Eric Show

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Eric Vaughn Show (IPA: [ʃaʊ], rhymes with "Cow") (May 19, 1956 – March 16, 1994) was a Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics. A native of Riverside, California, Show was the ace of the 1984 Padres team that won the National League pennant, and is the winningest pitcher in San Diego Padres history, but had his career and life cut short by drug abuse.

Show made his debut in late September of 1981, and the following year went 10-6 while splitting time between the starting rotation and bullpen. In 1983 he won 15 games and established himself as the ace of the Padres' staff. In 1984 he followed with a 15-6 record. However, he struggled in the postseason, going a combined 0-2 with a 12.38 earned run average in three games.

Show made his last appearance on the National League leaderboard in 1988, a season in which he went 16-11 with 13 complete games and pitched 234 2/3 innings. His effectiveness diminished significantly after that season, and by 1990, he had lost his regular spot in San Diego's rotation. He signed with Oakland as a free agent the following year but did not regain his old form and was cut the following season.

An outspoken political conservative, a Christian, and a member of the John Birch Society, Show was also an accomplished jazz musician. Out of baseball at age 34, Show died at age 37 in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Dulzura, California, of a heart attack after taking a speedball.

Controversial Baseball Moments

On September 11, 1985, Show gave up Pete Rose's record-breaking 4,192nd hit of his career. However, Show gained some controversy and criticism after the game. Shortly after Rose's historic hit, while team handshakes, fireworks, and a standing ovation for Rose was going on, Show sat down on the pitcher's mound while the celebrations were going on.

On July 7, 1987, Show hit future MVP Andre Dawson in the left cheekbone with a fastball during a game. Dawson had homered in 3 of his last 5 plate appearances at that point, leading many to believe Show had done it on purpose.

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