Mets While pitching at Santa Ana, Ownbey drew the attention of the
Pittsburgh Pirates, who drafted him in the fourth round of the
1979 Major League Baseball draft. However, he did not sign.
A year later, the Mets drafted him in the thirteenth round. In his first season of professional ball, Ownbey was 9–1 with a 1.80
earned run average for the
Lynchburg Mets and
Jackson Mets. Ownbey made his major league debut on August 17, 1982, at
Riverfront Stadium as the
starting pitcher against the
Cincinnati Reds. He gave up five runs in five
innings pitched and took the loss. Ownbey was a combined 2–5 over his two seasons with the Mets before being traded with
Neil Allen to the St. Louis Cardinals for
Keith Hernandez on June 15, 1983.
Cardinals Ownbey went 7–5 with a 3.63 ERA for the
Louisville Redbirds of the
American Association his first season in the Cardinals' organization. , his first season in a Cardinals uniform, Ownbey went 0–3 with a 4.74 ERA in four starts. After spending all of in the minors, Ownbey reemerged with the Cards in pitching mostly out of the
bullpen, and going 1–3 with a 3.80 ERA.
Royals After becoming a free agent at the end of the 1986 season, Ownbey signed with the
Kansas City Royals for . He pitched only four innings for their double-A
Southern League affiliate, the
Memphis Chicks before calling it a career.
Career totals ==References==