John Stuper

John Anton Stuper (born May 9, 1957) is an American former baseball coach and pitcher. He attended Point Park University before playing professionally from 1982 to 1985 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. He then served as the head coach of the Yale Bulldogs (1993–2022).

Playing career

Pittsburgh

Stuper was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 6, 1978. He was traded on January 25, 1979, to the St. Louis Cardinals for Tommy Sandt before making it to the majors.

St. Louis Cardinals

He was 25 years old when he broke into Major League Baseball on June 1, 1982, for the St. Louis Cardinals. In his debut he pitched 8 innings against the San Francisco Giants but ended with a no-decision as Jack Clark singled in Darrell Evans in the top of the 11th and the Giants beat the Cardinals 4–3 in St. Louis.

On October 19, 1982, Stuper pitched a complete game as the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 13–1, in the sixth game of the 1982 World Series to tie the series at three games each. Stuper retired thirteen batters in a row, tying a rookie record set by Dickey Kerr for the White Sox in 1919. The Cardinals won the seventh game the following day by a score of 6–3.

Cincinnati Reds

On September 9, 1984, he was traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Cincinnati Reds for Paul Householder.

Montreal Expos

On December 19, 1985, he was traded with Dann Bilardello, Andy McGaffigan, and Jay Tibbs to the Montreal Expos for Bill Gullickson and Sal Butera, but never played a game for the Expos.

Career statistics

Stuper was listed by Sports Illustrated as among the ten best performances by a rookie pitcher in the history of post-season play His lifetime batting average was .112 (15/134).

Coaching career

Butler County Community College A month after being released by the Expos in 1986, Stuper was hired as the head baseball coach at Butler County Community College. He said he intended to coach at BCCC while working on his master's degree at Slippery Rock University. Stuper implemented lessons from his former Cardinals manager, Whitey Herzog, and oversaw aggressive Butler teams that set school records in runs and stolen bases. He led the school to a record of 92–68.

St. Louis Cardinals Stuper served as a pitching coach in the Cardinals farm system in 1991 and 1992. He spent the first year in the Florida State League and the second year in the South Atlantic League.

Head coaching records The following is a table of Stuper's yearly records as an NCAA Division I head baseball coach.