Rick Rhoden
| Rick Rhoden | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: May 16, 1953 Boynton Beach, Florida |
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| MLB debut | |||
| July 5, 1974, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 29, 1989, for the Houston Astros | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 151–125 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.59 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,419 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Richard Alan Rhoden (born May 16, 1953) is a professional golfer and was a Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During his 16-year baseball career, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1974–1978), Pittsburgh Pirates (1979–1986) and Houston Astros (1989) of the National League; and the New York Yankees (1987–1988) of the American League.
Rhoden was born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida. Rhoden overcame a childhood bone disease, osteomyelitis, and wore a brace until age 12. He attended Seacrest High School (which became Atlantic High) in Delray Beach, Florida, where he was the star pitcher for the school's baseball team. He did not attend college after graduating from high school in 1971, but played minor league baseball in Daytona Beach, El Paso, and Albuquerque until he was called up to the majors in 1974.
Rhoden broke into the big leagues, at the age of 21, with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 5, 1974. He was elected to the All-Star team twice (1976 with the Dodgers and 1986 with the Pirates), and won three Silver Slugger Awards (1984–1986). His teams made it to the post-season twice during his career: the Dodgers in two consecutive seasons, 1977 and 1978. In both of those years, the Dodgers reached the World Series against the New York Yankees, but lost in six games each year.
Rhoden earned a reputation as an outstanding hitting pitcher. He had an eleven-game hitting streak in 1984, one of the longest all-time for a pitcher. On June 11, 1988, New York Yankees manager Billy Martin made him the Yankees' starting designated hitter, going 0-1 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He batted seventh in the lineup, ahead of Rafael Santana and Joel Skinner. He was the first pitcher to start a game at DH since the AL's adoption of the DH rule in 1973. He was pinch hit for by José Cruz in the Yankees' 8-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
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