Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, California Angels, and Texas Rangers. He also played for the Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball in . Bannister was the first overall pick by Houston in the 1976 MLB draft. With the Mariners in 1982, he was an All-Star and led the American League in strikeouts.
Playing career
In 1973, as a high school senior, Bannister led his Kennedy High School team in Burien, Washington to a state championship, pitching 15 wins and 0 losses with a season ERA of 0.00. His performance led to him being selected in the third round (71st overall) of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft by the Oakland Athletics, but he did not sign.
Bannister then attended Arizona State University, where he was named college player of the year by The Sporting News as a junior. He was later inducted into the Sun Devils Hall of Fame and College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Houston Astros selected Bannister as the first overall pick of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the team, earning a $100,000 bonus.
Bannister spent four years in Seattle, with his last year there being his best. Bannister finished the season 12–13 with a 3.43 ERA in 35 starts and was selected for his only All-Star Game. He also led the American League with 209 strikeouts, a career best. In 1983 and 1985, he led the American League in strikeouts per nine innings with averages of 8.0 and 8.5, respectively. During his time in Chicago, he was a solid starting pitcher, averaging 13 wins per season. In his first season with the White Sox, Bannister went 16–10 with a career-low 3.35 ERA in 34 starts, helping the team earn a playoff spot. He also tossed a career-high 11 complete games in 1987, his last season with the White Sox. Bannister had another solid season in , going 12–13 with a 4.33 ERA in 31 starts.
On December 13, 1990, Bannister signed a minor league contract with the California Angels, where he was converted into a reliever. He recorded a 3.96 ERA in 16 relief appearances with the Angels before being released on August 29. After one last season with the Texas Rangers in , Bannister was released in August, ending his professional career. Bannister averaged 6.49 strikeouts per nine innings in his career but also shuffled between six different teams in 15 years in the majors. He gave up more than 30 home runs in four different seasons
Personal life
Bannister is married to Jana Cochran and resides near Phoenix, Arizona. They have three children, all of whom pitched competitively. Brian Bannister pitched for five seasons in the majors for the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals. Brett Bannister pitched for the USC Trojans and played one season in the minors after being drafted by the Mariners. Cory Bannister pitched at Stanford. Bannister was teammates with future brother-in-law Greg Cochran at Arizona State. Cochran later reached Triple-A.