| Rick Honeycutt | |
|---|---|
 Honeycutt with theLos Angeles Dodgers | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1954-06-29)June 29, 1954 (age 71) Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 24, 1977, for the Seattle Mariners | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 2, 1997, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 109–143 |
| Earned run average | 3.72 |
| Strikeouts | 1,038 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
As player
As coach | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954), nicknamed "Honey",[1] is an American former professionalbaseballcoach andpitcher. Honeycutt pitched inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitched in 30 post-season games, including 20League Championship Series games and sevenWorld Series games, and never lost a game, going 3–0. Honeycutt gave up noruns in the 1988 and 1990 post-seasons, and was a member of theOakland Athletics'1989 World Series championship team. He was also the pitching coach for theLos Angeles Dodgers from 2006 through 2019.
Honeycutt was born inChattanooga, Tennessee, and graduated fromLakeview High School inFort Oglethorpe, Georgia. He was drafted in the 14th round (336th overall) of the1972 Major League Baseball draft by theBaltimore Orioles, but did not sign.[2]
Honeycutt played for theTennessee Volunteers baseball team from 1973–1976, where he was an All-American first baseman-pitcher and won theSoutheastern Conference batting title with a .404 mark. He played summer ball inLiberal, Kansas, in theJayhawk League, forBob Cerv.[3]
Honeycutt was drafted again in the 17th round (405th overall) of the1976 MLB draft by thePittsburgh Pirates.[4] After1+1⁄2 seasons in their minor league system, the Pirates traded him to theSeattle Mariners in August 1977 to complete an earlier trade forDave Pagan.[5]
Honeycutt made his major league debut on August 24, 1977, against theToronto Blue Jays. He pitched two scoreless innings of relief, struck out three, and allowed two hits.[6] His first start was against theNew York Yankees on August 31. He pitched7+1⁄2 innings in that start, allowing three earned runs in a no-decision.[7] He finished the season 0–1 with a 4.34 ERA in 10 games (three starts).[8]
Honeycutt earned his first career win in his first start the following year, beating theMinnesota Twins on April 7, 1978. In the game, he allowed three earned runs and four walks in seven innings as the Mariners won 6–3.[9] In 26 games (24 starts) during the 1978 season, he posted a 5–11 record and a 4.89 ERA.[8]
Honeycutt matured into acontrol pitcher, being selected to the1980 All-Star Game. While he was pitching on September 30, 1980, he was caught using a thumbtack to illegallycut the ball. He was ejected and suspended for 10 games.[10] On December 18, 1980, Honeycutt was traded along withWillie Horton,Leon Roberts,Mario Mendoza andLarry Cox from theMariners to theTexas Rangers forRichie Zisk,Jerry Don Gleaton,Rick Auerbach,Ken Clay,Brian Allard and minor-league right-handed pitcher Steve Finch in an 11-player blockbuster deal.[11] In 1983, Honeycutt represented the Rangers in the All-Star Game. On August 19, 1983, Honeycutt was traded from the Rangers to theLos Angeles Dodgers forDave Stewart andRicky Wright.[12] Honeycutt led the American League in ERA in 1983 with 2.42, although he was traded to the Dodgers late in the season.[8]
On August 29, 1987, the Dodgers traded Honeycutt to theOakland Athletics for aplayer to be named later,[13] who would beTim Belcher.[8] Converted from a starting pitcher to relief in 1988 by Oakland, he became a set-up man toDennis Eckersley, posting a series of sub-3.7 ERAs from 1988 through 1993. He was the oldest major league player in both 1996 and 1997.[14]
Honeycutt made 268 starts and 529 relief appearances in his career, logging 2,160 innings pitched and compiling 109 wins and 38 saves.[8]
Following his playing career, Honeycutt spent a year coaching his kids' teams before joining the Dodgers as their minor league pitching coordinator.[15]
Honeycutt joined the Dodgers' coaching staff as pitching coach for the 2006 season.[16] He also launched a sporting goods and apparel business in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Honeycutt andMariano Duncan were the only holdovers fromGrady Little's 2007 coaching staff to return on new Dodgers' managerJoe Torre's 2008 coaching staff.[17] Honeycutt also remained as pitching coach whenDon Mattingly replaced Torre after the 2010 season.[18] When Mattingly left the team after the 2015 season, Honeycutt was the only coach to remain on the staff for new managerDave Roberts.[19]
Due to a back injury, Honeycutt stepped down as pitching coach for the Dodgers after the 2019 season to take a new role as a special assistant to the team. Honeycutt's 14 years as the Dodgers pitching coach (under four different managers) tiedRon Perranoski for the longest tenure in that role in the organization's history.[20]
· Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Oldest Player in the National League 1996–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Los Angeles Dodgers Pitching Coach 2006–2019 | Succeeded by |