Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The baseball newsletter that appreciates filthy pick-off moves.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about a former ERA leader who also set an all-time record for arrests.

Sammy Stewart was once a rising star in the world of Major League Baseball.

He was called up by the Orioles in August of ‘78, and set a record when he struck out seven batters in a row during his debut.

At that time, the Orioles pitching staff was loaded.

They had Jim Palmer, Mike Flanagan, and Dennis Martinez in the starting rotation, so they put Sammy in the bullpen.

He became a super effective long reliever who threw more than 100 innings six different times in his career.

In ’81, he led the league in ERA, and he played a pivotal role in helping Baltimore win the ‘83 World Series.

In ’86, he made it another World Series with the Red Sox… but we all know how that one ended.

Stewart was pissed that he wasn’t used in the series, and requested free agency after that season.

The next year, he had the worst season of his career with the Indians and hung up his cleats for good.

In retirement, Sammy found it difficult to cope with the absence of baseball, and he fell into a dark place.

By ’88 — one year removed from playing in the big leagues — Sammy was smoking crack.

A couple of years later, he was charged with kidnapping and assaulting his wife; he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.

From there, he got arrested for pretty much everything you can think of:

• Drug Possession

• Weapon Possession

• Larceny

• DUI

• Writing Bad Checks

• Resisting Arrest

He was arrested 46 times for more than 60 offenses and was sent to prison six times.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg…

Sammy pawned his ‘83 World Series ring and sold his father’s gun collection for drug money.

It got so bad that Sammy even lied about his own daughter’s death so that he could get some sympathy and ask for a little money.

He went to prison for the last time in ‘06.

Sammy’s passion for the game never waned.

When he was released in '13, he got back into coaching, giving pitching lessons to local youth players.

He died in ‘18, but his story lives on as a cautionary tale to all athletes.

It’s hard to transition out of something you’ve been doing your whole life, and it can be super dangerous if you channel that energy into the wrong place.

Stay positive, stay focused, and use your passion to do something good in the world.

RIDICULOUS STATS

BASEBALL TRIVIA

STRANGE NAMES

If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.

Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.

If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.

Today's winner is:

Just rolls right off the tongue, don't it?

Unfortunately for BJ, his name is the coolest thing about him; the guy was terrible at baseball.

His negative 2.4 WAR is indicative of the fact that his team probably would've been better without him.

Robidoux now umpires high school baseball games in Western Massachusetts.

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