Wednesday, April 9, 2014

#190 Doug Drabek

About the Front: Doug Drabek's right knee comes down so low on his delivery that it looks like he's genuflecting.

About the Back: Drabek was part of a six-pitcher trade between the Pirates and the Yankees. New York sent him to Pittsburgh along with Logan Easley and Brian Fisher in exchange for Pat Clements, Cecilio Guante, and Rick Rhoden.

Triple Play:

1. He was the 1990 National League Cy Young, thanks in large part to his league-best 22-6 record. In the NLCS, he split his two decisions against the eventual World Champion Reds, absorbing a complete-game 2-1 loss in Game 2 before pitching into the ninth inning in a 3-2 Pirates win in Game 5.

2. Drabek has been a pitching coach in the Diamondbacks organization since 2010, and is currently on the staff of the Single-A Hillsboro (OR) Hops.

3. Doug's son Kyle was the Phillies' first-round draft pick (18th overall) in 2006. A few years later he was shipped to Toronto in the Roy Halladay blockbuster, and has struggled with his control in parts of four big league seasons as a starting pitcher with the Jays.

11-Year-Old Kevin Says: I remember having the sense that Drabek was older than his early 30s because he went prematurely gray. Of course, now I'm edging toward the Silver Club in my 30s as well.

Bill James Said: "Pitched a lot of close games and didn't win them, thus leading the league in losses." Here's a sampling of tough losses from Drabek's 1993 game log: 3-1, 2-1, 3-2, 5-4 (blown save), 2-1, 3-0, 2-1, 3-1, 4-3 (blown save), 3-1. That's 10 of his 18 losses right there.

On This Date in 1993: April 9. The Rockies batter the Expos 11-4 in the franchise's first-ever home game. An MLB-record 80,227 fans pack into Denver's Mile High Stadium to witness the first win in team history. Bryn Smith is the winning pitcher, tossing seven scoreless innings. Charlie Hayes and Eric Young set the tone with first-inning home runs off of Montreal's Kent Bottenfield.

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