Les Straker Lester Paul Straker Bolnalda (born October 10, 1959 in Ciudad BolĂvar, BolĂvar State, Venezuela), best known as Les Straker, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins. This 10-year minor leaguer went all the way to the 1987 World Series in his long-awaited rookie year. As a young prospect, Straker was let go by the Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Athletics. Finally, he made his majors debut with the Twins as their number-three starter behind Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven.
Straker became the first Venezuelan ever to pitch in the WS when he started games three and six. He began 1988 on disabled list and never recovered at all, being released when the season was over.
In his two-seasons 47-game career, Straker had a record of 10-15, with 99 strikeouts, one shutout, one save, and a 4.22 of earned run average.
