PITCHERS WHO RAKE: MKE STYLE

Somwhere around the final years of the high school level, a line seemingly gets drawn in the sand regarding baseball players who are serious about their pitching skills.

They become full-time pitchers. Batting is looked at somewhat differently. Practices become split up between “pitchers” here and “position players” there. The designated hitter becomes a staple of college and professional lineups.

Even in 2020’s version of Major League Baseball, the DH is being allowed on both sides after being part of the American League-only since 1973. Pitchers who are looked at as good hitters make for great social media content and always find their way into ESPN highlights when they hit home runs, with Zack Greinke and Madison Bumgarner making anyone’s list of current besthitting pitchers. In 2019, Greinke hit .280, collecting 14 hits in 50 at-bats, pounding three home runs. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels certainly ends any debate as the current best-hitting pitcher in the big leagues, but a two-way player like him has not been seen in MLB in almost a century. Most pitchers, when they were still batting, found themselves slated ninth in the order and, a large majority of the time, asked to bunt if a runner is on And then for some, they never give it up because … well …

they’re just good at it. Enter Milwaukee’s own Nick Winter, whose recent run of success at the plate in the Land O’ Lakes League has spurred the question: Who is the besthitting Panther pitcher of alltime?

Winter arrived on campus in the Fall of 2016 as one of the top two-way players in the state as a senior, named the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association DII Player of the Year after leading Milwaukee Lutheran to a 24-8 record and back to the state title game. He went 9-1 with a 0.83 ERA on the mound, striking out 108 batters. At the plate, he led the state in hits while batting .515 with a 1.253 OPS and 23 steals. However, due to an injury which caused him to miss the large majority of his freshman season in 2017, he did not bat much as a Panther

.535 BA 91 hits 72 runs 41 rbi 1.268 OPS THREE-YEAR TOTALS IN LAND O’LAKES LEAGUE

to help protect his surgicallyrepaired shoulder.

Since that time, he has spent the past three summers wreaking havoc on pitchers in the Land O’ Lakes League, a league that has been around since 1922 to provide players in local communities – with no age limit – in southeastern Wisconsin the opportunity to play baseball in the summer. He helped West Bend 7UP to the title in the summer of 2018 and was named the league Rookie of the Year, posting a 1.80 ERA on mound while leading the circuit in average (.564) and on-base percentage (.606). He posted league-leading totals in average (.512), hits (42) and runs (29) in 2019, earning the George “Doc” Kraemer Land O’ Lakes Man of the Year award.

And in 2020, it was a three-peat for Winter, posting league-best totals in average (.568) and on-base percentage (.630). His three-year totals are gaudy: a .535 average – collecting 91 hits in 170 at bats – scoring 72 runs in 42 games, with 20 doubles, 42 RBI and a 1.268 OPS.

Impressive totals, to say the least. That got us to thinking … who is the best-hitting Panther pitcher of all-time?

There are a small handful of standouts that jump to top of this list. Some of the other nominees that deserve to be mentioned include the following players:

Goerdt piled up impressive offensive numbers in his two seasons, batting .389 (third all-time) in 104 games, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 109 runs. He was named MCC First-Team All-League in both of his seasons and was also the 2000 MCC Newcomer of the Year. He went 6-3 in 26 career games on the mound, making 10 starts. He posted a 4.85 ERA and five saves over 72.1 innings of work.

Hetebrueg compiled a career .275 average over 244 career at-bats, highlighted by a junior campaign in which he batted .302 with career-highs in runs scored (22) and RBI (15). He pitched all four seasons, finding his way into a weekend starting role as a junior. He wrapped up his Panther career with 11 victories, recording 119 strikeouts in 199.2 innings.

Brockel was primarily an outfielder, batting .296 in his MKE career with 17 home runs and 97 runs batted in. He hit .325 as a junior, driving in a careerbest 47 runs in 2006. He earned Second-Team All-Horizon League honors as a senior, batting .290 with a team-high 7 home runs. He ended his collegiate career on a 20-game hitting streak. He also pitched, making 29 appearances over his time at Milwaukee, striking out 29 batters in 54.1 innings. He tied a Horizon League Tournament record in 2005, recording two saves on the same day.

The next grouping of names is where the answer will come from. After much research, the top three nominees from which to choose include: Oiler was very successful on both sides, hitting at a .308 clip in almost 400 at bats. He recorded 73 RBI and added eight career home runs. On the mound, he recorded 15 victories as a Panther, making 36 starts among his 50 total appearances. He finished with 203 career strikeouts – one of just eight Panthers to reach 200-plus in a career – in 241.1 innings. His senior campaign saw him go 8-5 in 15 games (13 starts), striking out 61 in 86.2 innings while compiling a team-high five complete games. He capped his collegiate career by getting selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 1997 MLB Draft.

Sadowski, who is also a member of the UWM Athletics Hall of Fame, was named to the All-Midwestern Collegiate Conference First-Team three times after earning a spot on the league’s all-newcomer team as a freshman. He also was named MCC Tournament MVP in leading the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament in 1999. In 182 career games, he batted .323 with a program-best 150 runs batted in while also hitting 28 home runs - second all-time. In 1999 he hit .358 with school-record 17 home runs, 20 doubles, 68 RBI and 150 total bases. In addition to that,

Sadowski was 7-5 on the mound with a 4.53 ERA in 16 games that spring, striking out 48 in 95.1 innings. In 2000 he added seven more victories and 58 K’s in just short of 80 innings. For his career, he finished with a 22-16 win/loss record in 50 appearances, with 213 strikeouts in 258.0 innings of work. His career wins and career strikeout totals were school records when he graduated and he still holds the program record with 17 career complete games. In addition, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 23rd round of the 1999 MLB Draft and by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the 2000 draft.

In Stanczyk’s junior campaign – which ended up his final year with the Panthers after signing a free-agent deal with the Milwaukee Brewers following the season – he set a standard which has yet to be matched by earning both the Horizon League Player and Horizon League Pitcher of the Year award in the same season.

Stanczyk led the Panthers in nearly every statistical pitching category in 2004, posting a 7-3 record with four saves and a 3.43 ERA. The righthander led the Horizon League and set UWM’s single-season strikeout record with 95 K’s in 94.1 innings pitched. In addition, he batted .374, good for second-best on the team and in the league, while leading the squad in home runs (10), RBIs (43), and slugging percentage (.590). He was even better versus foes, going a perfect 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA while striking out 53 with just four walks.

He finished his MKE career with a 13-3 record with nine saves to go with a 3.07 ERA and 140 strikeouts in 140.1 innings of work. The two-time First-Team All-League performer left UWM first all-time in earned run average (3.07), winning percentage (.813) and strikeoutto-walk ratio (3.19-to-1), second in strikeouts per nine innings (9.0), and fourth in saves with nine. At the plate, Stanczyk posted a .336 career batting mark with 19 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs and 78 RBI in 381 career at-bats.

There are your nominees – time for you to make the call!