings the day before. He proceeded to pitch 10 innings in relief as neither team scored until the 17th inning, then was credited with the win when Cleveland hung on for a 7-5 victory.

In a 2011 interview, Hargan called that the “most memorable pitching performance of my major league career.”

Besides his time in the majors, Hargan also spent time pitching in Venezuela in the 1960s, and split the 1978 season with the Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations without receiving a promotion. He retired midway through the 1978 campaign

Hargan retired to Palm Springs, Calif., where he lived until his death.

Teams

Cleveland Indians (1965–1972)

Texas Rangers (1974–1977)

Toronto Blue Jays (1977)

Atlanta Braves (1977)

Career highlights and awards

All-Star (1967)