Rookie of the Year: Dave Righetti, 1981

Pitcher, New York Yankees

Age:  22

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’4”    Weight: 195 

Prior to 1981:

A native of San Jose, California Righetti was the son of a former Yankee minor league infielder. He was an outfielder in high school until becoming a pitcher as a senior and going 7-0. Moving on to San Jose City College, Righetti was selected by the Texas Rangers in the first round of the 1977 amateur draft (tenth overall). Initially assigned to the Asheville Tourists of the Class A Western Carolinas League in ‘77, he produced an 11-3 record and 3.14 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 109 innings pitched. Advancing to the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League in 1978, he compiled a mediocre 5-5 tally although his ERA was a very respectable 3.16 and he recorded 127 strikeouts over 91 innings that included 21 in a game against Midland. In the offseason Righetti was traded to the Yankees as part of the deal that brought LHP Sparky Lyle to Texas. Assigned to West Haven of the Class AA Eastern League in 1979, he continued to develop his fastball, changeup, and slider, and went 4-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 69 innings. Promoted to the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League, he added a 3-2 tally to his record as well as another 44 strikeouts while pitching 40 innings with a 2.93 ERA. It earned him a late-season call-up to the Yankees where he was winless in three starts. It was back to Columbus in 1980, where his record was a disappointing 6-10 with a 4.63 ERA along with 139 strikeouts and 101 walks over the course of 142 innings. Righetti got off to a strong start with Columbus in 1981 and found himself back with the Yankees.

1981 Season Summary

Appeared in 15 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 15

Games Started – 15

Complete Games – 2

Wins – 8

Losses – 4

PCT - .667 [6, tied with Steve McCatty & Jack Morris]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 0

Innings Pitched – 105.1

Hits – 75

Runs – 25

Earned Runs – 24

Home Runs – 1

Bases on Balls – 38

Strikeouts – 89 [10, tied with Dave Stieb]

ERA – 2.05 [1]

Hit Batters – 0

Balks – 1 [18, tied with 27 others]

Wild Pitches – 1

League-leading ERA was -0.27 lower than runner-up Sammy Stewart

Midseason Snapshot: 3-0, ERA - 1.50, SO – 23 in 30 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 11 (in 7 IP) vs. Boston 9/11

10+ strikeout games – 1

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 7 IP) vs. Minnesota 8/26, (in 7 IP) vs. Boston 9/11

Fielding

Chances – 16

Put Outs – 6

Assists – 9

Errors – 1

DP – 0

Pct. - .938

Postseason Pitching: G – 4, (ALDS vs. Milwaukee 2 G; ALCS vs. Oakland 1 G; World Series vs. LA Dodgers 1 G)

GS – 3, CG – 0, Record – 3-0, PCT – 1.000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 17, H – 17, R – 4, ER – 4, HR – 1, BB – 7, SO – 18, ERA – 2.12, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

 

NL ROY Voting (Top 4):

Dave Righetti, NYY.: 127 points – 23 of 28 first place votes, 91% share

Rich Gedman, Bos.: 64 points – 5 first place votes, 46% share

Bob Ojeda, Bos.: 36 points – 26% share

Mike Jones, KCR: 8 points – 6% share

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In a season in which was interrupted by a players’ strike for nearly two months, the Yankees went 34-22 in the first half, finishing first in the AL Eastern Division by 2 games over the Baltimore Orioles. In the second season that followed the strike, they were 25-26 to finish sixth in the division, 5 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Compiling an overall record of 59-48 the pitching staff led the league in ERA (2.90), shutouts (13 tied with Detroit & Texas), strikeouts (606), fewest hits allowed (827) & fewest runs allowed (343). The Yankees, carried by pitching and defense, went on a spurt just prior to the strike to assure a playoff spot in the revised format. Struggling a bit after the strike, manager Gene Michael was replaced by Bob Lemon during a 13-14 September. Won ALDS over the Milwaukee Brewers, 3 games to 2, helped along by Righetti’s two wins (a 6-inning, 10 strikeout start in Game 2 & a relief stint in Game 5). Won ALCS over the Oakland Athletics, 3 games to 0. Lost World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 games to 2, as the Dodgers overcame a 2-games-to-0 deficit.

Aftermath of ‘81:

Righetti encountered difficulties with his control in 1982 and was briefly sent down to Columbus. He went on to an 11-10 record with a 3.79 ERA and 163 strikeouts, although he led the AL by issuing 108 walks. 1983 was a better year as Righetti posted a 14-8 tally that included a July 4 no-hitter against the arch-rival Boston Red Sox. He pitched a career-high 217 innings and posted a 3.44 ERA and 169 strikeouts. In 1984, with bullpen closer Rich Gossage having departed as a free agent, manager Yogi Berra made the controversial decision to move Righetti to the closer role. The result was 31 saves and a 5-6 record with a 2.34 ERA. The pitcher nicknamed “Rags” combined with rookie righthander Brian Fisher to compile 43 saves in 1985 (29 by Righetti, 14 by Fisher) and Righetti’s record was 12-7 with a 2.78 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 107 innings. In 1986, he set what was then a major league record by recording 46 saves to go along with an 8-8 tally and 2.45 ERA with 83 strikeouts over 106.2 innings. He placed fourth in league Cy Young voting and tenth in the MVP balloting and received AL Fireman of the Year recognition from The Sporting News and was the Rolaids AL Relief Man of the Year. Righetti won both awards again in 1987 as he went 8-6 with 31 saves, a 3.51 ERA, and 77 strikeouts in 95 innings over 60 appearances. A sore arm in 1988 led to a lesser performance with 25 saves, a 5-4 record, 3.52 ERA, and 70 strikeouts while pitching 87 innings over 60 games. Righetti played two more seasons with the Yankees and saved 25 games for the fading team in 1989 and 36 in 1990. A free agent following the 1990 season, he signed with the San Francisco Giants for four years and $10 million. Righetti appeared in 61 games for the Giants in 1991 and went 2-7 with 24 saves, a 3.39 ERA, and 51 strikeouts. With his fastball showing a loss of velocity in 1992, Righetti dropped to three saves as his closer role was taken over by Rod Beck. A return to starting yielded unimpressive results and the once-feared southpaw ended up appearing in 54 games and producing another 2-7 tally with a miserable 5.06 ERA. Righetti appeared in 51 games in 1993 and had a 5.70 ERA. Released by the Giants after the season, he joined the Oakland Athletics in 1994 but failed to last through April as he was released once again and moved on to Toronto where he was initially assigned to Class AA Knoxville before being promoted to the Blue Jays. Prior to the season-ending strike, he appeared in 13 games and compiled a 6.75 ERA. Let go in the offseason, he joined the Chicago White Sox in 1995 where he was utilized as a starter and finished his major league career with a 3-2 tally and 4.20 ERA. Released by the White Sox, he retired. For his major league career, Righetti compiled an 82-79 record with a 3.46 ERA, 252 saves, 89 starts, 13 complete games, and 1112 strikeouts in 1403.2 innings pitched. With the Yankees he was 74-61 with a 3.11 ERA, 224 saves, 76 starts, 13 complete games, and 940 strikeouts in 1136.2 innings pitched. He saw his only postseason action in 1981. Following his retirement as a player, Righetti returned to the Giants as a pitching coach.   

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.