Lancaster County has a small but proud MLB fraternity that includes four World Series winners and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

YORK, Pa. — Note: The video is from August 10.

Nick Kurtz, who earned American League Rookie of the Year honors on Tuesday, is the latest player from Lancaster County to make an impact in Major League Baseball.

Lancaster County has a small but proud history of producing players who made it to the big leagues, and “The Big Amish,” as he was lovingly nicknamed, is the most-recent member of the fraternity.

Here are some of Lancaster’s other notable baseball stars.


Bruce Sutter

The only member of the Baseball Hall of Fame to hail from Lancaster County, Sutter spent 12 seasons in the big leagues as a member of the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Atlanta Braves, appearing in 661 games as a relief pitcher. His tenure in the Majors lasted from 1976 to 1988.

Known for his devastating split-finger fastball, Sutter led the National League in saves five times and finished with 300 for his career.

The Donegal High School grad won a Cy Young Award in 1979, appeared in six All-Star games, and helped the Cardinals capture the 1982 World Series title by recording two saves — including the final six outs of the deciding game.

Sutter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.


Tom Herr

A Hempfield High School graduate, Tom Herr played in the Majors for 13 seasons, including a stellar 10-year run with the St. Louis Cardinals (where he was a teammate of Sutter’s from 1981-84). 

A second baseman, Herr was a member of three World Series teams, winning a title with the Cardinals in 1982.

In 1985, Herr batted .302 with 110 RBIs and was voted onto the National League All-Star team for the only time in his career. He finished fifth in the NL’s MVP race that year.

Herr also had stints with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants later in his career. He posted a career batting average of .271, with 28 home runs, 574 RBIs, 676 runs scored, and 188 stolen bases.

In 2003, Herr became the inaugural manager of the Lancaster Barnstormers, leading them to an Atlantic League title in 2006. 

His son, Aaron, also played professionally in the Atlanta Braves farm system before returning home to play for his father with the Barnstormers in 2009.


Gene Garber

An Elizabethtown High School grad, Garber spent 19 years in Major League Baseball as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves from 1969-1988.

Over that span, Garber pitched in 931 games, all but nine as a reliever. 

A right-hander with a side-arm delivery, Garber recorded 218 saves. In 10 seasons with the Braves, he earned 141 saves and retired with Atlanta’s career record in that category. His mark has since been passed by John Smoltz (154) and Craig Kimbrel (186).


Don Wert

A Solanco High School grad, Wert spent eight seasons in the Majors from 1963 to 1971, all but one year as a member of the Detroit Tigers, with whom he won a World Series title in 1968.

Wert hit a game-winning walk-off single against the New York Yankees in the 1968 American League Championship Series to clinch a pennant for the Tigers. 

He later had an RBI single in the ninth inning of Detroit’s World Series-clinching 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Tigers won the series in seven games.

A smooth-fielding third baseman, Wert was an All-Star during the 1968 season, and smacked a double off Tom Seaver during the All-Star Game that year.

Wert spent his final season in the Majors with the then-Washington Senators in 1971. 

He died last year at the age of 86.


Cam Gallagher

A Manheim Township grad, Gallagher played in the Majors from 2017 to 2023, spending six seasons as a member of the Kansas City Royals. 

Eight days after making his Major League debut in Kansas City, Gallagher blasted his first big-league home run with a grand slam in the sixth inning of a 6-2 win over the Oakland A’s. 

Gallagher posted a .211 career batting average with seven homes, 47 runs scored, and 46 RBIs.

He spent the 2023 season with the Cleveland Indians, appearing in 56 games.


Travis Janikowski

A graduate of Lancaster Catholic High School, where he also started on the Crusaders’ 2009 state championship football team, Janikowski is currently a free agent after spending the last 10 seasons playing with eight different Major League teams, including two stops with the New York Mets and a brief stint with the Phillies. 

He won a World Series championship with the Texas Rangers in 2023, going 2-for-7 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs in Games 4 and 5.

Janikowski is one of four Lancaster County players to win a World Series, joining Sutter, Herr, and Wert.

A left-handed outfielder, Janikowski made his MLB debut in 2015 as a member of the San Diego Padres, spending his first five seasons with them. He hit .241 with eight homers and 42 RBIs in 334 games with San Diego.

In his one season with the Phillies in 2021, Janikowski batted .252 with a home run and 10 RBIs in 76 games.

Janikowski was released by the Mets at the end of the 2025 season after appearing in four games with the big-league squad.


Jeff Bianchi

A Lampeter-Strasburg High School grad, Bianchi was a utility infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox from 2012 to 2015. 

His best season came in 2013, when he batted .237 with a home run and 25 RBIs in 100 games with the Brewers.

Bianchi’s career stats: a .215 batting average, 4 home runs, 34 runs scored, 40 RBIs, 81 total hits (15 for extra bases).


Chris Heisey

The Donegal High School grad played in the Majors from 2010 to 2017 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals. 

An outfielder and pinch hitter, Heisey hit .247 with 50 home runs and 147 RBIs in five seasons with the Reds. His best season came in 2011, when he batted .254 with 18 homers and 50 RBIs for Cincinnati.

Heisey spent his final two seasons with the Nationals, batting .197 with 10 homers and 22 RBIs in 121 games.


John Parrish

A McCaskey High School grad, Parrish pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from 2000 to 2007 before finishing his career with stints in Seattle, Toronto, and Kansas City. 

The left-hander made a memorable debut for the O’s on July 24, 2000, starting a game in Camden Yards against the New York Yankees, who were in the midst of their dynasty. 

The 22-year-old Parrish appeared completely unfazed, striking out the first three batters he faced: Chuck Knoblauch, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams. He went on to record nine strikeouts while allowing three earned runs and two walks in seven innings. The Yankees won the game, 4-3.

Parrish finished his career with a 14-14 record. In 183 total appearances (including 16 as a starter), he recorded 225 strikeouts while allowing 156 hits, 189 walks, and 139 earned runs in 277.2 innings. 


Jim Todd

A Lancaster native and Franklin & Marshall College grad, Todd spent six seasons in the Majors pitching for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners from 1974 to 1979. 

Todd, a right-hander, compiled a 25-23 record and a 4.23 ERA in 270 appearances, including eight as a starter. He recorded 194 strikeouts and allowed 239 walks, 541 hits, and 240 earned runs.

Todd died on Feb. 3 in Colorado.


Johnny Bassler

Born in Lancaster in 1895, Bassler played for the Cleveland Naps and the Detroit Tigers from 1913 to 1927. 

A catcher, Bassler best season came in 1924, when he batted .346 with 68 RBIs and finished fifth in the American League MVP race as a member of the Tigers. 

Bassler had a career .304 batting average in 811 career games.