Pete Schourek: 1990's Mets Pitcher Who Once Threw A One Hitter (1991-1993)

Peter Alan Schourek was born on May 10th, 1969, in Austin Texas. The tall six-foot five left hander grew up in Virginia on the outskirts of the Nation’s Capital. 

In 1987 he was signed out of high school by the New York Mets in the second round of the amateur draft. The next year he missed the entire season due to an arm injury. 

By 1990 he won 16 games (16-5) through all three levels of the minor leagues, highlighted by going 11-4 with a 3.04 ERA at AA Jackson. There he was tutored under pitching coach Bob Apodaca.

Mets Career: In 1991 he impressed at Spring Training, making the Mets staff as a reliever. Schourek made his MLB debut in the second game of the '91 season at Shea Stadium pitching a scoreless 1.1 innings in a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

After finishing up a pair or Mets losses, he recorded a save on April 21st in win at Montreal. Three days later earned his first career win pitching three scoreless innings at Philadelphia. At the end of May he was roughed up by the Cardinals for five runs & seven hits.

He was sent back to AAA Tidewater , then returned to the Mets staff. From July 30th to August 11th, he made four appearances & took three losses, each time giving up HRs. 

In September he was put into the starting rotation and had a successful month going 3-1. 

One Hitter: On September 10th, he pitched the best game of his career, a one hit complete game shutout at Shea Stadium. It came against the Montreal Expos, as he struck out seven & walked just two in the 9-0 victory. The only hit he allowed was a 5th inning single to Ken Williams. After allowing his second walk in the 6th inning, he retired the final 11 batters in a row to secure the one hitter.

Trivia: It was the 18th one hitter in Mets history, the first in three years.

He ended the season at 5-4 with two saves, three holds & a 4.27 ERA in 35 appearances. Strangely, Schourek would never pitch another shut out nor have another save in his career.

1992: Pete joined the Mets in late May & lost his first three decisions. On July 25th, he allowed just one run in eight innings of work, but that day the Padres Craig Lefferts & Randy Meyers combined to shut out the Mets 2-0. 

He had another good one run, eight inning outing in August, this time against the Pirates, but he earned no decision in the 4-2 loss. He was 3-6 by the end of August, but a solid September where he won three of five decisions, had him finish the year at 6-8 with a 3.64 ERA.

1993: After starting out with a .500 record, Pete went on a personal six-game losing streak. He was 2-9 with a 5.34 ERA in mid-June & was placed in the bullpen.  On June 29th, he blew a save op. against the Marlins. He was given a start on July 5th, which was a disaster, as he gave up seven runs & 13 hits in 6.1 innings. That loss extended his losing streak to seven games as his ERA soared to 6.32.

The Shea fans had had it with him & let him have it. He heard the boos every time he came to the mound. He did win his last two starts in September, which included an eight inning one performance against the Cardinals.

He finished the year at 5-12 with a 5.96 ERA . He allowed 13 HRs with 45 walks & 72 strike outs in 128 innings pitched. The Mets placed him on waivers at the end of the year & he was picked up by the Cincinnati Reds.

Post Mets Career- Reds: In Cincinnati he rebounded to a 7-2 record, with a 4.09 ERA in the 1994 strike shortened season. 

In 1995 he had his best year, on a good Reds team. Pete went an amazing 18-7 (second most wins in the NL) with a 3.22 ERA (9th in the league) & 160 strike outs in 190 innings of work. He was runner up to the Braves Greg Maddox for the Cy Young voting. The Reds went all the way to the NLCS losing to Atlanta.

1995 Post Season- NLDS: In the NLDS he won Game #1, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers allowing just two runs over seven innings. 

1995 NLCS: Pete pitched in two games of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves & only allowed two runs over 14 innings. He allowed just one run, but took the loss in the final Game #4,series sweep.

In 1996, he was the Reds Opening Day starter. Schourek had just thrown his seventh pitch of the game, when umpire John McSherry suffered a fatal heart attack on the field. The game was postponed after the tragedy. Schourek came back to win the makeup game the next day. 

He went 4-5 on the year before an injury ended his season in July. He pitched another season with the Reds but was never the same pitcher as he was in 1995.

In 1998 he signed on with the Houston Astros and went 7-6 with a 4.50 ERA. 

Red Sox - Pirates Career: In August his contract was purchased by the Boston Red Sox. He finished the year going 1-3 with the Sox, seeing action in Game #4 of the ALDS where he pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball against the Cleveland Indians. The Indians went on to win the game & clinch the series.

The next year, Schourek pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates going 4-7 with a 5.34 in 30 games (17 starts). He then signed on back with the Red Sox pitching two seasons (2000 -2001) going a combined 4-15. In 2000 he made 21 starts but went 3-10 with a 5.11 ERA. 

In 2001 he was strictly a reliever going 1-5 in 33 appearances. He was released at the end of the season. He signed on with the Phillies but never made t back to the majors.

Career Stats: In his eleven-year career Schourek, was 66-77 with two saves posting a 4.59 ERA. He struck out 813 batters walking 420 in 1149 innings pitched in 288 appearances.

Fantasy Camp: Pete has been one of the Mets coaches at the Port St. Lucie Fantasy Camp.