Steve Trachsel "The Human Rain Delay": 2006 N.L. Eastern Champion Mets Pitcher (2001 - 2006)

Steven Christopher Trachsel was born on Halloween 1970, in Oxnard California. His parents were Betty & Roy Trachsel, a banker. Steve was the oldest of three children, which included a brother & sister.

He first attended Fullerton College then transferred to Long Beach State University, getting to the College World Series there. In his college days he had issues learning to deal with his emotions while on the mound.

The six foot three, right hander was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 1991 draft. 

In 1992 he pitched at AA Charlotte getting promoted to AAA Iowa where he went 13-6 in 1993. As he was getting ready to pitch Game seven of the championship he was called up to the big leagues.

MLB Career: He got a September call up four days after his AAA team won the Championship. He got the September 19th start against the Marlins, where he gave up just two runs in seven innings of solid work but took a 2-1 loss to Chris Hammond.

In three appearances he went 0-2 the rest of the way. He was on the Cubs staff for good in 1994 going 9-7 with a 3.21 ERA. Trachsel would spend parts of eight seasons with the Cubs, winning in double figures twice & having three winning seasons. 

In 1996 Trachsel went 13-9 with a 3.03 ERA, as the second-best pitcher on the fourth place Cubs staff. In 1997 he fell to 8-12 record as the Cubs finished last. After having given up the second most HRs in the league the previous two seasons, he served up 32 league leading HRs in 1997, while posting a 4.51 ERA.

In 1998 the Cubs had a better team & won a wild card spot. It was also the year of his teammate Sammy Sosa chasing Mark McGwire for the single season HR mark.

Trivia: On September 8th of that season at Busch Stadium, he went into the history books, as he served up Mark McGwire’s 62nd HR, which passed him for the single season all time HR mark. When Sammy Sosa ran in to congratulate McGwire it upset Trachsel as well as many others on the Cubs team.

Quotes- Steve Trachsel: "It looked great on TV & that's obviously what everyone keeps seeing. But to have an opposing player during the game congratulate another opposing player, from a players standpoint, I didn't appreciate that."

But also, in 1997 Steve had one of his best seasons with the Cubs, going 15-8 with career highs in strike outs (149) walks (84) & innings (208) as he posted a 4.46 ERA making his only All-Star team. 

That year he also hit his second career HR & drove in a career high eight runs while batting .266. In his Cubs career he drove in 23 runs.

Tie Breaker Win: The Cubs & Giants had tied for a wild card spot & Trachsel pitched the playoff tie breaker, shutting out the Giants for 6.1 innings earning the win. He did not pitch in the NLDS loss to the Braves.

Most Losses in NL: In 1999 he led the league in losses, going 8-18 with a 5.56 ERA, allowing another 32 HRs and was granted free agency after the season. 

In January of 2000 he signed with the Tampa Devil Rays but was soon traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 31st, going a combined 8-15 (second most losses in the AL). That off season he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets for the 2001 season.

The Human Rain Delay: Whenever Trachsel pitched, you were in for a long game, he was nicknamed “the Human Rain Delay” as he was probably one of the slowest workers on the mound in Mets history. 

Mets Career: Trachsel was never the best on his staff & never had overpowering stuff, but he was a solid pitcher. He also walked a lot of people and didn’t strike out too many, which led to large pitch counts.

On April 7th, he made his Mets debut making a start in Montreal as the team’s fifth starter. It was a nightmare outing; he was shelled for ten runs on nine hits, while serving up three HRs in the 10-0 loss. 

He would lose his first four starts & have an ERA of 10.42 before collecting his first victory. It was a bad start for his Mets career at a time where the team were the defending NL Champs.

On April 30th he collected his first win, beating the Astros at Shea Stadium, allowing just a run in six innings.  But it didn't last long, it would be two months & eight starts before he won another game. By then he was 1-9 with a 6.75 ERA at the end of June.

Muti-Four HR Inning: On May 17th he served up four HRs in the 3rd inning of a 15-3 loss to the Padres at Shea Stadium. It was the most HRs allowed in an inning in team history & just the 19th time in MLB history a pitcher allowed four HRs in an inning.

The next day he was sent down to AAA Norfolk & returned on June 8th. Upon his return Trachsel then went out to win eight of his next ten games. On July 17th he shut out the Blue Jays for eight innings at Shea to earn a win. In that game he collected his 1000th career strike out, fanning Alex Gonzolez in the 7th inning. 

Career High 11 Strike Outs: On August 25th at Shea, he struck out a career high 11 batters & held San Francisco to a run over seven innings leaving the game ahead 2-1. The Giants tied it up before as Rey Ordonez provided the 11th walk off single in the 3-2 win. The 11 strike outs were the most by a Mets pitcher that season, with Kevin Appier also reaching the mark in the last game of the season.

Post 911: On September 22nd, Trachsel made the start the night after the return of baseball to New York City after the 911 attacks, in the game where Mike Piazza hit his famous 8th inning game winning HR. Steve beat Greg Maddox & seven Braves pitchers in a 7-3 victory. It was his tenth victory of the year & the first of four straight double digit win seasons.

Two Hit Shut Out: On October 3rd, in his last start of the year, he threw a two-hit complete game shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates striking out seven batters& walking two in front of the home crowd. 

He finished the 2001 season at 11-13 with a 4.46 ERA. He struck out 144 walked 47 & gave up 27 HRs in 173.2 innings in 30 starts. The Mets fell to a third-place finish at 82-80.

2002: Things got bad for the Mets as they fell to fifth place in Bobby Valentines last year. The team made some bad off-season signings in Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar & Pedro Astacio. 

He began the year at 0-2 before earning a win over the Expos at Shea for his first victory of the season. On May1st in a win over the Diamondbacks in Arizona he walked a career high seven batters. He allowed just one run in 6.2 innings of work for his second win.

On June 20th in a 3-2 win over the Twins at Shea, he took a no hitter into the 7th inning, as he retired the first 19 batters before Christian Guzman singled. He left the game in the 9th inning with one outs & two on. Armando Benitez gave up a two-run double but the Mets won the game 3-2.

On June 25th, in a 7-4 win over the Braves at Shea, Trachsel retired the first 15 Braves in a row before Javy Lopez homered for the first hit. He was the first starting pitcher to retire 15 or more batters' inconsecutive starts since Doyle Alexander in 1976. 

In the 2nd inning he collected an RBI triple off Albie Lopez for the Mets third run. He left the game with a 7-0 lead & earned the win to get to 6-6.

At the end of June, he was placed on the DL missing almost an entire moth of action before a late July return. 

Shut Out: On August 8th in Milwaukee, he pitched a five hit complete game shutout, walking just one to beat the Brewers 9-0. It was his first shutout since October 1st, 2001 & fifth of his career.

Trachsel, he went 11-11 lowering his ERA to 3.37 which was the best on the staff of the starters.

2003: On April 3rd, he started the third game of the season taking a loss to the Cubs at Shea. In the 3rd inning, he picked off Corey Patterson & Mark Bellhorn becoming the first Mets pitcher to do that since Turk Wendell in 2000.

The Mets added Tom Glavine to the pitching staff that year, but they had poor offense & finished fifth under manager Art Howe.

Trachsel started out the year at 0-2, But from May 12th to May 29th he won four straight games, for the first time in his career. All the wins came on the road as he got to 4-2.

In his next two starts he gave up six runs or more taking losses to the Brewers at home & Rangers in Texas. In his next five starts Trachsel he would go 4-1 with a 1.50 ERA beating the Angels & Reds on the road, the Marlins & Expos at home. From June 15th to the end of the season he would go 12-6 with a 3.09 ERA. 

One Hitter: On June 15th in an interleague game at Anaheim against the Angels, Trachsel flirted with a no hitter into the 6th inning, until David Eckstein singled. It was the only hit he allowed on the day, pitching a one hit shutout victory, while striking out just one & walking four. It was the 24th one hitter in Mets history.

100th Career Victory: On August 7th, Trachsel reach the 100th win mark in his career. He also reached the double figure mark in wins for the third straight season as he beat the Astros in Houston for his 10th victory.  

He then won four straight games for the second time on the season, including pitching his second one hitter of the season. In that time he posted a 1.55 ERA in 29 innings. From August 17th to August 29th, he just passed his career best 17.1 scoreless innings streak.

NL Player of the Week & Second One Hitter: On August 18th in a game against the Colorado Rockies at Shea Stadium, he once again flirted with a no hitter into the 6th inning. This time it was Chin-hui Tsao who doubled for the only hit of the game. Steve struck out three & walked no one in the 8-0 Mets win. 

The one hitter was the 26th one hitter in Mets history, marking the first time a Mets pitcher threw two one hitters in the same season. He was now tied for second with Gary Gentry, Jon Matlack & David Cone with two complete game one hitters. Tom Seaver leads all Mets pitchers with five one hitters. 

In the game he also collected two hits & would have back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time in his career. In his last 11 games of the season, he batted .375 going 9-24 with two RBIs. That week Trachsel earned his first Player of the Week honors.

He closed out the final two months of the year 7-3 finishing as the club's winningest pitcher. 

For the year he was 16-10 (5th most wins in the NL) collecting a career high 16 victories topping his 15 wins with the 1998 Cubs. He posted a 3.78 ERA, striking out 111 batters walking 65 pitching in 204 innings in 33 starts, throwing the two complete game shutouts.

On the year he had 11 sacrifice buns (7th most in the NL).

 Bobble Head Day: The next year the Mets held a bobble head day in his honor. Al Leiter said he was tired of always hearing Trachsel complain that he wasn't in any highlight films of the team or any promotions. So he said he called the VP of sales & said give the guy something. Even Steve commented that the head should move up & down slowly in reference to his pitching style.

Temper-Temper: Steve was known to be emotional & negative at times. It was hard for him to keep his temper & feelings under control, something the Mets had him work on with a therapist.

2004: In another dismal Mets season, where they finished fourth under Art Howe going 71-91.

On April 7th, in his first start of the year he had his worst start of the year. He gave up eight runs on eight hits to the Braves in an 18-10 loss in Atlanta. Trachsel would allow eight or more hits in 11 of his 33 starts.

In his next start he pitched his first Mets home opener & beat the Braves for his first win of the season.

In the month of April, he earned two victories both coming in games where he gave up just one run pitching six or more innings. 

Pitcher of the Month Award: In May he made six starts & allowed one run or less four times but only earned wins in two of those games. From May 13th to May 30th, he pitched 14.2 scoreless innings. In the month he was 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA earning him a Pitcher of the Month Award.

Thru his first eleven starts, he allowed one run of less six times & started out at 5-3 with a 2.83 ERA. As a hitter, Trachsel collected hits in six of his first ten games.

After two losses he beat Cleveland & Detroit at Shea Stadium, giving up just three earned runs in 12.2 innings fanning nine. In the June 27th subway series, he gave up a season high three HRs & six earned runs in the 8-1 loss.

On July 2nd, he beat Mike Mussina in the subway series game at Shea, allowing just two runs in seven innings of work. In that game he passed the 2000 innings pitch mark in his career. Kaz Matsui led the offense with a HR & five RBIs on the night. 

On July 7th he pitched another fine game, allowing one run in seven innings to beat the Phillies 10-1 in Philadelphia for his ninth victory. Before the All Star break he posted a 1.59 ERA at Shea Stadium.

It took another month for Trachsel to earn a win. On August 10th, he beat the Astros at She to earn his tenth win, to reach double figures in victories with the Mets in his first four seasons.

But from there he went on a personal five game losing streak, giving up four or more runs each time. On September16th he beat the Braves to end the losing streak & he would win his last two decisions of the season. On September 22nd, he drove in a run to help himself in beating John Patterson & the Expos 3-2 at Stade Olympique. He then closed out the year with a 2-1 victory over Paul Byrd & the Braves.

For the season Trachsel fell off to 12- 13 record. But his 12 wins were second on the staff to Tom Glavine & he tied Glavine for most starts.

He pitched another 200 plus innings striking out 117 batters & walked 83 posting a 4.00 ERA. He also gave up three earned runs or less inn 23 of his  in 33 starts.  That year he batted .188 with eleven hits & five RBIs.

2005: Trachsel suffered back problems which led to needing surgery for a herniated disk that March. He missed most of the season, returning in late August.

That season the Mets Pedro Martinez to the staff, Carlos Beltran to the offense & Willie Randolph took over as a manger. The team improved to 83-79, twelve more wins than the previous year.

The Mets also added Kris Benson & Victor Zambrano but neither made much of a difference. 

Onn August 26th, he made his first start of the year. That night in San Francisco he pitched eight shutout innings, striking out six batters as the Mets took a 1-0 win over Kevin Correia.

He made six starts in September but lost each one to go 1-4 on the year. On September 23rd, he struck out a season high seven batters in a no decision Mets win over the Nationals. It was the most Ks he had in a game since 2003. 

2006 NL Eastern Champion Season: As Trachsel returned to the rotation he found himself on a powerful first-place team that put up a lot of runs. The off season the additions of Carlos Delgado, Paul LoDuca & Jose Valentin added to the offense. Closer Billy Wagner tightened up much needed help in the bullpen.

Steve earned his first win in fourth game of the season, a solid outing allowing just a run to the Marlins in six innings of work striking out a season high six. He would strike out six in a game three times that year.

After a loss he pitched six innings in San Francisco allowing just a run on three hits in a 4-1 win over the Giants. On April 30th in Atlanta the Braves roughed him up for six earned runs as he exited in the fourth inning in the 8-5 loss.

Steve would give up six runs, on five different occasions on the season, but suffered a losing decision twice. 

At the end of May he found himself at 2-4 with a 5.10 ERA. But the Mets team went on a roll & so did Trachsel, from June 9th to July 14th he won a career high seven straight starts. In that time, he posted a 4.43 ERA but the Mets put up 52 runs in those seven games.

11 Straight Winning Decisions: From June 9th to July 19th, Steve won a career best 11straight
decisions, topping his nine straight in 1998.

60th Career Mets Win: On July 14th, Steve won his seventh straight game, beating the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The win placed him at tenth on the Mets all time win list with 60.

After a loss at home to Chicago, he won five more straight decisions to the end of August. 

From June 9th to August 29th, he won twelve of thirteen decisions although he posted a 5.21 ERA& gave up 17 HRs. Trachsel allowed two runs or less in just five of those 12 wins as the Mets put up 101 runs in those 15 games.

Mets Career HR: On June 20th he hit his third career HR, his only one as a Met, as he connected off the Reds Elizardo Ramirez in a 9-2 Mets win. His last HR was on August 28th, 1998.

On July 24th he gave up a season high eight runs to his former Cubs team, in an 8-7 loss. In the game he gave up a season high three HRs, solo shots to Aramis Ramirez, Michael Barrett & Jaque Jones.

On August 2nd, he beat the Marlins in Florida to earn his tenth win of the season, giving him double figures in wins in five of six seasons with New York. On August 13th he collected his 1500th career strike out but got no decision in the 3-1 win at Washington DC. On August 23rd, he finally beat the Cardinals as it was the last NL team that he he hadn't beaten since joining the Mets in 2001.

In September he lost three of four games, earning his only win shutting out the Marlins for 6.1 innings on September 18th. In his final 22 starts the Mets were 16-6 on the year.

On the season he won 15 games again (7th most in the NL) which tied him for most on the Mets staff with Tom Glavine. His .667 winning 5 was sixth best in the NL. 

Trachsel was 15-8 with 79 strike outs & 78 walks in 164.2 innings pitched. He served up 23 HRs in 30 starts & posted a 4.47 ERA. 

The Mets won the Eastern Division title & went to the post season in 2006 and that’s where his troubles began & ended his Mets career. 

The Mets entered the post season without Pedro Martinez, their top pitcher & also Orlando
Hernandez was out as well.

2006 Post Season- NLDS: Trachsel got the NLDS start in Game #3 in Los Angeles with the Mets up two games to none to the Dodgers& chance to clinch the series. The Mets jumped out to a 4-0 lead off Greg Maddux, Trachsel gave up two runs on three hits and was removed by the 4th inning. 

2006 NLCS: In the NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals he got shelled in Game #3, giving up five runs in the 1st inning at Busch Stadium. 

Ten of the twelve batters he faced reached base, when Willie Randolph came to the mound to check on him, he asked to be removed from the game due to a contusion on his thigh.

From that point on he lost the confidence of his manager, his team, and upper management. They felt he had given up & didn’t seem to care about the big situation the team was in. So, the 15-game winner was pushed to the background and never seen again in a Mets uniform. 

In Game #7 the Mets went with Oliver Perez who had only pitched in seven games for them going 1-3 that season as a late addition, but here he put in a good effort allowing a run in six innings. The Mets lost the game & the series.

Mets Career Stats: In his six-year Mets career Trachsel made 160 appearances. He went 66-59 (11th most Mets wins & 12th most losses) with a 4.09 ERA. He struck out 580 batters & walked 354 (10th most in Mets history) allowing 124 HRs in 956.1 innings of work (15th most in Mets history).

Mets Leader Board: He is tenth on the all-time Mets list with 66 victories & eleventh with 59 loses. He is 15th in Mets history with 580 strike outs & 12th in starts with 160.

Post Mets Career: The next season he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles going 6-8 & then was traded to the Chicago Cubs. 

After the season he resigned with the Orioles for 2008 which was his last season, going 2-5 in his final ten games.

Career Stats: Overall, in his 16-year career he was 143-159 & a 4.39 ERA. He had 1591 strike outs & 943 walks in 2501 innings pitched. He allowed 348 HRs pitching 20 complete games with seven shut outs in 420 appearances (417 starts).

At bat he hit .163 with 106 hits 3 HRs 17 doubles 40 RBIs & 87 sacrifice hits.

Family: Steve has been married twice & has three children.

Hobbies: During his time in New York, he became a much more involved wine enthusiast. Manager Bobby Valentine introduced him to folks at Kobrand Wine during a golf outing & they sent him two cases of Italian & French wine. 

He now lives in Southern California & has a custom-built wine cellar able to store 2000 bottles.

Retirement: In 2011 he returned to New York attending the ten-year anniversary of the 911 attack ceremonies at Citi Field. 

Old Timers Day 2022: In 2022 he returned to the Mets & participated in the Old Times Day events. He even pitched in the game.