{{short description|American baseball player (born 1955)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Keith Comstock |image=1987 San Francisco Giants Postcards Keith Comstock.jpg |caption=Comstock with the San Francisco Giants in 1987 |position=Pitcher |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1955|12|23}} |birth_place=San Francisco, California, U.S. |bats=Left |throws=Left |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 3 |debutyear=1984 |debutteam=Minnesota Twins |debut2league=NPB |debut2date=April 18 |debut2year=1985 |debut2team=Yomiuri Giants |finalleague=NPB |finaldate=August 16 |finalyear=1986 |finalteam=Yomiuri Giants |final2league = MLB |final2date=August 5 |final2year=1991 |final2team=Seattle Mariners |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=10–7 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=4.06 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=142 |stat2league=NPB |stat21label=Win–loss record |stat21value=8–10 |stat22label=Earned run average |stat22value=4.47 |stat23label=Strikeouts |stat23value=94 |teams= * Minnesota Twins ({{mlby|1984}}) * Yomiuri Giants ({{npby|1985}}–{{npby|1986}}) * San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|1987}}) * San Diego Padres ({{mlby|1987}}–{{mlby|1988}}) * Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|1989}}–{{mlby|1991}}) }}
'''Keith Martin Comstock''' (born December 23, 1955) is an American former baseball relief pitcher and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of six seasons with the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners. He also played for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and several Minor League Baseball teams before his tenure in MLB.
Comstock served as a minor league and organizational pitching coach after his career.
==Career== Comstock was drafted by the California Angels in 1976 and played for their minor league affiliate, the Idaho Falls Angels. He spent the next eight years in the minor leagues. According to a 1990 ''Sports Illustrated'' article, in 1983 the Oakland Athletics organization sold him to the Detroit Tigers for $100 and a bag of balls, which he had to deliver himself.<ref name=Franz>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1990/06/04/122089/waiting-to-pop-his-cork|title=Waiting to Pop His Cork|magazine=Sports Illustrated|first=Franz|last=Lidz|date=June 4, 1990|volume=72|issue=23|page=74|accessdate=August 21, 2019}}</ref> In 1984, he was called up to the majors by the Minnesota Twins. From 1985 to 1986, he played in Japan for Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants, and from 1987 to 1991 he played for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners as well as minor league teams.<ref name=Franz/><ref name=Sanchez>{{cite web |url= https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27425987/guy-ball-crotch-story-funniest-baseball-card-ever-made|title='You're the guy with the ball to the crotch': The inside story behind the funniest baseball card ever made |last= Sanchez|first= Robert |date= August 21, 2019 |website= ESPN |access-date= August 21, 2019}}</ref>
In 1989, while playing for the Las Vegas Stars Triple-A team, Comstock appeared on a memorable baseball card pretending to be hit in the crotch by a ball. ESPN called it "the funniest baseball card ever made."<ref name=Sanchez/> He was part of a seven-player trade going from the Giants to the Padres in July 1987 that sent Kevin Mitchell to the Giants.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=1987-07-05 |title=Padres Send Dravecky and Mitchell to Giants for Brown in 7-Player Deal |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-05-sp-2402-story.html |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> By the end of his career, Comstock had played in teams across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, and Puerto Rico.<ref name=Franz/>
Comstock subsequently went into coaching. He was a minor league pitching coach for several seasons and was the rehab pitching coordinator for the Texas Rangers in 2008.<ref name="Sanchez" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Keith Comstock - Intl, MLB, Minor League Baseball Statistics |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player.asp?ID=10090&view=jobs |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=The Baseball Cube}}</ref>
==Personal life== Comstock was born in San Francisco, California and attended San Carlos High School in San Carlos, California.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Keith Comstock Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/comstke01.shtml |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref>
Comstock is the great-grandson of the former United States Postal Inspector and politician Anthony Comstock. He lives in Arizona with his wife. He has three children and six grandchildren.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Comstock's younger brother pitched in the minors in 1987 and 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brad Comstock - Minor League Baseball Statistics |url=https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/133571/ |access-date=2026-02-23 |website=The Baseball Cube}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=c/comstke01 |fangraphs=1002491 |brm=comsto001kei }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comstock, Keith}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:American expatriate baseball players in Japan Category:Baseball players from San Francisco Category:Birmingham Barons players Category:Calgary Cannons players Category:Cañada Colts baseball players Category:El Paso Diablos players Category:Idaho Falls Angels players Category:Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Minnesota Twins players Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Category:Phoenix Firebirds players Category:Quad Cities Angels players Category:Salinas Angels players Category:San Diego Padres players Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:Tacoma Tigers players Category:Toledo Mud Hens players Category:Yomiuri Giants players Category:West Haven A's players Category:West Haven Whitecaps players Category:Baseball players from San Mateo County, California Category:People from San Carlos, California Category:20th-century American sportsmen