"'The guy who finishes the game is only as good as the ones who pitch in front of him, and getting 'the big guy' was a big reason why I was more consistent in the second half,' said Yankee stopper Dave Righetti of his 6'7" 250-pound teammate Tim Stoddard. Righetti would convert 29 of his last 30 save opportunities en route to a major league record 46 saves, with Stoddard doing the job as the unheralded setup man.
The Yankees brass pulled off a major coup last July 9 when they shipped Ed Whitson to San Diego for a middle reliever with the credentials of Stoddard. His 4-1 record in 24 games not only set up Righetti's record, but proved to be instrumental when the Yankee starters were struggling through the middle innings. This year, with the departure of Brian Fisher, Stoddard will be asked to carry a heavier load, which is just fine with 'the big guy.'
'I'm not going to the Hall of Fame, and I don't worry about wins,' Stoddard says. 'I just want to contribute as much as I can.'"
-The New York Yankees Official 1987 Yearbook
"Tim began the 1986 season with the San Diego Padres, but was traded to the Yankees on July 9 in exchange for Ed Whitson. He appeared in 30 games with the Padres, all in relief, and compiled a record of 1-3 with no saves and a 3.77 ERA (45.1 IP, 33 H, 20 R, 19 ER, 34 BB, 47 K).
His first win of the year came on April 11 against Cincinnati, pitching one scoreless inning in the Padres' 4-3 11-inning win. He picked up his first loss the next day against the Reds, giving up one run (earned) in 1.2 innings pitched. In his first 10 outings, through May 4, Tim gave up just two earned runs in 13.1 innings (1.35 ERA). In his remaining 20 outings for San Diego, covering 32 innings, he gave up 17 earned runs (4.78 ERA); included in that span were two losses, on May 27 at Montreal and on June 27 at Atlanta.
Stoddard made his Yankee debut on July 10 at Minnesota, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in the Yanks' 11-1 win. He struck out five batters in five innings pitched on July 20 against Chicago, both figures representing his highs as a Yankee. He did not record a decision in his first nine appearances with the club through August 10, posting a 4.84 ERA (22.1 IP, 23 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 8 BB, 15 K) in those contests.
He picked up his first win as a Yankee on August 12 against Cleveland, pitching 4.2 scoreless innings of 2-hit ball in relief of Joe Niekro, and received credit for the Yanks' 6-4 victory after Dave Righetti saved the win. His second win came on August 20 against Seattle, pitching 2.1 hitless, scoreless innings in the Yankees' 5-2 victory. His third Yankee win came on August 29 at Seattle, entering the game with the Yankees trailing 12-11 in the fifth inning and pitching four scoreless innings, giving up only one hit and earning the win after the Yankees scored twice for a 13-12 victory.
In the seven games bracketed by his first and third Yankee wins (August 12-29), Stoddard went 3-0 with a 0.52 ERA (17.1 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) to lower his overall ERA as a Yankee to 2.95. Included in that span was a scoreless streak of 9.0 innings, covering five outings from August 13-20.
In his remaining eight appearances from that point, from August 25 through the end of the season, he went 1-1 with a 7.45 ERA (9.2 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 9 ER, 7 BB, 9 K) to raise his final Yankee ERA to 3.83. Tim's lone loss as a Yankee came on September 3 at Oakland, giving up the winning run in the Yankees' 5-3 loss. His fourth Yankee win came on September 15 at Boston, entering the game in a save opportunity (his only one of the year) and giving up three hits and two earned runs (including the go-ahead run) in his one inning of work, but getting credit for the win when the Yanks rallied in a comeback 5-3 victory.
As a Yankee, Tim retired the first batter he faced 18 of 24 times, including 14-for-17 with runners on base, and prevented 23 of the 30 runners he inherited from scoring. At Yankee Stadium he was 3-0 with a 4.18 ERA and a .255 batting average against, and on the road he was 1-1 with a 3.39 ERA and a .197 batting average against. During the day he was 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA and a .245 BA against, while at night he was 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA and a .213 BA against. In his 54 games overall with the Padres and the Yankees in '86, Stoddard was 5-4 with no saves and a 3.80 ERA (94.2 IP, 78 H, 43 R, 43 ER, 57 BB, 81 K).
He was signed by the Padres as a free agent in January of 1985. After struggling through the first two months of the year, he got untracked from June 2-22 when he worked 10 innings in seven games and allowed two earned runs for a 1.80 ERA. He picked up his only save as a Padre on June 22 against the Giants in San Diego, working a perfect inning to preserve a 2-1 win for Eric Show on a combined 2-hitter, the staff's lowest-hit game of '85. Tim's only win of the year came on July 8 at Wrigley Field, pitching 3.2 innings of 1-hit ball against the Cubs in the Padres' 8-4 victory; that began a stretch of five straight appearances without allowing a run covering 8.2 innings.
Tim made his major league debut on September 7, 1975 in his only appearance with the White Sox, a one inning stint against Minnesota, after spending most of the season at AA Knoxville, where he posted a 3-4 record and a 4.23 ERA. He played in the White Sox' farm system in 1976, posting a 9-8 record and a 2.89 ERA at Knoxville and an 0-2 record and 5.59 ERA at AAA Iowa. Stoddard became an Oriole prior to the 1977 season after being released by the White Sox during spring training. He spent the entire year at AA Charlotte, winning ten games and saving five. He shared time between Baltimore and AAA Rochester in 1978, and the last time he was used a starter came in Rochester when he made two starts that year.
In 1979, his first full season in the major leagues, Stoddard went 3-1 in 29 outings with a career-low ERA of 1.71. He also made four appearances in the 1979 World Series against Pittsburgh and was the winning pitcher in Game Four at Three Rivers Stadium. In that game he had an RBI single in his first major league at-bat, the last time a pitcher would hit safely in World Series competition until last year, when the Mets' Dwight Gooden and Jesse Orosco had base hits against Boston.
Tim had his best year as a professional in 1980, appearing in 64 games and setting a Baltimore record with 26 saves (fourth best in the AL). In the second half of the season, he went 5-0 with 14 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 30 appearances. Tim capped the year by earning the American League Pitcher of the Month honors for September.
In 1981 he went 4-2 with a 3.89 ERA in 31 games and added seven saves. Tim had an injury plagued year in 1982, missing the first and last months of the season. Due to shoulder stiffness, he opened the '82 campaign with five appearances at Rochester, but did finish second on the Baltimore staff in appearances (50) and saves (12).
Tim finished second on the Orioles in saves (9) during the World Championship year of 1983, with eight of those saves coming after the All-Star break. He did not, however, appear in either the ALCS against the White Sox or the World Series against the Phillies. He had been a member of the Orioles organization for six years before his trade to the Oakland A's. Tim joined Oakland in December 1983 in exchange for Wayne Gross, but was a member of the A's for only in the off-season before he was dealt to the Cubs.
He spent the entire 1984 season with the Cubs, joining them from Oakland in March in exchange for Stan Kyles and Stan Broderick. He won the most games in his career (10) and added seven saves to help the Cubs to their first Eastern Division title.
Tim allowed only three earned runs in his first 21.1 innings pitched (1.27 ERA) covering 14 appearances. From June 28-July 3 he fanned 12 batters, pitching 9.2 shutout innings covering three appearances while earning a save in each game. Tim won his first three decisions of the year and by July 12 was 7-1 with six saves. He pitched two innings over two games in the NLCS and was not involved in a decision while posting a 4.50 ERA.
Tim attended Washington High School (East Chicago, IN), where he played football, basketball and baseball and led his basketball team to the 1971 Indiana state championship. He attended North Carolina State, where he starred in both baseball and basketball. On the mound, he led the Wolfpack to three consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference titles (1973-75), either winning or saving the title game in all three ACC tournaments.
As a starting forward on the basketball squad, Tim was a member of the 1974 National Championship team that, led by David Thompson, defeated John Wooden's UCLA Bruins in the NCAA Tournament. In the two-year period that he played basketball, NC State compiled a 57-1 record.
Tim's favorite spectator sports are basketball and hockey. His greatest career influence is Frank Robinson."
-1987 New York Yankees Information Guide
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