Kevin Tapani

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Kevin Ray Tapani (born February 18, 1964 in Des Moines, Iowa) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001. Selected in the second round of the 1986 amateur draft by the Oakland Athletics, Tapani made his Major League debut on July 4, 1989 with the New York Mets. A few weeks after this debut, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins along with Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, and David West, in exchange for 1988 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola.

Tapani became a starter the Twins, with whom he spent seven of his thirteen Major League seasons as a stable veteran pitcher. While with Minnesota, Tapani ably played the role of number two starter behind Jack Morris during the Minnesota Twins' 1991 World Series season.

In his career, Tapani pitched adeptly in both the American League and National League, and played his last game on September 27, 2001. His career record: 143 wins, 125 losses, and an ERA of 4.35. In 1998 with the Chicago Cubs, Tapani earned his best record of 19-9, though his ERA was 4.85. In 1991, with the Twins, Tapani had his lowest ERA of 2.99 to go with a 16-9 record and 7th place in the 1991 Cy Young Award voting.

Tapani was raised in Escanaba, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He quarterbacked Escanaba High School to the 1981 MHSAA Class A State Football Championship. Tapani pitched collegiately at Central Michigan University and is a member of the CMU Athletics Hall of Fame (Class of 1999).

[edit] References

• Kevin Tapani statistics provided by baseball-almanac.com.
• Kevin Tapani's Career Statistics provided by baseball-reference.com.