"Righetti got off to a slow start and was unceremoniously sent to Columbus in late June. He was recalled after the All-Star break and Sammy Ellis came along as his personal pitching coach. Dave still managed to finish third in the AL in strikeouts. He fanned the first five against Minnesota and had a no-hitter for six and two thirds innings against Boston.
Born in San Jose, California, Righetti was a teammate of Blue Jays pitcher Dave Steib at San Jose City College. His father was a minor league shortstop in the Yankees organization. Dave was stolen from Texas in a one-sided trade that sent Sparky Lyle to the Rangers in 1978, when always-persuadable Brad Corbett was still running Texas."
-Ken Nigro, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1983 Edition
"There's no doubting the vast potential of this flame-throwing lefty as he begins his third Yankee season. After a sensational Rookie of the Year campaign campaign in '81, Righetti had his ups and downs last season. But he'll bounce back strong in '83 as an older, wiser and more experienced major league hurler.
'I look on 1983 as a new beginning for me,' says the 6-3, 200-pounder from San Jose, California. 'I know I'm ready to have the kind of season I had a few years ago.'
It's no exaggeration to say that Righetti, now 24, has the potential- one look at his 90-plus MPH fastball and his right-off-the-table drop curve tell you he's been blessed with loads of natural talent.
Together with the Yankees' other portside starters- Ron Guidry, Shane Rawley and Bob Shirley- Righetti is unmistakably a pitching force to be dealt with around the American League."
-The New York Yankees Official 1983 Yearbook
"Righetti suffered the sophomore jinx but still posted a career high 11 wins. He led the Yankee pitching staff with 163 strikeouts, finishing third behind Floyd Bannister (209) and Len Barker (187), and was the toughest Yankee left-handed pitcher to hit, allowing only 155 hits in 677 at-bats for a .229 average. Dave also led the Yankee pitching staff with nine wins following a Yankee loss; his biggest win came in the second game of a doubleheader against Cleveland on September 22 to break a nine-game losing streak for the Yankees.
Dave started the season with the Yankees winning his first game but was bothered by control problems and was optioned to Columbus on June 27 with a 5-5 record. He started the game of May 30 at Minnesota by striking out the first five batters (Gary Ward, Ron Washington, Tom Brunansky, Ken Hrbek and Dave Engle). On June 10 at Boston he pitched a no-hitter for the first 6.1 innings. Dave made four relief appearances following his recall from Columbus and ended the season completing seven full innings in his last six starts, winning his last three decisions.
Righetti was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1981. After a disappointing 1980 season at AAA, he solved his control problems. He was 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA at Columbus when recalled by the Yankees on May 21 and won his first major league game with an impressive performance against Cleveland on May 23. He also won at Cleveland and Kansas City for a 3-0 first half record with a 1.50 ERA. Rags had a strikeout to walk ratio of better than 2:1 and opposing hitters had only a combined average of .196 against him (lowest in the AL). He struck out a career high of 11 Boston batters on September 11. Dave narrowly missed winning the AL ERA crown with a 2.06 ERA- he fell just 1.2 innings short of qualifying.
In the postseason, Dave started Game 2 of the Eastern Division Series against Milwaukee and combined with Ron Davis and Goose Gossage for a 3-0 shutout. He came in to relieve Guidry in Game 5 of the Division Series in New York and earned the win. Rags also won the clinching game of the ALCS, Game 3 in Oakland, but started and got a no-decision in Game 3 of the World Series in Los Angeles.
Righetti made his major league debut on September 16, 1979 against Detroit at Yankee Stadium on Catfish Hunter Day with no decision. He was named to the Topps National Association Class AAA All-Star team in 1979. On July 16, 1978 for Tulsa, he struck out 21 batters at Midland, striking out the side four times and having a stretch of seven straight K's.
Dave grew up in San Jose where he was All-League in baseball at Pioneer High School, and also played basketball. A Giants and A's fan growing up, he played against A's third baseman Carney Lansford in American Legion ball. He attended San Jose City College where he was a teammate of Blue Jay pitcher Dave Stieb, and won JC Player of the Year honors in 1977. His brother Steve is in the Texas organization. His father is a former minor league shortstop, and the first time he saw Dave pitch professionally was in the clinching game of the ALCS in Oakland."
-1983 New York Yankees Information Guide
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