| Richard Dotson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1959-01-10)January 10, 1959 (age 67) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 4, 1979, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 5, 1990, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 111–113 |
| Earned run average | 4.23 |
| Strikeouts | 973 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Richard Elliott Dotson (born January 10, 1959) is an American former right-handedpitcher inMajor League Baseball in the 1980s. He is best noted for his 22-7 performance of1983,[1][2] helping theChicago White Sox win theAmerican League West Division championship that season. Dotson finished fourth in theAmerican LeagueCy Young Award voting, behind teammateLaMarr Hoyt. Arm injuries came to limit what was a promising baseball career.[1]
In a 12-season career, Rich Dotson recorded a record of 111–113 with a 4.23ERA in 305 games, 295 of them starts. He pitched 55complete games and 11shutouts in his career. Dotson gave up 872earned runs andstruck out 973 in1857+1⁄3innings pitched.
Dotson was born inCincinnati and drafted out ofAnderson High School by theCalifornia Angels in the summer of 1977, but was traded along withBobby Bonds andThad Bosley to the White Sox forBrian Downing,Chris Knapp andDave Frost on December 5, 1977.[3]
His debut in the majors was inauspicious. White Sox managerTony La Russa handed him the ball on September 4, 1979, as the starter for a game atAnaheim, but the 20-year-old Dotson retired only fourAngels and left the park that day with an earned-run average of 33.75.
By the next season, Dotson was a 12-game winner in the Chicago rotation. In 1981, he led the American League in shutouts with four. But his breakout season definitely was 1983. Dotson's 22 wins were the second-most in the league, and included 14 complete games. He also led the American League with 106walks and finished fourth in ALCy Young Award voting. On the final day of the regular season, he andDennis Lamp combined for a shutout at Seattle that put the White Sox in first place by a whopping 20 games over the nearest contender.
The closest Dotson ever came to pitching ano-hitter was in a 1–0 loss to theBaltimore Orioles atMemorial Stadium on May 18, 1983. The Orioles' lone hit and the only run of the game wasDan Ford's one-out opposite-field solohomer over the right-field fence in the eighth inning.[4] He was also the losing pitcher in his only postseason appearance, an 11–1 defeat to the Orioles in Game 3 of theAmerican League Championship Series atComiskey Park five months later on October 7.Eddie Murray's one-out three-run homer into the right-field upper deck off Dotson in the first inning was the deciding blow.[5]
Dotson became an All-Star the following summer, working two scoreless innings in the1984 All-Star Game atCandlestick Park.
Although his career never again reached those heights, Dotson did go 12–9 in theNew York Yankees' rotation in 1988. The team was in first place for much of the season's first half, including in late July, before fading. Dotson had a strong finish, combining with two relievers on September 29 for a seven-hitter at Baltimore in his final start of the season.
Dotson served as the pitching coach for theCharlotte Knights for nine seasons before becoming the pitching coordinator for their Major League affiliate, the Chicago White Sox.[6][7]
Dotson learned in 2018 that his biological father wasTurk Farrell, who played 14 MLB seasons.[8][9]
· Baseball Almanac