American baseball player (1933–2023)
Baseball player
David Rotchford Stenhouse (September 12, 1933 – November 11, 2023) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Washington Senators from 1962 to 1964. Born in Westerly, Rhode Island, Stenhouse batted and threw right-handed and was listed as 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Early life
Stenhouse attended Westerly High School, where he was captain of the school's basketball team; he was named Rhode Island athlete of the year after the 1950–51 season.[1] Stenhouse played college baseball for the University of Rhode Island, and was an amateur free agent signing of the Chicago Cubs in 1955. He spent four years in the Cubs' farm system.
Career
Stenhouse played for the Lafayette Oilers in 1956, having a 16–4 win–loss record and a 1.92 earned run average (ERA) in 26 games. After the 1958 season, the Cincinnati Redlegs picked him up from the Cubs' farm system. He spent two years with the Seattle Rainiers and one with the Jersey City Jerseys, finishing with a 39–37 record over the course of those three seasons.[2]
On December 15, 1961, Stenhouse and catcher Bob Schmidt were traded to the Washington Senators for pitcher Johnny Klippstein and outfielder Marty Keough. He made the team's opening day roster, and through the first half of the season had a 6–3 record and was near the American League lead in ERA.
As a result, the rookie was selected to the 1962 All-Star team.[3] From 1959–1962, to increase revenues for the players' pension fund, MLB played two midsummer All-Star games. Stenhouse was the starting pitcher for the American League in 1962's second contest, played July 30 at Wrigley Field, Chicago. He allowed three hits, one base on balls, and one earned run in two innings pitched and left the game for pinch hitter Pete Runnels trailing, 1–0. Runnels hit a home run to tie the game, and the Junior Circuit went on to a 9–4 triumph.[4]
Stenhouse finished the year with an 11–12 record and a 3.65 ERA in 34 games. He followed that up with a 3–9 record and a 4.55 ERA in 16 games in 1963, and a 2–7 record and a 4.81 ERA in 1964.[5]
Stenhouse spent the rest of his professional career in the minor leagues, spending 1965 with the York White Roses and 1965 to 1967 with the Hawaii Islanders before retiring. In 76 major-league games, with 56 starts, he posted a career 16–28 won–lost record and a 4.14 ERA, with 12 complete games, three shutouts and one save. In 372 career innings pitched, he allowed 339 hits and 174 bases on balls, with 214 strikeouts.
After his professional career ended, Stenhouse coached the Brown University baseball team from 1981 to 1990.
His son, outfielder Mike Stenhouse, went on to play Major League Baseball as well.[5]
Death
Stenhouse died on November 11, 2023, at the age of 90.[6]
