1971 Profile: Stan Bahnsen

"The youngest of the Yankees' Big Three, 26-year-old Stan Bahnsen still has a lot to prove. As a 17-game winner with a 2.06 ERA in 1968, Stan was named the AL's Rookie of the Year. But the following season the 6-2, 188-pound right-hander won only nine games. In 1970 Stan made strides toward returning to his rookie form. He compiled a 14-11 record and a 3.32 earned run average.
Ralph Houk is confident that Stan is ready to be a consistent winner from now on. His overhand fastball is considered to be one of the best in the AL, and Carl Yastrzemski says the Iowa-born pitcher is the hardest thrower in the league."

-Brenda Zanger and Dick Kaplan, Major League Baseball 1971

"Stan's comeback last season was one of the major reasons for the Yankees' improvement. A hard thrower, he was handicapped by the lowering of the mound in 1969. His strikeouts have declined each season in the majors. His improved control and added knowledge are credited for his success last year.
The Rookie of the Year in 1968, Stan is a popular banquet speaker. His father is a brakeman for the Union Pacific Railroad. Born December 15, 1944 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Stan was scared by New York at first, but now lives across the river in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
'I love this city,' he says. Stan is married to a former airline stewardess."

-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1971 Edition

"After a Rookie of the Year season in 1968, Stan suffered the sophomore jinx in '69. But last year he made a strong comeback, winning 14 games, losing 11, pitching 233 innings and ending with a 3.32 ERA.
At the start of the 1970 season, Ralph Houk predicted that Bahnsen's comeback would be a key factor in the Yankees' surge to the first division. It was more than a coincidence that both forecasts proved accurate. Stan's improvement was a big factor; he filled the number three spot in the pitching rotation and finished among the league leaders in earned run average.
At season's end, Manager Ralph Houk summed up Bahnsen's rebound: 'Stan is ready to become a consistent winner.'
Stan lives in Fort Lee, New Jersey with his lovely ex-airline stewardess wife, Connie, and is still doing Army Reserve duty."

-The New York Yankees Official 1971 Yearbook

"Bahnsen bounced back from a 'sophomore jinx' year of 9-16 in 1969 to a 14-11 mark during the 1970 campaign and was the Yanks' third starter behind Stottlemyre and Peterson. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1968.
The hard-throwing right-hander learned to control his curve ball and also came up with a pretty good changeup late in the year, which he hopes to improve on this season. Stan had the 15th lowest ERA in the AL last year with a 3.32 mark, but had some tough luck gaining winning decisions as seven of his eleven losses came when he was the victim of a shutout or one-run decision.
He has hurled two no-hitters in Organized Baseball- July 17, 1966 with Toledo and the other a seven-inning perfect game on July 9, 1967 while with Syracuse. He attended the University of Nebraska for two years before signing with the Yankees.
Stan is one of the best bunters on the club as he has led the team in sacrifice hits the past two seasons."

-1971 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide