"He dropped 30 pounds before the season, then took a lot of weight off the Yankee bullpen. Tim Stoddard didn't have a defined role last year, but by the end of 1987 the big right-hander established himself as one of the more vital members of the Yankees pitching staff.
Stoddard, maybe the team's most underrated player in 1987, became the Yankees' number one right-handed reliever. Not only did he serve as a setup man, but he was also used as a stopper. It was just like old times for Stoddard, who registered 26 saves as the Orioles' closer in 1980. Since 1984 he had been used primarily as a middle man. His eight saves last season were eight more than he had in 1986, and the most since he registered nine saves for the Orioles in 1983. He had one blown save all year while preventing 42 of the 54 runners he inherited from scoring.
'As long as I get to pitch, that's all I want to do,' Stoddard says. 'All I want to do is get the ball.' Whether as a closer or as a setup man, the 6'7" Stoddard has become a big part of the Yankee bullpen."
-The New York Yankees Official 1988 Yearbook
"Tim appeared in 57 games in 1987, all in relief, the third most appearances he's made in a season in his career. His 57 appearances tied for 13th in the American League and was second on the Yankee staff, behind Dave Righetti's 60 appearances. Tim posted a record of 4-3 and eight saves, a 3.50 ERA, 30 walks and 78 strikeouts in 92.2 innings pitched [along with a 1.22 WHIP].
The eight saves were eight more than he had in all of 1986, seven more than he had in 1985 and 1986 combined, and equal his total of 1984, 1985 and 1986 combined. They were the most saves he has registered in a single season since he recorded nine saves in 1983 while with the Baltimore Orioles and represent his fourth highest single season save total. His eight saves tied for 18th in the AL and were second on the Yankees behind Righetti's 31 saves. His 78 strikeouts were the third highest single season total of his career ranked fifth on the Yankees; his ratio of 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings led the Yankees. Tim had a walk-to-strikeout ratio of 1:2.6.
He was placed on the disabled list on April 2 (retroactive to March 28) with bursitis in his right shoulder and began the season on the DL, where he remained until he was activated on April 15. He made his first appearance of the year on April 22 against Detroit. His longest outing of the year came on May 8 against Minnesota, going 5.1 innings and giving up three runs on seven hits, including home runs by Tom Brunansky and Mark Davidson, the only time all season he gave up two home runs in a game. Tim picked up his first two saves of the season in back-to-back appearances, on May 18 at Oakland and on May 25 at California.
In his first 16 appearances, through June 17, Tim was 0-1 with two saves and a 4.05 ERA. In his next 14 appearances, however, from June 18 through July 16, he gave up just one earned run (on June 29 at Toronto) in 15 innings pitched (0.60 ERA), going 1-0 with a save in that span and lowering his ERA from 4.05 to 2.98.
In three consecutive appearances, from August 5-11, Tim gave up a solo home runs in each of those outings, allowing five earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched. He followed that by pitching 11 scoreless innings (his longest scoreless streak of the season) in five appearances from August 14-23, giving up just five hits with two walks and 13 strikeouts [0.64 WHIP], going 1-0 with two saves in that span. In the final game of that streak, August 23 at Oakland, Tim struck out a season high of six batters (one shy of his career high) while pitching four scoreless innings and gaining a save.
The beginning of that scoreless streak, August 14 at Cleveland, also started a span covering his last 17 outings of the season when he allowed just nine earned runs in 29 innings pitched, a 2.79 ERA, with seven walks and 22 strikeouts, going 1-1 with four saves. He had one 'blown save,' coming on September 16 against Milwaukee, and was charged with the Yankees' 5-4 loss.
With runners on base Tim retired the first batter in 24 of 33 appearances, and overall retired the first batter he faced in 42 of his 57 appearances. For the season he prevented 42 of the 54 runners he inherited from scoring, including 26 of the first 27 runners he inherited (covering his first 30 outings through July 16). He had a batting average against of .235 (83-for-353), including .207 (43-for-208) against right-handers and .276 (40-for-145) against left-handers. At home he was 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA and four saves in 30 games, while on the road he was 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA and four saves in 27 games. All of Tim's 443 career major league appearances have been in relief.
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 and compiled a record of 1-3 with no saves and a 3.77 ERA. 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). Following his trade to New York, he made 24 appearances and compiled a record of 4-1 with no saves (in one save opportunity), a 3.83 ERA and a .232 batting average against (41-for-177) [along with a 1.297 WHIP].
He made his Yankee debut on July 10 at Minnesota, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in the Yanks' 11-1 win. Tim 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. In the seven games bracketed by his first and third Yankee wins (August 12-29), he went 3-0 with a 0.52 ERA to lower his overall ERA as a Yankee to 2.95. Included in that span was a scoreless streak of nine 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 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.
[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. In his 54 games overall with the Padres and the Yankees in '86, he was 5-4 with no saves and a 3.80 ERA.
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. He became an Oriole prior to the 1977 season after being released by the White Sox during spring training. Tim 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, he 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 Tim had an RBI single in his first major league at-bat, the last time a pitcher would hit safely in World Series competition until 1986, 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 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.
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 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."
-1988 New York Yankees Information Guide
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