"Finally came into his own, doubling his career high with 18 victories. Rasmussen finished second in the league to Boston's Roger Clemens with a .750 winning percentage and led the Yanks with 31 starts and 202 innings.
He won seven straight from June 9 to July 22. The streak was highlighted by his first major league shutout, an 8-0 3-hitter over Chicago. Dennis missed two turns after being struck by a line drive off the bat of Texas' Toby Harrah on July 22, suffering a severe bruise above the left elbow. He left with a dislocated pinkie in his last start [of '86].
Dennis developed poise and maturity and wisely threw more fastballs and fewer damaging slow curves. He had spent most of the '85 season with Columbus (AAA) after an 0-3 start. He didn't get along with then-manager Billy Martin.
Selected by California in the first round (17th pick) of the June 1980 draft, the Yanks twice traded for him, the second time acquiring Rasmussen from San Diego for Graig Nettles and Darin Cloninger in March 1984. Born in Los Angeles, Rasmusssen played basketball at Creighton, which enabled him to oppose Indiana State's Larry Bird."
-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1987 Edition
"What a difference a year makes. Remember spring training of 1986? With less than two years of big league experience, a career record of 12-11 with a 3-5 mark in 1985, Dennis Rasmussen had only a slim shot of making the Yankees pitching staff in 1986.
Now can you remember the summer of 1986? That's when this dark horse became a thoroughbred by beating the odds and emerging as the ace of the staff. The 6'7" southpaw did more for his team than lead the way at 18-6. He also provided a level of steadiness when it was needed the most. When many of his teammates faltered with injuries and inconsistencies, Rasmussen went from June 3 to August 10 without a defeat.
'Dennis has turned into the pitcher we all knew he could be,' says pitching coach Mark Connor. 'Everybody knew he had what it takes to win in the majors, and this year he became a top pitcher for us.' That was 1986. So now do you remember the spring of 1987? That's when Dennis Rasmussen went to camp not as long shot but as a major league winner."
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"Rasmussen blossomed into one of the best pitchers in baseball last year, finishing with an 18-6 record in 31 games (all starts), along with a 3.88 ERA (202 innings pitched), 131 strikeouts, three complete games, a shutout and a .217 batting average-against. Rasmussen finished tied for fourth in the American League with Mike Witt in wins, behind Roger Clemens, Jack Morris and Ted Higuera, and second in the AL in winning percentage (.750, 18-6) behind Clemens (.857, 24-4).
He led the Yankees in wins, games started and innings pitched, while finishing second on the club in complete games and strikeouts and established new career highs in all of those categories. His 3.88 ERA was the lowest of his career and was the third lowest on the team among pitchers with 100 or more innings. His batting average-against of .217 was the lowest on the Yankee staff.
Dennis barely made the Yankees' rotation as the club's fifth starter out of spring training, but got off to a good start, winning his first outing of the year on April 12 at Milwaukee (5.2 IP, three hits, two earned runs). He was 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA over his first three games. He suffered his first loss on May 1 at Minnesota, giving up his season high five walks, and then went 3-0 over his next five starts, May 6-29, with a 4.09 ERA. Dennis came up just short in two complete game chances in that interval.
On May 12 at Minnesota, he pitched 8.2 innings, giving up eight hits and six runs (all earned), along with his '86 single game of nine strikeouts and received credit for the Yankees' 9-8 win, but actually left the game ahead 9-3 with two out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. Mike Armstrong followed and gave up a two-run single to Al Woods and a three-run homer to Kirby Puckett before Dave Righetti got the last out. Dennis had a chance for a shutout on May 29 at Seattle, going 8.2 innings and giving up just three hits (all singles) with two walks and five strikeouts, but after retiring the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth with the Yankees ahead 2-0, he walked Alvin Davis and was relieved by Righetti, who recorded the final out to save Rasmussen's win and their joint 3-hit shutout.
At that point he was 5-1 with a 3.95 ERA over his first nine starts, but lost his next outing on June 3 at California by a 4-2 score, despite pitching his first complete game of the season. From June 9 through July 22, covering nine starts, Rasmussen won seven straight decisions, going 7-0 with a 2.59 ERA (66.0 IP, 43 K). Included in that span was a stretch of six victories in six consecutive starts (June 24-July 22), with a 1.71 ERA (47.1 IP, 33 K).
In his win over Detroit on June 30 he was one out shy of a complete game (8.2 IP, 3 K), but was relieved by Righetti after giving up a walk and a single after getting the first two outs in the ninth inning with a 3-1 Yankee lead, with Righetti allowing one of those runners to score before saving Rasmussen's 3-2 win. In his next outing, on July 5 at Chicago, Rasmussen pitched the first complete game shutout of his career, beating the White Sox 8-0 while allowing just three hits along with four walks and seven strikeouts. It was one of only three Yankee complete game shutouts last year and it was the fewest hits allowed by a Yankee pitcher in a complete game in '86. At the All-Star break on July 14 he was 10-2 with a 3.33 ERA but was not selected to the American League All-Star team.
In his final outing of that seven-game win streak, on July 22 against Texas, he received credit for the Yankees' 9-1 win, but was hit by a line drive off the bat of Toby Harrah with two out in the seventh inning and was forced to leave the game. He suffered a severe bruise above his left elbow and was out of action for almost two weeks, missing two starts.
Dennis returned on August 5 against Milwaukee, and in his nine starts from that point through September 19 he was 3-4 with a 6.89 ERA (47.0 IP, 29 K). From there, he finished the season by winning his last three starts with a 1.13 ERA over those games (24.0 IP, 9 K).
He began that streak on September 24 against Baltimore, going 8.2 innings, giving up six hits and one run (earned). After getting two outs in the ninth inning with the Yankees leading 4-1, he gave up a walk and a single and was relieved by Righetti, who recorded the final out to preserve Rasmussen's win; it was the fourth time he fell one out short of a complete game. He did record his third complete game (and second complete game win) in his next outing on September 29 against Toronto, allowing six hits and one run (earned), which came on a Willie Upshaw homer with one out in the ninth, along with four walks and three strikeouts in the Yanks' 8-1 victory.
In his final start, October 4 at Boston (second game), Dennis gained his 18th win of the season, pitching 6.1 innings, giving up five hits and one run (earned) before being forced from the game with one out in the seventh inning holding a 2-1 lead after he dislocated his left pinkie attempting to field Dave Sax' base hit. Righetti recorded the final out in that contest to save the Yankees' eventual 3-1 win while setting a new major league save record (46).
Rasmussen allowed 18 homers in his final 15 starts. In his 31 starts the Yankees were 22-9. At Yankee Stadium Rasmussen was 8-2 with a 4.32 ERA and a .204 batting average-against, and on the road he was 10-4 with a 3.61 ERA and a .224 batting average-against. During the day he was 6-3 with a 5.05 ERA and a .262 batting average-against, and at night he was 12-3 with a 3.47 ERA and a .200 batting average-against.
Rasmussen started the 1985 season with a major league club for the first time as a pro. He threw his second career complete game on May 3 against Kansas City, allowing one run on five hits while notching his first win, and his other complete game came in a 4-1 loss at Seattle on May 22. Dennis struck out a season high seven batters on July 10 against Kansas City.
When optioned to Columbus on July 23, Dennis was 3-5 with a 3.87 ERA. He was 0-3 with a 3.80 ERA in seven starts at Columbus. He was recalled on September 1, making four relief appearances through the season's end, going 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA.
In 1984, Dennis went to spring training with San Diego, but was traded to the Yankees organization a second time in March in exchange for Graig Nettles. He began the season at Columbus and was called up to the Yankees on May 20. He made his first Yankee start on May 23 at Seattle, pitching 8.0 innings of shutout ball and striking out a career high 10 batters to gain his first major league win. Dennis won six straight decisions from July 7 to August 9. He was suspended for three days (September 19-22) following his ejection on September 11 at Toronto after throwing a pitch too close to Willie Upshaw.
Dennis began his pro career in 1980 with a 4-6 record at Salinas with a 5.45 ERA. He was 8-12 in 1981 for Holyoke of the Eastern League with 125 strikeouts in 156 innings pitched, and in 1982 finished second in the Pacific Coast League with 162 strikeouts for Spokane.
In 1983 Dennis was the ace of the Columbus [Yankees' AAA] staff, leading the International League in strikeouts and tying for the league lead in both wins and starts. He struck out 14 batters in a game at Charlestown. Dennis appeared in four games with the San Diego Padres (including one start) and was 0-0 with a 1.98 ERA.
Dennis grew up in Lakewood, Colorado where he was a baseball, basketball and tennis star at Bear Creek High School. He played college baseball and basketball at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He was a college teammate of the NBA's Kevin McKenna while playing against Larry Bird and Dave Corzine. Dennis is a grandson of Bill Brubaker, an infielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves, 1932-40 and 1943.
Dennis's hobby is camping and his favorite spectator sport is college basketball. His favorite team growing up was the California Angels and his favorite player was Steve Garvey. The greatest influences on his career have been Yankee pitching coaches Mark Connor and Sammy Ellis."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
No comments:
Post a Comment