Dave Righetti

Dave Righetti
Pitcher
Born: November 28, 1958 (1958-11-28) (age 52) San Jose, California
Batted: Left	Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 16, 1979 for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 18, 1995 for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Games pitched	718
Win–Loss record	82–79
Earned run average	3.46
Strikeouts	1,112
Saves	252
Teams
New York Yankees (1979–1990) San Francisco Giants (1991–1993) Oakland Athletics (1994) Toronto Blue Jays (1994) Chicago White Sox (1995)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (1986, 1987) World Series champion (2010) 1981 AL Rookie of the Year 2× AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year (1986, 1987) Pitched a no-hitter on July 4, 1983

David Allan Righetti (born November 28, 1958, in San Jose, California) is a former left-handed pitcher for various Major League Baseball teams, primarily the New York Yankees. He is currently the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants and was the first player in history to both pitch a no-hitter and also lead the league in saves in his career. Dennis Eckersley later duplicated the feat. His nickname is "Rags."

Early life

Righetti attended Pioneer High School.

Playing career

He was selected by the Texas Rangers on January 11, 1977, in the first round (10th overall pick) of the amateur draft. On November 10, 1978, he was traded, along with Greg Jemison, Juan Beníquez, Mike Griffin, and Paul Mirabella, to the New York Yankees for Domingo Ramos, Mike Heath, Sparky Lyle, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, and cash. His first major league game was with the Yankees on September 16, 1979, wearing uniform number 56. In this game against the Detroit Tigers he pitched 5.0 innings, striking out three and allowing 3 hits, 6 walks, and 3 earned runs. Righetti was almost traded to the Minnesota Twins in January 1979; the Twins and Yankees were unable to complete a deal in which Rod Carew would have moved to New York in exchange for Chris Chambliss, Juan Beniquez, Dámaso García, and Righetti.^[1] In 1980 he returned to the minor leagues, but rejoined the Yankees in 1981 wearing number 19, which he would keep until 1994.

He pitched strongly as a starter for the Yankees from 1981–83, winning the American League's Rookie of the Year award in 1981, and helping the Yankees reach the World Series the same year. The highlight of his efforts as a starting pitcher occurred on the Fourth of July, 1983, when he threw a 4-0 no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox on the anniversary of Lou Gehrig's farewell speech. It was the first Yankee no-hitter since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, and the first by a Yankee left-hander since 1917. Twenty-five years later, Righetti reminisced about the game:

“My biggest worry, because I had a tendency to fall toward third base, was him tapping a ball between me and Mattingly and me trying to get to first base...I threw a lot of fastballs during the at bat, but the last slider I ended up throwing, he happened to miss it. Thank goodness.”^[2]

In 1984, Righetti was moved to the Yankees' bullpen due to an excess of starters, and replaced Goose Gossage as the team's closer. He proved even more effective in relief, averaging 32 saves per season over the next 7 years with the Yankees, and being named an All-Star in 1986 and 1987. On October 4, 1986, he saved both games of a doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox, finishing the season with 46 saves, and breaking the major league record shared by Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter. The record would stand until Bobby Thigpen saved 57 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1990, which would also be Righetti's last season with the Yankees. Righetti retained the single-season record for left-handers until 1993, when Randy Myers saved 53 games for the Chicago Cubs; Righetti still owns the AL record for left-handers.

Following the 1990 season, he signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants. While with the Giants in 1991, he broke Sparky Lyle's major league record for left-handers of 238 career saves; Righetti's record would stand until 1994, when John Franco surpassed his eventual total of 252. Righetti saved only 24 games in 1991, and the following two years saw him ineffective in middle relief roles; his career as a closer was over.

Released by the Giants after the 1993 season, he crossed the Bay to sign as a free agent with the Oakland Athletics. After beginning 1994 with the A's, he was released, and signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays, playing for the Jays wearing number 24. After that season he was released by the Blue Jays, and in spring 1995 he signed as a free agent with the Chicago White Sox, wearing number 45 with the team. On November 9, 1995, he was again granted free agency; but no team signed him, and Righetti retired to end his 16-year career, finishing with 252 saves, a 3.46 ERA, and a record of 82-79 in 718 games.

Coaching career

Since 2000, Righetti has been the pitching coach for the Giants. Despite uncertainty if he would return to the Giants for the 2007 season due to a managerial change, Righetti announced in early November 2007 that he would remain with the Giants in his present role.^[3] He was the pitching coach for the pitching staff that included Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sánchez, and Brian Wilson that won the 2010 World Series. An analysis by Fangraphs showed that Righetti has an uncanny knack for teaching pitchers to not give up homeruns.^[4]

Personal life

Righetti currently lives in Los Altos with his wife and triplets (two daughters and one son). One of his daughters has a cochlear implant. He served on the Board of Directors for more than ten years for Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf. He is a San Jose Sharks season ticket holder and can be seen in attendance for games.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References

1. ^ United Press International (1979-01-30). "Yankees, Twins still dickering". St. Petersburg Times. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mBQOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QnwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6523,5452839&dq=superdome+yankees. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
2. ^ Curry, Jack (June 27, 2008). "Twenty Five Years Later, Dave Righetti's No-Hitter". The New York Times. http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/twenty-five-years-later-dave-righettis-no-hitter/. 
3. ^ Schulman, Henry (November 2, 2006). "Giants to bring back Righetti / New scout to focus on players from the Pacific Rim". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/02/SPGS3M4JUB1.DTL. 
4. ^ Wolfersberger, Jesse (March 8, 2011). "Dave Righetti: Lord of the HR/FB rate". Fangraphs. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/dave-righetti-lord-of-the-hrfb-rate. 

External links

• sfgiants.com profile
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Library - biography and career highlights
• Baseball Almanac

Preceded by Nolan Ryan	No-hitter pitcher July 4, 1983	Succeeded by Bob Forsch
Preceded by Dan Quisenberry	American League Saves Champion 1986	Succeeded by Tom Henke

Persondata
Name	Righetti, Dave
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 28, 1958
Place of birth	San Jose, California
Date of death
Place of death