Historical Highlight: Bob Scanlan
When the Indians were crowned Triple-A World Series champions in 2000, they looked to one player to help them get there. Bob Scanlan, a 33-year-old out of Los Angeles, had just finished the best year of his career and was the fifth relief pitcher in Indians history to be named
When the Indians were crowned Triple-A World Series champions in 2000, they looked to one player to help them get there. Bob Scanlan, a 33-year-old out of Los Angeles, had just finished the best year of his career and was the fifth relief pitcher in Indians history to be named the organization’s Most Valuable Player.
He set a franchise record with 35 saves in 57 appearances out of the bullpen while shutting down the International League with a 1.79 ERA (12er/60.1ip) and 0.99 WHIP in his only year with the Indians. It was his 14th season appearing in the minors and his first in the Milwaukee organization since 1995.
Before he collected five saves in the Governors’ Cup postseason, a win in Game 2 and the final out of Game 4 to clinch the Triple-A World Series for the Indians, Scanlan had appeared in two games with Milwaukee earlier that year. His first outing on July 29 vs. Colorado was rough (5er/1.0ip), but he bounced back and didn’t allow a hit in 0.2 innings on Aug. 1 vs. San Francisco.
The right-hander was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 25th round of the 1984 First-Year Player Draft out of Harvard High School in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for left-handed pitcher Mitch Williams in April 1991 and later pitched 7.0 shutout innings to earn a win against Houston in his major league debut. He pitched primarily as a reliever in three seasons for Chicago, going 14-19 with a 3.75 ERA (114er/273.2ip). Scanlan was traded to Milwaukee following the 1993 season after making a career-high 70 appearances out of the bullpen.
He split time between the starting rotation and bullpen with the Brewers, as 26 of his 47 games over the next two years in Milwaukee were starts, but 1994 was his last full season in the big leagues and he spent the rest of his career toggling between major and minor league bullpens. After staying in the minors for all of 1997 and 1999, his resurgence with Indianapolis made him an option once again for teams.
After the 2000 season, Scanlan signed with the Montreal Expos and appeared in 18 games for his final big-league season. He then retired in 2003 after two full years in the minors.