"Became a Yankee last November and promised to win 20 games. If he fulfills, he'll be on his way to justifying a two-year contract worth close to $2 million with incentive clauses. Rhoden was the key to a six-player swap in which he and Cecilio Guante and Pat Clements were exchanged for Doug Drabek, Brian Fisher and minor leaguer Logan Easley.
Although a hard thrower, he has a good fastball that some protest he scuffs. Giant catcher Bob Brenley suggested umpires allow him to take a work bench to the mound.
This eight-year Pirate was NL Pitcher of the Month for June with a 5-1 record and a 1.99 ERA. Rhoden made the All-Star team and followed with a 5-1, 2.73 August en route to 15-12, 2.84 for the year.
Born in Boynton Beach, Florida, he wore a leg brace as a youngster. Rhoden was a first round draft pick of the Dodgers in June 1971 and was traded to the Bucs in 1979 for Jerry Reuss."
-Tom Pedulla, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1987 Edition
"'He'll help us immensely,' said manager Lou Piniella in welcoming veteran right-hander Rick Rhoden to Pinstripes. To obtain his services, the Yankees traded three young pitchers to Pittsburgh, an inevitable move when you consider pitching proved to be the Yankees' most glaring weakness in each of the past two seasons. 'You hate to give up good, young arms,' says general manager Woody Woodward, 'but we got a proven veteran, one who can stabilize our staff.'
In light of the 33-year-old's 1986 record of 15-12 with the struggling Pirates, there are high hopes for what the righty can accomplish with New York this season. And with his .278 batting average last year- .318 with men in scoring position- don't be surprised to see Rhoden break the A.L.'s DH barrier in 1987.
'I feel very fortunate to be with the Yankees,' Rhoden says. 'I plan to pitch well and work hard.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"Rick was acquired by the Yankees along with pitchers Cecilio Guante and Pat Clements from the Pittsburgh Pirates in November 1986 in exchange for pitchers Doug Drabek, Brian Fisher and Logan Easley. He had one of his best seasons in the major leagues in '86 and finished in a tie for fifth place in the National League Cy Young Award balloting. He was voted Pirates MVP in a poll of the Pittsburgh media.
He tied for second in the NL in complete games (12), was fourth in innings pitched (253.2), fourth in ERA (2.84), tied for eighth in wins (15) and 11th in strikeouts (159). He led the Pirates in wins, ERA, complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts and tied for the team lead in starts (34). Rhoden established career highs in complete games, innings pitched and strikeouts, and his 15 victories were the second highest single season total of his career, surpassed only by his 16 wins with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977. His 12 complete games were the most by a Pirate since Jerry Reuss had 15 in 1975.
Rhoden has struck out 852 batters as a Pirate, 10th on that club's all-time list. He's one of two pitchers to start 30 National League games in each of the last five seasons (Fernando Valenzuela is the other), and in 1986 put together his fifth straight double-figure win season and the eighth of his career. He also surpassed 200 innings pitched for the fifth straight year and sixth time in his career, and went over 2,000 innings pitched for his career on July 17 against San Diego. Rick is one of four NL pitchers to win 10 or more NL games in each of the last five seasons (the others are Valenzuela, Bill Gullickson and Nolan Ryan).
He completed seven of his last 13 starts and won six of his last 12 decisions, but was 0-5 in his last six starts. The Pirates scored a total of 23 runs in his 12 losses. His ERA did not go over 3.00 at any point during the season. Rick had a batting average-against of .228 (211 hits/926 at-bats) while giving up 45 doubles, seven triples and seven home runs. He had six pickoffs, and opposing base stealers were caught 16 times against him in 36 attempts.
Rick fanned 10 in a 3-hitter at Montreal on June 21 and struck out a career high 11 batters on June 27 against Montreal. He was National League Pitcher of the Month in June, going 5-1 with a 1.99 ERA in six starts, and was selected to the All-Star team for the second time, but did not appear in the game. He had a scoreless inning streak of 19.1 innings, the longest by a Pirate in '86, from July 22 through August 6 and recorded his 16th career shutout on August 1 against St. Louis, giving up five hits. Rhoden posted a 5-1 record in August with a 2.73 ERA, completing four of his seven starts.
A good hitter, Rhoden has a lifetime .240 average (175-for-730), third best among pitchers active in 1986 behind Don Robinson (.267) and Dan Schatzeder (.253), with nine home runs and 74 RBIs. He led major league pitchers with a .278 batting average (25-for-90) in '86, based on a minimum of 50 plate appearances, and batted .318 (7-for-22) with runners in scoring position. Rick batted .325 (13-for-40) against left-handers with four doubles and five RBIs, and hit .240 (12-for-50) against right-handers with five doubles, a home run and five RBIs. He has batted over .300 three times (1976, 1980, 1984) and has collected 20 or more hits three times (1976, 1982, 1984).
His one homer in '86 came in his last game as a Pirate, on September 30 at St. Louis, a solo shot off Danny Cox; he also had a double in that game along with two RBIs. Rick was the recipient of the NL Silver Slugger Award for the third straight year, which goes to the top offensive player at each position as voted by managers and coaches. Among active pitchers through 1986, his nine career home runs ranked second in the NL behind Bob Forsch (10) and was fourth in the majors behind Forsch, Tom Seaver (12) and Steve Carlton (13).
Rick has made just five errors in his career for a lifetime fielding percentage of .989 (136 putouts, 320 assists, five errors). He had 32 putouts and 34 assists in '86 without an error to lead NL pitchers in fielding; his 32 putouts were a career high, surpassing his previous high of 21 in 1982. Rick currently has a 79-game errorless streak and has handled 122 chances since his last error on August 4, 1984 against the Mets. He has not made an error in seven of his 11 full seasons.
Four of his 16 shutouts have come against the Reds, including a 2-hitter and a pair of 3-hitters. He has blanked eight NL teams (all but Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Montreal) and has a lifetime mark of 77-47 in his home park (29-10 at Dodger Stadium, 48-37 at Three Rivers Stadium).
Rhoden was the Dodgers' first round pick in the June 1971 draft (20th player selected overall), and in his first pro game fanned 13 for Daytona Beach (A) in a shutout against Tampa. He began 1972 at El Paso (AA) but was promoted to Albuquerque (AAA) in just his second pro season. Rick went 4-9 at Albuquerque in 1973; he was on the disabled list from July 20-August 15.
In 1974 he was recalled from Albuquerque on July 5 and made his major league debut on the same night, working 0.2 scoreless innings in relief at Montreal. He was optioned back to Albuquerque and was recalled again in September, and worked six innings in relief on September 22 against San Diego to earn his first major league win. Rick made his first major league start in 1975 on April 20 in Los Angeles against San Francisco (no decision, 7.0 IP, 9 hits, 3 runs). In 1976, he won his first nine games, was selected to the NL All-Star team and pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star Game. Rick finished 11th in the NL in ERA that year and batted .308 (20-for-65).
Rick won his first five decisions of 1977 and 10 of his first 13, and set a personal career high with 16 victories that season. He hit three homers and drove in 12 runs. His double against against the Yankees off Ron Guidry in Los Angeles in Game Four of the '77 World Series is the last extra base hit by a pitcher in World Series play. Rick won his first four games of 1978 (three complete games) but developed arm trouble and was sent to the bullpen in August. He was acquired by the Pirates four days into the 1979 season, but made only one appearance (May 8 at Atlanta) before being placed on the disabled list on May 12. Rick underwent surgery by Dr. Frank Jobe for the removal of bone chips in his right shoulder on June 28.
He rebounded from his 1979 shoulder surgery in 1980. He opened the year at Portland (Pirates' AAA affiliate) and tossed a no-hitter on April 23 to defeat Phoenix 1-0. Rick was recalled by Pittsburgh on June 10. He lost his first three starts with the Bucs, but rebounded to a 7-5 record and batted .375 (15-for-40). Rick went 6-0 in his first 10 starts in 1981 and led the Pirates in wins, starts, complete games, shutouts (10th in the NL), innings pitched and strikeouts. In 1982, he led the Pirate staff in starts, innings pitched and losses, and tied for the team lead in complete games. Rick hit three homers, the most by a Pirate pitcher since Johnny Lindell hit four in 1953, and drove in 12 runs. He came into the '82 season with a 13-0 lifetime April record but lost three April outings. He reached the 1,000 innings pitched mark on May 30 against San Francisco.
Rick recorded his first major league save on April 17, 1983, working three scoreless innings against Chicago. He went to a shorter windup in late August with excellent results. He ranked ninth in the NL in ERA, sixth in innings pitched and eighth in strikeouts. He led the Pirates in ERA and innings pitched and tied for the team lead in starts.
In 1984 Rick went 8-2 with a 2.22 ERA in 15 starts after the All-Star break, dropping his ERA from 3.21 to 2.72 (fourth best in the NL). He was fourth in the league in innings pitched, tied for ninth in wins and tied for fourth in shutouts. Rick walked one or fewer in 15 of his 33 starts and two or fewer in 24; his walks per nine innings pitched ratio of 2.34 was the league's seventh best. He pitched an average of 7.22 innings per start, sixth best in the NL (minimum 10 starts). He led the NL with a 1.88 ERA in home games (and was 8-3 at Three Rivers) and batted .333 (28-for-84) to win his first NL Silver Slugger Award.
Rick tossed his third career 2-hitter on August 9 at New York to blank the Mets while fanning 10 hitters, his career high until '86. He had a stretch of 104 innings pitched without yielding a homer between July 14 and September 22. He had a 10-game hitting streak between July 25 and September 11, hitting .500 (14-for-28) in that span.
He struggled to a 10-15 mark in 1985, only the second time in his career he finished under .500 for a full season. Rick walked two or fewer batters in 24 of his career high 35 starts. He went seven or more innings in 16 of his 35 starts, going 6-4 with a 2.34 ERA in those games. He had five pickoffs, and opposing runners were 19-for-31 in steal attempts.
Career win No. 100 came on May 25 at Atlanta, with Rick pitching a complete game to defeat the Braves 8-2. His other complete game came on August 16 when he beat the Mets 7-1, giving up nine hits and one earned run. Rick fanned a season high nine batters in seven innings at San Francisco on July 25, and the reached 1,000 mark in career strikeouts on September 6 at Houston, striking out Glenn Davis. He posted a 3-1 record in August with a 3.53 ERA in five starts.
He won his second NL Silver Slugger Award in '85, batting .189 (14-for-74) with six RBIs. He struck out just seven times in 78 plate appearances, and three of his six RBIs were game winners.
Rick was a victim of Osteomyeletis as a youngster. At the age of eight, he was hurt while playing on a 40-foot strip of plastic, hosed down with water, upon which youngsters slide for distance. His right knee was severely cut by a pair of rusty scissors wedged in the grass under the water slide. Two months later he was struck with the original fever of Osteomyeletis. Rick underwent surgery to remove part of his left knee so that his left leg would not outgrow his affected right leg. He was forced to wear a brace until he was 12 and later had to walk with the aid of a cane.
Rick graduated from Atlantic High School in Boynton, Florida, where he was an outstanding baseball and basketball player. He was a big Bob Gibson fan as a youngster. He played winter ball in the Dominican Republic early in his career.
Rick is a scratch golfer and enjoys fishing, and is an avid pro wrestling fan- his favorite wrestler is Hulk Hogan. He was the established table tennis champ of Dodgertown and was L.A.'s bubble gum blowing champion. Rick was a member of the major league all-star squad that toured Japan last November, and he won two games in that series (the U.S. won six of the seven games)."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
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