Cy Young Profile: R.A. Dickey, 2012

Pitcher, New York Mets

Age:  37

3^rd season with Mets

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’3”    Weight: 215

Prior to 2012:

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Dickey excelled in football as well as baseball at Montgomery Bell Academy. He went 15-3 with 218 strikeouts as a senior and passed on an offer from the Detroit Tigers to attend the Univ. of Tennessee where he continued to pitch impressively. He was chosen by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the 1996 amateur draft. Found to have a congenital abnormality in his right elbow, Dickey signed for a reduced bonus. First assigned to Port Charlotte of the advanced Class A Florida State League, he made a poor showing with a 1-4 record and 6.94 ERA. He was made Port Charlotte’s bullpen closer in 1998 and was 1-5 with 38 saves and a 3.30 ERA in 57 appearances. Dickey advanced to the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League in 1999 and was utilized as both a starter and reliever, producing a 6-7 record with 10 saves and a 4.55 ERA. He moved on to the Oklahoma RedHawks of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, where in 2000 he posted an 8-9 record with a 4.49 ERA in 30 games, 23 of them starts. Dickey was back with Oklahoma in 2001, where he went 11-7 in 24 starts with a 3.75 ERA and 120 strikeouts. He had a brief trial with the Rangers in May and in four relief outings he went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA. With a mediocre fastball, curve, and forkball, his future did not appear to be promising. Dickey was again with Oklahoma in 2002, where utilized as a starter and reliever he produced an 8-7 tally with a 4.09 ERA over 154 innings pitched. He started off the 2003 season in the Texas bullpen until advancing to the starting rotation in July. Appearing in 38 games (13 of them starts) for the last-place Rangers Dickey was 9-8 with a 5.09 ERA. He hurled one shutout and struck out 94 batters. He followed up with a lesser performance in an injury-plagued 2004 season in which he compiled a 6-7 record and 5.61 ERA in 25 games, 15 of them starts. It was even rougher in 2005 when Dickey was demoted to Oklahoma following a poor start to the season, where he went 10-6 with a 5.99 ERA. While back in Class AAA Dickey began to experiment with throwing a knuckleball. He started the 2006 season with the Rangers but was demoted to Oklahoma after giving up six home runs in his first start. With the RedHawks he was 9-8 with a 4.92 ERA and in the offseason he departed Texas as a free agent. Signed by the Milwaukee Brewers, he was assigned to the Nashville Sounds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in 2007. With improved performance of the knuckleball he posted a 13-6 record with a 3.72 ERA and was named PCL Pitcher of the Year. Moving on to the Seattle Mariners in the offseason, Dickey split 2008 between Tacoma of the PCL, where he started seven games and went 2-5 with a 3.44 ERA, and the Mariners, where he started in 14 of his 32 appearances and produced a 5-8 record with a 5.21 ERA. As a free agent once more in the offseason, Dickey next signed with the Minnesota Twins and, working out of the bullpen, he pitched in 35 games and was 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in 2009 at age 34. He signed a minor league contract with the Mets for 2010. He started the season at Buffalo of the Class AAA International League where he dominated with his knuckleball for eight starts and compiled a 4-2 record with a 2.23 ERA before being called up to the Mets and inserted into the rotation. He got off to a 6-0 start for the Mets on his way to an 11-9 tally with a 2.84 ERA. Dickey received a boost in pay for 2011 and he was a hard-luck pitcher for a losing team, posting an 8-13 record with a 3.28 ERA and 134 strikeouts. Heading into 2012, Dickey’s career thus far had been largely filled with disappointment.

2012 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 33 [1, tied with eleven others]

Complete Games – 5 [1]

Wins – 20 [2]

Losses – 6

PCT - .769 [3]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 3 [1]

Innings Pitched – 233.2 [1]

Hits – 192 [14, tied with Kyle Lohse]

Runs – 78

Earned Runs – 71

Home Runs – 24 [15, tied with Cole Hamels]

Bases on Balls – 54

Strikeouts – 230 [1]

ERA – 2.73 [2]

Hit Batters – 9 [7, tied with four others]

Balks – 1 [14, tied with many others]

Wild Pitches – 4

League-leading complete games were +2 ahead of runners-up Adam Wainwright & Ricky Nolasco

League-leading shutouts were +1 ahead of six runners-up

League-leading innings pitched were +6 ahead of runner-up Clayton Kershaw

League-leading strikeouts were +1 ahead of runner-up Clayton Kershaw

Midseason Snapshot: 12-1, ERA - 2.40, SO - 123 in 120 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 9 IP) vs. Baltimore 6/18, (in 7.2 IP) vs. Pittsburgh 9/27

10+ strikeout games – 7

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at Tampa Bay 6/13, (in 9 IP) vs. Baltimore 6/18

Batting

PA – 83, AB – 72, R – 3, H – 11, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 0, SO – 14, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .153, GDP – 3, HBP – 1, SH – 10, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 60

Put Outs – 12

Assists – 44

Errors – 4

DP – 6

Pct. - .933

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award:BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

14^th in NL MVP voting, tied with Joey Votto, Cin. (16 points, 4% share)

NL Cy Young voting (Top 5):

R.A. Dickey, NYM: 209 pts. – 27 of 32 first place votes, 93% share

Clayton Kershaw, LAD: 96 pts. – 2 first place votes, 43% share

Gio Gonzalez, Wash.: 93 pts. – 1 first place vote, 42% share

Johnny Cueto, Cin.: 75 pts. – 1 first place vote, 33% share

Craig Kimbrel, Atl.: 41 pts. – 1 first place vote, 18% share

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Mets went 74-88 to finish fourth in the NL Eastern Division, 24 games behind the division-winning Washington Nationals. Dickey’s heroics, which included the two one-hitters in consecutive starts, provided the team’s primary highlights.

Aftermath of 2012:

In the offseason following his outstanding 2012 performance, the Mets traded Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays, who gave him a two-year $25 million contract extension. In 2013 he finished with a 14-13 record and 4.21 ERA with 177 strikeouts. An outstanding fielding pitcher, he also won a Gold Glove. In 2014 he was 14-13 again with a 3.71 ERA and 173 strikeouts. Off to a slow start in 2015 he went on to post an 11-11 record with a 3.91 ERA and 126 strikeouts. The Blue Jays exercised their option to keep Dickey in 2016 and he had surgery on his right knee. His 2016 record slipped to 10-15 and a 4.46 ERA and 126 strikeouts. A free agent in the offseason he moved on to the Atlanta Braves for 2017, where at age 42 he went 10-10 with a 4.26 ERA and 136 strikeouts. Unsigned for 2018 and receiving no offers, Dickey retired. Overall in the major leagues he compiled a 120-118 record with a 4.04 ERA and 1477 strikeouts over 2073.2 innings. With the Mets, where he experienced his greatest success, he was 39-28 with a 2.95 ERA and 468 strikeouts. He started 300 of his 400 appearances and pitched 15 complete games that included 6 shutouts. Dickey started two postseason games, both with Toronto, and was 0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 6.1 innings pitched.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.