Dave Stieb David Andrew Stieb, known as "Sir David" to many of his fans, was a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. Born on July 22, 1957 in Santa Ana, California, he played for the Blue Jays from 1979 to 1992 and again in 1998. On September 2, 1990, he pitched the first (and so far only) no-hitter in Blue Jays history, defeating the Cleveland Indians 3-0. Previously, Stieb had no-hitters broken up with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning in two consecutive 1988 starts. In 1989 he had yet another no-hit bid broken up with one out in the ninth; this was a potential perfect game. In 1993 he played four games with the Chicago White Sox, before retiring due to back problems. In 1998, after a five year hiatus from baseball, Stieb returned to the Blue Jays and pitched in 19 games. He recorded one win, two saves and started three games. In 1985 Stieb signed with the Blue Jays what was then one of the richest contracts in baseball. The contract, including options exercisable by the team was for a term of ten years, specified an increasing salary which went up to $1.9 million in 1993, $2 million in 1994, and $2.1 million in 1995. While this was seen to be an extremely generous amount at the time the contract was signed, by the time the later years of the contract came around this was a bargain considering that several players were receiving several times the amount per year. The Blue Jays voluntarily renegotiated the last three years of his contract to pay him a higher amount, in recognition of his years of service.
During his career Stieb won 176 games while losing 137. He holds career records for Toronto pitchers in wins, games started, shutouts, strikeouts, and a variety of other marks. He was extremely popular among fans in Toronto. Stieb appeared in seven All-Star games, also a Blue Jays team record. He is often cited as one of the finest pitchers of the 1980s.
