- R. A. Dickey
Infobox MLB player
width = 150
name=R. A. Dickey
position=Starting pitcher
team=Seattle Mariners
number=41
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1974|10|29
birthplace=city-state|Nashville|Tennessee
debutdate=April 22
debutyear=2001
debutteam=Texas Rangers
statyear=2008 season
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=21-27
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=5.57
stat3label=Strikeout s
stat3value=229
teams=
*Texas Rangers (by|2001, by|2003-by|2006)
*Seattle Mariners (by|2008-present)Robert Alan "R.A." Dickey (born
October 29 ,1974 inNashville, Tennessee ) is aright-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for theSeattle Mariners . He was previously with theMilwaukee Brewers organization. Prior to that, Dickey was with the Texas Rangers organization without interruption since being drafted in by|1996. In the Majors, Dickey has had limited success as astarting pitcher , and has since made the transition to becoming aknuckleball pitcher.Professional career
The start of the mlby|2004 season was thought to be a turning point in Dickey's career, as he managed to compile a 4-1 record through his first five starts. This hot streak was short-lived however, and he ended up finishing the season a disappointing 6-7 with a 5.61 ERA. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/dicker.01.shtml R.A. Dickey Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]
Dickey was a member of the by|1996 US Olympic Baseball team that won a Bronze medal in
Atlanta . [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_baseball] ]At the beginning of the mlby|2006 season, the Rangers gave Dickey a chance to try out his knuckleball at the major league level by naming him the 5th starter. However, after giving up 6
home run s in his first start onApril 6 , tying the modern era baseball record with another knuckleballer,Tim Wakefield , he was demoted to the Rangers' Triple-A minor league affiliate, theOklahoma Redhawks . OnJanuary 13 , by|2007, he signed a minor league deal with the Brewers and spent the 2007 season with the Triple-ANashville Sounds . After finishing the season with a 12-6 record and a 3.80 ERA, Dickey was named thePacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year.Dickey became a minor league
free agent after the season. OnNovember 28 , 2007, he signed a minor league contract with theMinnesota Twins that included an invitation tospring training , but was claimed in theRule V Draft by the Seattle Mariners onDecember 6 , 2007.On
March 29 , by|2008, the Mariners traded catcherJair Fernandez to the Twins to retain the rights for Dickey and initially optioned him to Triple-A Tacoma, recalling him to the major league club onApril 14 . [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/transactions?team=sea&year=2008]On
August 17 , mlby|2008, Dickey tied the record for mostwild pitch es in an inning, with 4. This came against the Minnesota Twins in the 6th inning. He joins four others including Hall of FamersWalter Johnson andPhil Niekro among others who have accomplished this feat.Missing ligament
Dickey lacks the
ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm, which is the one replaced duringTommy John surgery . Dickey has been quoted as saying "Doctors look at me and say I shouldn’t be able to turn a doorknob without feeling pain . . . " [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/sports/baseball/27dickey.html?em&ex=1204261200&en=89cd836bce4b24fb&ei=5087%0A New Twist Keeps Dickey’s Career Afloat] by Alan Schwarz, "New York Times", February 27, 2008. ] making his ability to pitch somewhat remarkable. After being drafted by the Rangers, Dickey was initially offered asigning bonus of $810,000, before a Rangers team physician saw Dickey's arm hanging oddly in a picture. The Rangers subsequently did further evaluation of Dickey, leading to the discovery of the missing ligament, and reduced their offer to $75,000.References
External links
* Alan Schwarz, "New Twist Keeps Dickey’s Career Afloat", New York Times, February 27, 2008 [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/sports/baseball/27dickey.html?ex=1361768400&en=3900d66b14c7d88f&ei=5088&]
*baseball-reference|id=d/dicker.01
* [http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=285079 Minor League Splits and Situational Stats]
* [http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=2536 "R.A. Dickey Named PCL Pitcher-of-the-Year."] "Nashville Sounds". 29 August 2007. 22 September 2007.
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87775259 "Elusive Knuckleball Gives Pitcher Chance at Majors"] "NPR". February 28 2008.
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