Dan Quisenberry was one of the greatest relief pitchers of the 1980s, and he helped revolutionize the role of the closer in baseball. Here is a rundown of facts you need to know about the legendary Kansas City Royals reliever.
(Check out our posts about Dan Quisenberry baseball cards.)
Dan Quisenberry was a professional baseball player and one of the great relief pitchers in the Major League history.
Dan Quisenberry was born on February 7, 1953.
Quisenberry was born in Santa Monica, California.
Quisenberry’s full name was Daniel Raymond Quisenberry.
Quisenberry played for the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco.
Quisenberry was a relief pitcher.
Dan Quisenberry was 6 feet 2 inches tall.
Quisenberry weighed 170 pounds during his playing career.
Quisenberry’s nickname was “Quiz.”
Quisenberry was a right-handed pitcher.
Quisenberry started his professional career in 1975.
Quisenberry played for the Waterloo Royals, among other teams, in the minor leagues.
Quisenberry made his Major League debut on July 8, 1979.
Quisenberry’s career ERA was 2.76.
Quisenberry had 244 saves in his career.
Quisenberry played in three All-Star games.
Quisenberry’s best season was arguably 1983, where he had 45 saves and a 1.94 ERA.
Yes, Quisenberry won the World Series with the Kansas City Royals in 1985.
Yes, Quisenberry won the Rolaids Relief Man Award five times in his career.
Quisenberry’s signature pitch was the sinker, delivered with his submariner motion.
His strikeout to walk ratio was 3.34.
Yes, Quisenberry led the league in saves five times.
Quisenberry played in the Major Leagues for 12 seasons.
Yes, Quisenberry pitched in six postseason series across four years (1980, 1981, 1984, 1985).
Yes, Quisenberry pitched 4.1 innings in the 1985 World Series while allowing a single earned run.
No, Quisenbery never started a game in the majors.
Quinsenberry never completed a game in the majors during his career.
Quisenberry’s win-loss record was 56-46.
Yes, Quisenberry was also known as “Q.”
Quisenberry pitched 1,043.1 innings in his career.
Yes, Quisenberry had a torn rotator cuff in 1990 that limited his effectiveness in his final season.
No, Quisenberry has not been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Dan Quisenberry retired from baseball in 1990.
Among other things, Quisenberry became a poet and published a book of poetry.
Quisenberry’s poetry book was titled “On Days Like This.”
No. Though Quisenberry was an occasional guest on Royals broadcasts, he was never a broadcaster after retiring from baseball.
Yes, in 1984, Quisenberry and his wife Janie establishe the Quisenberry Relief Fund to benefit the Harvesters Food Bank, a Kansas City organization established in 1979 to combat hunger.
Did Dan Quisenberry have any children?
No, neither of Quisenberry’s children became professional athletes.
Quisenberry attended Orange Coast College and the University of La Verne in California.
No. The Kansas City Royals signed Quisenberry as an amateur free agent in June of 1975.
Quisenberry’s peak salary was $2.515 millionin 1989.
Yes, one of Quisenberry’s famous quotes was “I found a delivery in my flaw.”
No, Quisenberry never pitched in an All-Star game at his home ballpark.
No, Quisenberry was never a player-coach.
Quisenberry became a poet and book author later in life. He also became known as a philanthropist through his Quisenberry Relief Fund.
Yes, Quisenberry wrote a book of poems titled On Days Like This.
Quisenberry passed away from brain cancer on September 30, 1998.
Dan Quisenberry died on September 30, 1998.
Quisenberry was 45 years old when he died in 1998
Dan Quisenberry is remembered as one of the greatest relief pitchers in baseball history, with a unique sidearm (even submarine) delivery and outstanding control of his sinker pitch.
(Statistics referenced from baseball-reference.com; biographical information culled from Wikipedia.)

(The following section contains affiliate links to eBay listings for the cards shown.)
1980 Topps Rookie - Dan Quisenberry Renie Martin Paschall (#667) Free Ship
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1985 DONRUSS DAN QUISENBERRY #95 NM
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Dan Quisenberry PSA DNA Signed 1984 Fleer Autograph
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1986 Topps #50 Dan Quisenberry Pitcher Kansas City Royals FREE shipping
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1981 Topps #493 Dan Quisenberry PSA 8 NM-MT Royals~(PL)
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1980 Topps - Future Stars #667 Bill Paschall, Renie Martin, Dan Quisenberry (RC)
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Dan Quisenberry #195 1988 Topps Baseball Card LP Royals
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1986 Donruss #541 Dan Quisenberry Kansas City Royals Baseball EX/NM
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1981 Donruss #222 Dan Quisenberry Royals
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Dan Quisenberry Topps 312 St. Louis Cardinals 1990 Baseball Card
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1985 DONRUSS DAN QUISENBERRY DIAMOND KINGS #6 NM
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BUY 1, GET 1 FREE -1983 TOPPS BASEBALL - YOU PICK #1 - #200 NMMT ** FREE SHIP **
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Dan Quisenberry 1990 Upper Deck Baseball Cards #659
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1981 DONRUSS BASEBALL YOU PICK #201 - #400 NMMT ****FREESHIPPING****
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Dan Quisenberry 1983 Fleer Kansas City Royals #122 NM-MT Vintage!
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dan quisenberry (kansas city royals - pitcher) 1982 topps card #264 nr/mint
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1983 Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars (1-60) / U Pick Cards - Build Set / Buy4+ Save40%
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dan quisenberry (kansas city royals - pitcher) 1982 fleer card #422 mint
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dan quisenberry (kansas city royals - pitcher) 1983 fleer card #122 mint
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1984 Fleer Dan Quisenberry (#354) (Population of 1) (All 9.5 sub grades) BGS9.5
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