Kirk McCaskill
Encyclopedia
Kirk Edward McCaskill is a retired Major League Baseball
pitcher
and a retired professional hockey
player.
McCaskill played for two different ballclubs during his career: the California Angels
(1985–91), and Chicago White Sox
(1992–96). He made his Major League Baseball
debut on May 1, 1985, and played his final game on July 20, 1996. He also played professional hockey for the Sherbrooke Jets
of the American Hockey League
, a farm team for the NHL
’s Winnipeg Jets.
, while his father, Ted McCaskill
, was playing for the Kapuskasing GM's. McCaskill spent his childhood in several cities, including Nashville, Memphis
, Vancouver
, Phoenix
, Newport Beach and Los Angeles
, while father played professional hockey. McCaskill's father retired from hockey in 1975 and his family settled in Paradise Valley, Arizona
McCaskill attended Trinity-Pawling School
in Pawling, New York
. During his senior year, McCaskill had an 8-0 record with an 0.97 ERA and 97 strikeouts, scored 26 goals and 22 assists in 17 hockey games, and was the varsity soccer team's leading goal-scorer. He turned down a baseball scholarship to Arizona State University
so that he could pursue both hockey and baseball at Vermont.
in baseball and hockey as a collegiate student-athlete, McCaskill was drafted in the fourth round of the 1982 amateur draft by the California Angels
(88th overall), from the University of Vermont
, and would be the first baseball player from UVM to reach the major leagues since Jack Lamabe
in 1962. He would debut in 1985, but his break-out season was 1986, with the American League
West champion California Angels
. He compiled a win-loss record of 17-10, with a 3.36 earned run average
, and 202 strikeouts. He also totaled ten complete games on the season, and would go on to have six seasons of ten or more wins, throw two one-hitters, rank in the American League
top ten in shutouts and earned run average
three times each.
, along with Joe Carter
, Richard Bélec, and the Asahi. In response to the news of induction, McCaskill was quoted as saying, "I am stunned by this wonderful news. I can't wait to tell my family and my parents. I am very proud of my Canadian heritage, and this is going to be an honor of a lifetime."
and named to that season's NCAA East All-America First Team and the ECAC All-Star First Team. He was the team captain during the 1982-83 season.
McCaskill was drafted in the fourth round (64th overall) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft
. He played only one season of professional hockey for the Sherbrooke Jets, a Jets farm team. McKaskill dressed for one game with the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL but did not play in the game. During the 1983-84 season, he scored 10 goals and added 12 assists for 22 points. He retired from professional hockey after the one season to focus on his professional baseball career. One scout summed up his hockey career when he famously quipped that "he plays hockey like he pitches--once every four games."
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
and a retired professional hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
player.
McCaskill played for two different ballclubs during his career: the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
(1985–91), and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
(1992–96). He made his Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
debut on May 1, 1985, and played his final game on July 20, 1996. He also played professional hockey for the Sherbrooke Jets
Sherbrooke Jets
The Sherbrooke Jets were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, based in Sherbrooke, Quebec. They were a farm team of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets...
of the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, a farm team for the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
’s Winnipeg Jets.
Early life
McCaskill was born in Kapuskasing, OntarioKapuskasing, Ontario
Kapuskasing is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst...
, while his father, Ted McCaskill
Ted McCaskill
Edward Joel McCaskill was a professional ice hockey player who played four games in the National Hockey League and 91 games in the World Hockey Association. He played with the Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Sharks.- References :...
, was playing for the Kapuskasing GM's. McCaskill spent his childhood in several cities, including Nashville, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Newport Beach and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, while father played professional hockey. McCaskill's father retired from hockey in 1975 and his family settled in Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley, Arizona
Paradise Valley is a small, affluent town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2005 Census Bureau, the population of the town was 14,558. Despite the town's relatively small area and population compared to other municipalities in the Phoenix metropolitan area, Paradise...
McCaskill attended Trinity-Pawling School
Trinity-Pawling School
Trinity-Pawling School is an all boys private high school in Pawling, New York. Dr. Frederick Luther Gamage, once Headmaster of St. Paul's School in Long Island, founded the Pawling School in 1907. Located on high on a hill overlooking the Hudson River Valley, Trinity-Pawling has a colonial brick...
in Pawling, New York
Pawling (village), New York
Pawling is a village in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 2,233 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area...
. During his senior year, McCaskill had an 8-0 record with an 0.97 ERA and 97 strikeouts, scored 26 goals and 22 assists in 17 hockey games, and was the varsity soccer team's leading goal-scorer. He turned down a baseball scholarship to Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
so that he could pursue both hockey and baseball at Vermont.
Baseball career highlights
All-ECACEastern College Athletic Conference
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference comprising schools that compete in 21 sports . It has 317 member institutions in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, ranging in location from Maine to North Carolina and west to Illinois...
in baseball and hockey as a collegiate student-athlete, McCaskill was drafted in the fourth round of the 1982 amateur draft by the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
(88th overall), from the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
, and would be the first baseball player from UVM to reach the major leagues since Jack Lamabe
Jack Lamabe
John Alexander Lamabe was a former professional baseball player. He was born in Farmingdale, New York. He was a pitcher over parts of seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs...
in 1962. He would debut in 1985, but his break-out season was 1986, with the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
West champion California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
. He compiled a win-loss record of 17-10, with a 3.36 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, and 202 strikeouts. He also totaled ten complete games on the season, and would go on to have six seasons of ten or more wins, throw two one-hitters, rank in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
top ten in shutouts and earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
three times each.
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
In 2003, McCaskill was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of FameCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...
, along with Joe Carter
Joe Carter
Joseph Christopher Carter is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays....
, Richard Bélec, and the Asahi. In response to the news of induction, McCaskill was quoted as saying, "I am stunned by this wonderful news. I can't wait to tell my family and my parents. I am very proud of my Canadian heritage, and this is going to be an honor of a lifetime."
Hockey career highlights
McCaskill played center and right wing for the University of Vermont from 1979-1983. In 1982, McCaskill won the Cunningham Award as the Most Valuable Player on the Catamounts. He was also a finalist for the Hobey Baker AwardHobey Baker Award
The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player.It is named for hockey player and World War I veteran Hobey Baker, who played collegiately at Princeton University and learned the game at St...
and named to that season's NCAA East All-America First Team and the ECAC All-Star First Team. He was the team captain during the 1982-83 season.
McCaskill was drafted in the fourth round (64th overall) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft
1981 NHL Entry Draft
The 1981 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League teams selected 211 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1980–81 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players...
. He played only one season of professional hockey for the Sherbrooke Jets, a Jets farm team. McKaskill dressed for one game with the Winnipeg Jets of the NHL but did not play in the game. During the 1983-84 season, he scored 10 goals and added 12 assists for 22 points. He retired from professional hockey after the one season to focus on his professional baseball career. One scout summed up his hockey career when he famously quipped that "he plays hockey like he pitches--once every four games."