Splittorff was born in Evansville, Indiana and grew up mostly in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Arlington High School produced several major league baseball players, including Fritz Peterson, Dick Bokelmann, and George Vukovich.\n', '

Peterson and Splittorff pitched against each other twice during their careers, with Peterson winning both matchups. On August 17, 1971, the Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 2-0 at Yankee Stadium (in the days before the Designated Hitter, both pitchers went 0-2 at the plate), and on August 22, 1975 at the old Royals Stadium, the Indians beat the Royals, 9-5.\n', '

He was drafted by the Royals in the 25th round of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft out of Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he was a member of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity. He pitched for the Corning Royals in 1968 (a year before the major league club existed), and has the distinction of throwing the first pitch in Royals organization history. He went 28–27 with a 4.01 earned run average in three seasons in the Royals\' farm system before receiving his first call to the majors in September 1970. He took the loss in his major league debut, pitching seven innings and giving up three earned runs against the Chicago White Sox.\n', '

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