New Ulm HALL OF FAME Member

Tom Steinbach

Manager-Outfielder-Pitcher

Selected 2000

Lifetime Baseball Batting Stats Page

Lifetime Baseball Pitching Stats Page

            Tom Steinbach’s contributions to New Ulm amateur baseball are truly outstanding and awesome. He has played a major role in the success of the Kaiserhoff program in a time span that stretches through four decades. Many baseball veterans consider his personal play and individual accomplishments as New Ulm’s all-time leading performances.

            Steinbach was admitted to the Hall while he was playing account of a special rule (called the Stoner Rule), which waives the 10-year waiting period if a player is still active beyond his 15th season.

            Steinbach had knee surgery in 1982 and then played with team USA national team in Holland, South Korea and Taiwan. In 1983 he signed a pro contract with the Seattle Mariners. When he was released at the end of the season, he returned to Minnesota to play with his brothers Terry and Tim in Minneapolis.

            In the 18 summers he had played at the time of his induction, Steinbach hat batted below .300 only once.  After playing with Hamel from 1984-1988, he returned to the "K" and has not hit below .343 since 1989. 

            As recently as the year 2000, Steinbach set a Kaiserhoff record by batting .491 with 52 runs batted in.  His RBI total was two short of the record he established in 1999.  In his career, he has hit over 150 homeruns, a record not ever approached by any other New Ulm player.

            Tom also managed the K for eight years.

            Three times he personally has been named to the all-state tournament team. The first time was 1980 when the team won the state championship. Twelve years later, in 1992, he again was named to the team, and he received that honor again for the third time in 1999.  

            Steinbach has had many outstanding games both as a pitcher and hitter. He began his career with the Kaiserhoff at age 16.  In his second pitching appearance, he threw a two-hitter and struck out 14 batters against Brownton. That was 1977. At the time of induction he had a 54-16 record as a pitcher with a career ERA of 2.89

            In the state tournament championship of 1980, he batted in five runs in one game and then came back four days later to homer in the 11th inning to beat Cold Spring in the semi-finals.

             When Tom finally retired from regular baseball in 200?, he continued playing with the Over 35 League Hanska Bullheads, a team which has won its own state championship. 

             All of Steinbach's statistics will require updating when his career has been completed.