1984 Fleer #376 - Bill Laskey

• This Tuesday's "Obscure Giant" is pitcher Bill Laskey.
• Love that name on the glove. I did that way back when. Do players still do this today?

• Laskey was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1977 (8th round in January, 1st round in June), but he didn't sign either time. Bill was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round in 1978 and finally signed.
• Bill pitched well in the minors from 1978-1981, but he never made it to the majors. After the 1981 season Laskey was traded to the Giants (with pitcher Rich Gale) for outfielder Jerry Martin.
• Laskey started the 1982 season in AAA Phoenix. Bill started two games and was 1-0 while allowing two runs in 14 innings. Laskey was called up and made his Giants debut on April 23, 1982 (a three batter stint in a blowout game against the hated Dodgers). Bill made his first start on April 28 and it was a great one. Laskey shut out the Montreal Expos 7-0 while allowing only three hits. Bill went on to go 13-12 with a 3.14 ERA in 31 starts.
• Bill went 13-10 in 25 starts in 1983, but his ERA rose to 4.19. Laskey missed the last six weeks of the 1983 season with an injury. He and Atlee Hammaker made a good 1-2 punch of young starters for the Giants.
• Before the 1984 season Bill was rumored to be traded to the Cleveland Indians. The Giants supposedly had a lot of pitching and needed to replace Darrell Evans, who had left as a free agent. Nothing came of the trade rumors. 
• Laskey went 9-14 with a 4.33 ERA in 34 starts in 1984. 
• Bill started the 1985 season with the Giants (5-11, 3.55 ERA in 19 starts) but was traded (with OF Scot Thompson) to the Montreal Expos on August 1 for first baseman Dan Driessen. Laskey struggled with the Expos, going 0-5 with a 9.44 ERA.
• Laskey was traded back to the Giants before the 1986 season. Bill had ripped the San Francisco organization when he was first traded to the Expos, but he was glad to go back. Laskey disagreed with manager Jim Davenport and GM Tom Haller, but since different guys were running the Giants he was willing to go back.
• The Giants converted Bill to a reliever. Laskey was 1-1 with 1 save and had a 4.28 ERA in 20 appearances from April to June 1986. Bill was sent to AAA Phoenix in late June and became a starting pitcher again (5-5, 3.43 ERA in 13 starts).
• Laskey was released after the 1986 season and signed with the Tigers. Bill spent the entire 1987 in AAA Toledo (12-6, 3 saves, 3.86 ERA in 56 appearances). 
• Bill became a free agent after the 1987 season and signed with the Indians. He split the 1988 season between AAA Colorado Springs (1-1, 2 saves, 5.61 ERA in 12 games) and Cleveland (1-0, 1 save, 5.18 ERA in 17 appearances). Laskey became a free agent in late August after refusing another assignment to Colorado Springs.
• Laskey spent three more years (1989-1991) pitching for various AAA teams. He never got back to the majors after the 1988 season. Bill ended up with a 42-53 lifetime record with a 4.14 ERA in six seasons in the majors.
• According to his LinkedIn profile, Bill has run a sports talent agency and has been a high school softball coach since his retirement from baseball. Laskey is also an analyst for Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.