{{short description|American baseball player (born 1959)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Karl Best |position=Pitcher |image=1986 Mother's Cookies - Karl Best.webp |caption=Best with the Seattle Mariners {{circa}} 1986 |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1959|3|6}} |birth_place=Aberdeen, Washington, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=August 19 |debutyear=1983 |debutteam=Seattle Mariners |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=June 20 |finalyear=1988 |finalteam=Minnesota Twins |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=5–6 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=4.04 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=73 |teams= * Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|1983}}–{{mlby|1986}}) * Minnesota Twins ({{mlby|1988}}) }} '''Karl Jon Best''' (born March 6, 1959) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played for the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB).
==Career== Best was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and graduated from Kent-Meridian High School in Kent, Washington, in 1977. His senior season, he was an All-North Puget Sound League baseball player.<ref name=":0" /> He was high school teammates with his younger brother, Jeb, and cousin, Richard. He committed to play college baseball for the Washington State Cougars before being drafted.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=2007-01-23 |title=Flashback {{!}} Best boys were K-M foes’ worst nightmare |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/flashback-best-boys-were-k-m-foes-worst-nightmare/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610165928/https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/flashback-best-boys-were-k-m-foes-worst-nightmare/ |archive-date=2024-06-10 |access-date=2026-03-29 |work=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
The Mariners selected Best in the 12th round of the 1977 MLB draft. He was a starting pitcher to begin his professional career but became a reliever in 1983.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/seattle-mariners-1985-media-guide-c/page/19/ |title=Seattle Mariners 1985 Media Guide |date=1985 |pages=19}}</ref> He made his MLB debut on August 19, 1983, with the Mariners. Best's longest MLB outing was a scoreless {{Fraction|4|2|3}} innings performance to end a blowout 14–1 loss to the Twins on August 14, 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Performances for Karl Best |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B/PX_bestk001.htm |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=Retrosheet}}</ref> He dealt with injuries in 1987<ref name=":1" /> and was traded to the Detroit Tigers for Bryan Kelly that June while in the minors, then was sent to the Twins for Don Schulze just before the 1988 season began. Two months after appearing in what would be his final major league game, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in August 1988 for Alan Cockrell but never pitched an inning for them in the majors, appearing in Triple-A in the final season of his professional career.<ref>{{cite web|title=Karl Best Stats|url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=bestka01|website=Baseball Almanac|accessdate=1 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Karl Best Minor Leagues Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=best--001kar |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>
== Personal life == Best is married and has two children. After his playing career, he owned a construction company.
Best's younger brother, Jeb played college baseball for the Washington Huskies and was named to the team's All-Century team. He was also drafted by the Mariners.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jeb Best - College Baseball Statistics |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/72022/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=The Baseball Cube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-05-11 |title=Bellevue's Jeb Best named Husky Legend |url=https://www.bellevuereporter.com/2009/05/11/bellevues-jeb-best-named-husky-legend/ |access-date=2026-03-29 |website=Bellevue Reporter |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=b/bestka01|fangraphs=1000925|brm=best--001kar}}, or [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B/Pbestk001.htm Retrosheet]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Karl}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Alexandria Mariners players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:Baseball players from Washington (state) Category:Bellingham Mariners players Category:Calgary Cannons players Category:Lynn Sailors players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Minnesota Twins players Category:Phoenix Firebirds players Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Salt Lake City Gulls players Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:Stockton Mariners players Category:Tiburones de La Guaira players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Toledo Mud Hens players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Sportspeople from Aberdeen, Washington
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