| Rob Dibble | |
|---|---|
 Dibble pitching for the Cincinnati Reds in 1991 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1964-01-24)January 24, 1964 (age 62) Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 29, 1988, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 1995, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 27–25 |
| Earned run average | 2.98 |
| Strikeouts | 645 |
| Saves | 89 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Robert Keith Dibble (born January 24, 1964) is an American formerMajor League Baseball (MLB)pitcher and television and radio analyst. Dibble debuted in MLB with the Cincinnati Reds in 1988 and was named to two All-Star Games with the Reds. He was the1990 National League Championship SeriesMost Valuable Player en route to the team'sWorld Series win.
After dealing with injuries and ineffectiveness, Dibble pitched forChicago White Sox andMilwaukee Brewers in 1995. After retiring as a player, Dibble has worked as a sports television and radio broadcaster.
Dibble was born inBridgeport, Connecticut. He attended St. Thomas School, aparochial school, and is a graduate ofSouthington High School inSouthington, Connecticut. Dibble's father, Walt Dibble, was a longtime radio news director atWDRC and laterWTIC inHartford, Connecticut.
Dibble was drafted by theCincinnati Reds in the first round of the second phase of the 1983 MLB draft, and he made his debut with the Reds on June 29, 1988.[1]
On June 4, 1989, Dibble threw animmaculate inning when he struck out all three batters on nine total pitches, occurring in the eighth inning of a 5–3 win over theSan Diego Padres.[2] During his career, Dibble was known for his temper. During a game in July 1989, he hitMets second basemenTim Teufel in the back with a pitch; Teufel thencharged Dibble, causing abench-clearing brawl.
Dibble was anMLB All-Star in1990 and1991, and was the1990 NLCSMost Valuable Player (along with fellow "Nasty Boy"Randy Myers). In 1990, Dibble and theReds won theWorld Series by beating theOakland Athletics in four consecutive games.
After saving a game in April 1991 despite giving up two runs in relief, Dibble threw a baseball 400 feet into the center-field seats at Cincinnati, inadvertently striking a woman.[3][4][5] He was also involved in a brawl in 1991 withAstros shortstopEric Yelding.[4][6] Later in the 1991 season, he threw a baseball into the back ofCubs outfielderDoug Dascenzo as he ran down the first base line and was subsequently ejected from the game.[7]
On June 23, 1992, Dibble recorded his 500th career strikeout in fewer innings—368—than any other pitcher in modern baseball history up to that point (Aroldis Chapman later passed him).[8] After a September 18 game saw the Reds win without needing Dibble on the mound, the post-game interview of team managerLou Piniella led to a scuffle when Dibble disagreed with Piniella's assessment that Dibble wasn't used because of a "bad shoulder". The two shoved each other in front of cameras that saw both of them have to visit team ownerMarge Schott and management to go with an apology.[9][10]
Dibble, seeing the trade of co-closerNorm Charlton to Seattle as a move that essentially anointed Dibble as their primary closer, stated his desire to turn a new leaf with two goals for 1993: save 40 games and improve his reputation.[11] On April 21, he broke his left forearm during a game and was projected to miss six weeks. He returned in late May but had a 6.48 ERA in 45 games that saw him collect 19 saves.[12][13] In April of 1994, Dibble required surgery for a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. It was speculated at the time that he would miss three months, but he ended up missing the entire season.[14][15]
Dibble signed with theChicago White Sox before the 1995 season. The team briefly suspended him after he expressed he criticizedreplacement players during theongoing strike, saying thestrikebreakers were "going to be labeled like child molesters for the rest of their lives."[16][17] After failing to trade him during spring training, the White Sox sent Dibble to the Triple-ABirmingham Barons, where he went 0–2 in 11 games. He then pitched 16 games for the White Sox and after being released he was picked up by theMilwaukee Brewers, where he pitched in 15 more games. His combinedMLB 1995 record was 1–2 with a 7.18 ERA, walking 46 batters in 21 innings.[18][1]
Dibble opted to make a comeback, signing a minor league contract on April 14, 1996, with theFlorida Marlins. However, Dibble would ultimately see no game action with the Marlins or their minor league affiliates.[19][20]
In 1998, Dibble joinedESPN as abaseball analyst, working mostly onDan Patrick's radio show. He worked onThe Best Damn Sports Show Period as a co-host until 2008, when he left to joinFox Sports on their Saturday baseball program as an analyst. Dibble also spends time as a co-host/analyst of First Pitch onXM Channel 175/Sirius channel 210. He formerly hostedThe Show (on the same channel) withJody McDonald. Dibble served as co-analyst (withKevin Kennedy) forFoxSports.com on a weekly video segment entitled "Around the Bases." Dibble also was a co-host with former Major League playerDenny Hocking on Fox Sports Radio Sunday night programming.
In 2009, Dibble signed a three-year contract to replaceDon Sutton as the color voice of theWashington Nationals onMASN.[21] While broadcasting a game in August 2010, Dibble drew negative attention for focusing on a group of female spectators in the Nationals crowd and questioning their focus on the game.[22][23] He later apologized for the comments.[24] Later in the month, Dibble criticized Nationals rookie pitcherStephen Strasburg for missing a start due to an injury:
"Suck it up, kid. This is your profession. You chose to be a baseball player. You can't have the cavalry come in and save your butt every time you feel a little stiff shoulder, sore elbow."[24][25]
It was revealed shortly afterward that Strasburg had torn an elbow ligament and requiredTommy John surgery.[26][27] Dibble took a few days off fromMASN after making the comments. On September 1, 2010, MASN announced that Dibble would no longer be calling Nationals games.[28][29][30] After losing his job with the Nationals, Dibble apologized for the Strasburg comments on his radio show.[31] In April 2011, Dibble said in an interview onFoxSports.com that the reason for his dismissal was because of an email Strasburg's father sent to theLerner Family, the owners of the Nationals.[32] Dibble also continued to express his belief that Strasburg should have pitched through his pain.[33][34] Strasburg denied the claim about his father's e-mail, and Nationals presidentStan Kasten called Dibble's account "fictional" and "sad".[34][35]
By October 31, 2011, Dibble became a member of Mike North's talk radio show.
Dibble had a brief stint as the varsity baseball head coach atCalabasas High School inCalabasas, California.[36] He was fired from his head coaching job on March 27, 2013, only ten games into the season.[37] By December 18, 2013, he, along withAmy Van Dyken, were replaced onFox Sports Radio'sFox Sports Tonight. Dibble also called games for theLos Angeles Angels forCompass Media.[38]
On March 27, 2014, Dibble became the host of the 3–7 pm (Eastern) sports talk show on WUCS 97.9 FM and WAVZ 1300 AM in the ESPN stations inHartford andNew Haven,Connecticut respectively. He joined interim host Paul Nanos, who filled in when Mike Bower's contract was not renewed. Until the end of October, the show was billed asThe Rob Dibble Show with Paul Nanos. In October, the show was renamedThe Rob Dibble Show.[39]
In 2024, Dibble signed a five-year extension with Fox Sports to continue hosting his radio show in Connecticut.[40][41]
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