Dan Quisenberry-Gap Rating 4/10

Nicknamed "Quiz", he was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Kansas City Royals. Notable for his submarine-style pitching delivery and his humorous quotes, he led the American League in saves a record five times (1980, 1982-85), and retired in 1990 with 244 saves, then the 6th-highest total in history behind Rollie Fingers (341), Rich "Goose" Gossage (307), Bruce Sutter (300), Jeff Reardon (287), and Lee Smith (265).

Quisenberry signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent in 1975, and was considered a marginal prospect. He did not make his major league debut until the middle of the 1979 season at the age of 26, appearing in 32 games and posting a 3-2 record with a 4.27 earned run average with 5 saves.

However, during spring training the following year, manager Jim Frey suggested that Quisenberry learn the submarine style delivery from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Kent Tekulve to further confuse hitters, since he could not overpower them. From 1980 to 1985, Quisenberry was the American League's dominant closer, winning the Rolaids Relief Man Award in all but the strike-shortened 1981 season, and finishing in the top five in voting for the Cy Young Award — again in all but 1981.

Quisenberry was hardly the prototypical closing pitcher. Unlike many of his peers, he didn't possess a hard fastball, and thus had to rely on guile and deception, which his submarine delivery augmented. His primary pitch was a sinking fastball, which, thrown properly, causes hitters to hit the ball on the ground rather than pop them up, a plus in smaller, hitter-friendly parks. Although he rarely struck batters out, he seldom walked them or threw wild pitches. His 45 saves in 1983 was briefly a record (tied in 1984 by Bruce Sutter and broken in 1986 by Dave Righetti), and Quisenberry was the first pitcher in major league history to save more than 40 games in a season twice in his career.

In 1983, the Royals signed Quisenberry to a lifetime contract, similar to the contract of his teammate, George Brett. He started losing effectiveness in 1986, possibly from the effects of routinely pitching 120 innings in relief, and lost his closer's job. By 1988, he was a seldom-used pitcher in the Royals' bullpen and was released at mid-season. His effectiveness against left-handed hitters fading, Quisenberry pitched for a year and a half in specialized roles for the St. Louis Cardinals. He signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1990 but only pitched five games. Faced with serious injury for the first time in his career, Quisenberry retired rather than go on the disabled list for the first time in his career.

After his baseball career ended, Quisenberry embarked on a second career as a poet, publishing three poems in 1995 and a book of poetry titled On Days Like This in 1999 (published posthumously).

In December 1997, Quisenberry was diagnosed with brain cancer. Sadly, it was the same disease that killed the popular Dick Howser, Quisenberry's manager from 1981 to 1986, as well as Philadelphia Phillies' Tug McGraw, his rival 'closer' in the 1980 World Series, and Ken Brett, the brother of Royals teammate George Brett. Dan Quisenberry died less than a year later at age 45 in Leawood, Kansas.