David Lee West is a retired professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1988-1998. He also played one season in Japan for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks

The are a Japanese baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. The team was bought on January 28, 2005 by the SoftBank Corporation.The team was formerly known as the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks. In 1988, Daiei bought the team from Osaka's Nankai Electric Railway Co., and its headquarters were...

 in 1997.

After graduating from Memphis' Craigmont High School

Craigmont High School

Craigmont High School is a public high school located in Memphis, Tennessee, in the Raleigh community. It is part of the Memphis City Schools district. It is home to the city's only International Studies Program. The school first opened in 1974 for only 7th through 10th grade students, but each...

, West was drafted by the New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 in the fourth round of the 1983 amateur draft

1983 Major League Baseball Draft

-First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1983 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Other notable players :*Kevin Ward, 6th round...

 and signed with the team on June 8, 1983. On July 31, 1989, West was traded by the New York Mets with a player to be named later, Rick Aguilera

Rick Aguilera

Richard Warren Aguilera is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 16-year baseball career, he pitched from 1985-2000 for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs....

, Tim Drummond

Tim Drummond (baseball)

Timothy Darnell Drummond is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during three seasons at the major league level for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. He was signed by the Pirates in the 12th round of the amateur draft...

, and Kevin Tapani

Kevin Tapani

Kevin Ray Tapani is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001.-Early life:...

 to the Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 for Frank Viola

Frank Viola

Frank John Viola, Jr. is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins , New York Mets , Boston Red Sox , Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays . A three-time All-Star, he was named World Series MVP with the Twins in 1987 and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1988...

. The Mets sent Jack Savage

Jack Savage

John Joseph "Jack" Savage is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1987 and the Minnesota Twins in 1990. He was born on April 22, 1964 in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended St. Xavier High School in Louisville, and he went on to attend the University of...

 (October 16, 1989) to the Twins to complete the trade. In the 1991 World Series

1991 World Series

The 1991 World Series pitted the Minnesota Twins of the American League against the Atlanta Braves of the National League. The series was played from Saturday, October 19 to Sunday, October 27....

, West was the only member of the Minnesota Twins' pitching staff to record an ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 of infinity. He also pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 in the 1993 World Series.

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