July 14: Guehne Recalls His Toughest Out

When asked about his toughest out, Dan Guehne didn’t hesitate.

“Darryl Strawberry,” Guehne said with a shudder. “Wow! I got him out, but I was really nervous. It was just tough being on the mound facing him.”

Last Friday at Canwest Park, the honoured guest for the fifth installment of the Goldeyes “Flashback Fridays” program was former pitcher Dan Guehne.

Guehne was with the Goldeyes from 1996 to 2000 and put up some pretty fair numbers. In five seasons, he made 153 appearances, more than 30 per season on average. He finished 11-9 with 21 saves and struck out 131 batters in 156 innings.

However, despite his overall success, he was wary of facing Strawberry, the former New York Mets superstar who ended up with the Northern League’s St. Paul Saints in 1996.

“He was trying to make a comeback and signed with St. Paul,” Guehne said. “So the first time we went into St. Paul that year, I remember thinking, ‘Wow! I’m going to face Darryl Strawberry.’ I mean, for a St. Louis guy like myself, we just hated the Mets and Strawberry, so this was an amazing thing, getting to face the guy.

“But it turned out OK. I think I got him out pretty routinely that day, as I recall. Still, it was quite an experience for me. He was the toughest guy I faced, just because of who he was.”