Monday’s Bunts and Boots–Remembering Dobber

The baseball world continues to lose good people. First there was Buck O’Neil. Then came word of the unexpected passing of Joe Niekro. Then we lost Johnny Sain. And then last Wednesday, former major league right-hander Pat Dobson died just one day after being diagnosed with leukemia.

I never met Dobson, but I always enjoyed reading articles that quoted him. He was a legendary storyteller, an incredibly funny free spirit, and an incisively honest assessor of major league talent, both good and bad. He also happened to be a very good pitcher, a legitimate No. 3 starter for some excellent postseason teams of the 1970s. In today’s game, the younger Dobson would have merited a four-year contract worth $40 million, maybe more, on the open market. He was that good.

*Dobson is best remembered for being one of four 20-game winners on the 1971 Orioles, but he was previously an important part of a World Championship bullpen. He pitched in long relief for the 1968 Tigers, succeeding the likes of Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich on those rare occasions when those workhorses didn’t last through the eighth or ninth innings. Although the Tigers’ starters accumulated a ton of innings in 1968, Dobson did pitch effectively when called upon. He posted a 2.66 ERA in 125 innings, finished second on the team with seven saves, and even started 10 games as a spot starter. Dobson filled a role that is rarely seen in baseball today: that of the utility pitcher who can close, pitch middle relief, or start from time to time. Few guys do that anymore in this age of specialization.

*After struggling to find a niche with the Tigers and the Padres in the late 1960s, Dobson blossomed under the tutelage of manager Earl Weaver and pitching coach George Bamberger with the Orioles. At the time that Dobson joined the Orioles, he featured five pitches that he threw from several different angles and windups. Weaver simplified his approach, encouraging Dobson to adopt a single windup and concentrate on using his two or three best pitches. The approach worked; Dobson not only won 20 games in 1971, but also remained an effective starter in 1972 before the Orioles foolishly traded him to the Braves as part of the ill-fated Earl Williams deal. After the Braves gave up on him midway through the 1973 season (as if they had too much pitching to spare), he had effective seasons with both the Indians and the Yankees.

*Dobson featured a phenomenal overhand curve ball, which he couldn’t throw for strikes in Detroit but began to refine with more precision in Baltimore. It wasn’t as good as that of contemporaries like Bert Blyleven, but it was probably only a notch below. (Think Neil Allen or Rod Scurry from the 1980s in terms of similarly effective curve balls.) If Dobson had ever developed another pitch with remotely the same effectiveness as his curve ball, he would have likely been a 200-game winner and a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.

*After his playing days, Dobson remained highly successful. He became a respected pitching coach for several teams–he could diagnose a flawed pitching delivery almost immediately–and then a trusted scout and front office advisor for the Giants. Here’s what I really liked about Dobson: as a scout, he was very outspoken and colorful. He gave very honest opinions to the media, sometimes so honest that he got himself into trouble. I can remember a few years ago, he was heavily quoted in a USA Today Baseball Weekly article with some brutally honest assessments of various players. The Giants, his employers, were none too pleased and reprimanded him. I think they came close to firing him. Thankfully, they didn’t. It’s too bad that he never became a color analyst on radio or TV. He would have made a good one.

Either way, I’ll miss the likeable guy known as Dobber.