Tuesday, June 5, 2018

The 47 Best Players from the 1998 Chicago Cubs - #42 Kennie Steenstra

42. Kennie Steenstra
I could have gone under oath and sworn that I have never seen this name before in my life. I loved those Cubs, but I do not remember his 3.1 innings where he put up a 10.80 ERA.

I don't remember his first appearance where he struck out Todd Hollandsworth in a scoreless outing.

I don't remember his second appearance where he got Keith Lockhart to pop out to Manny Alexander in another scoreless outing.

I don't remember when he struck out the side while taking on the best of the Braves' hitters in Michael Tucker, Gerald Williams, and Danny Bautista. Unfortunately, this was also when the wheels started to fall off as he gave up a home run to Javy Lopez and a triple to Andruw Jones in between those strikeouts.

And luckily, I don't remember him giving up a stolen base to Albert Belle, because that was just a precursor to a Magglio Ordonez 3-run home run. It would be the last pitch that Steenstra would throw in the major leagues.

But even though he was done pitching, baseball is in this man's blood. He has spent years as a minor league coach and is currently the pitching coach for the Bowie Baysox in the Baltimore Orioles' system. There are worse ways to make a living.

Steenstra may have had the shortest career of any player on this list, but it wasn't without its highlights. He made the big leagues and showed that he could play with the best in the world. It may have been a short run, but for him, I'm sure it was unforgettable.

And yes, he is the only Kennie in MLB history.

In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers

#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas

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