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=Strikeouts
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 in Nashville, Tennessee) is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. He was previously with the Milwaukee 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 a starting pitcher, and has since made the transition to becoming a knuckleball 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 runs in his first start on April 6, tying the modern era baseball record with another knuckleballer, Tim Wakefield, he was demoted to the Rangers' Triple-A minor league affiliate, the Oklahoma Redhawks. On January 13, by|2007, he signed a minor league deal with the Brewers and spent the 2007 season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. After finishing the season with a 12-6 record and a 3.80 ERA, Dickey was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year.

Dickey became a minor league free agent after the season. On November 28, 2007, he signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins that included an invitation to spring training, but was claimed in the Rule V Draft by the Seattle Mariners on December 6, 2007.

On March 29, by|2008, the Mariners traded catcher Jair 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 on April 14. [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/transactions?team=sea&year=2008]

On August 17, mlby|2008, Dickey tied the record for most wild pitches in an inning, with 4. This came against the Minnesota Twins in the 6th inning. He joins four others including Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Phil 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 during Tommy 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 a signing 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.