Randy Myers
Encyclopedia
Randall Kirk Myers is a former Major League Baseball
relief pitcher
. During a 14-year baseball career, he pitched from 1985-1998 for the New York Mets
, Cincinnati Reds
, San Diego Padres
, Chicago Cubs
, Baltimore Orioles
, and Toronto Blue Jays
.
in 1985 under the management of Davey Johnson
, and was a member of the Mets World Championship team. Myers became a closer in as he platooned with Roger McDowell
after Jesse Orosco
left for the Los Angeles Dodgers
.
Myers was traded to the Reds in for closer John Franco, and became one of the league's elite closers and the most successful member of the Nasty Boys trio, which also included Rob Dibble
and Norm Charlton
, while being selected as an All-Star
in 1990. 1990 also gave Myers his second World Championship as the Reds swept the Oakland Athletics
. In , the Reds experimented with Myers as a starter, a move that proved highly unsuccessful as he posted a record of 6 wins and 13 losses.
found Myers back in a familiar role, but with a new team, as he became the closer for the Padres. After only one season in San Diego, Myers was a Cub in where he posted his best statistical season with a then National League
record 53 saves. In a September 28, 1995 game vs. the Padres, Myers was attacked by a fan at Wrigley Field
after giving up a home run. In and , Myers earned his second and third All-Star selections. After the 1995 season, Myers became a member of the Orioles where he had two more solid seasons, highlighted by an All-Star selection in , when he saved 45 games. Myers had 28 saves for the Blue Jays in his final season, , before being traded back to the Padres after being claimed on waivers. Though he was under contract for both and , he did not pitch in the Major Leagues after 1998.
In a 14 year Major League career, Myers compiled a 3.19 ERA
, 347 saves, 44 wins, 63 losses and struck out 884 batters in 884.2 innings. Going into the 2008 season, Myers ranked 7th on the all-time Major League career saves list. He has since been passed by Billy Wagner
of the New York Mets
and Troy Percival
of the Tampa Bay Rays
.
In 2000, Myers earned a salary
of $
6,916,667.00 while unable to pitch due to a damaged shoulder
. Most of his 1999 and 2000 seasons were spent receiving treatment in the Padres training room after undergoing rotator cuff
surgery in 1999; his injury resulted in a legal dispute between the Padres and their insurance carrier after the carrier denied an $8 million claim due to Myers' inability to play. http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20030530-9999_1s30padside.html
The Padres' 1998 waiver claim of Myers is considered one of the biggest blunders in the history of the waiver wire. The Padres did not want Myers, mostly because of the $12 million and 2 additional years remaining on his contract as well as the fact that they already had an established closer in Trevor Hoffman
, but placed a waiver claim in order to prevent him from going to the rival Atlanta Braves
. They expected the Blue Jays to rescind their waiver claim, but the Blue Jays instead allowed the waiver claim to go through, leaving them responsible for the rest of his contract.http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/bodley/2006-08-28-bodley-trades_x.htm
In October 1990, Myers was featured on the 18 ounce box of Wheaties
breakfast cereal
along with fellow Cincinnati Reds
1990 World Series
champions Eric Davis, José Rijo
, Barry Larkin
, Chris Sabo
, and Hal Morris
. http://www.generalmills.com/stream_document.aspx?rID=8419&catID=359&itemID=6806
Randy Myers is a notable graduate of Evergreen High School
and Clark College
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
. During a 14-year baseball career, he pitched from 1985-1998 for the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
, Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
, San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
, Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, and Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....
.
Career
Myers first began his major league career with the New York MetsNew York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
in 1985 under the management of Davey Johnson
Davey Johnson
David Allen "Davey" Johnson is an American Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Washington Nationals. He was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles when they won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1965 and 1972...
, and was a member of the Mets World Championship team. Myers became a closer in as he platooned with Roger McDowell
Roger McDowell
Roger Alan McDowell is the pitching coach of the Atlanta Braves and was a right-handed relief pitcher for twelve seasons in Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1996. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League and the Texas Rangers and...
after Jesse Orosco
Jesse Orosco
Jesse Russell Orosco is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances. He pitched most notably for the New York Mets in the 1980s. He won a World Series in 1986 with the Mets and in 1988 with the Dodgers. He threw left-handed,...
left for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
.
Myers was traded to the Reds in for closer John Franco, and became one of the league's elite closers and the most successful member of the Nasty Boys trio, which also included Rob Dibble
Rob Dibble
Robert Keith Dibble is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and television analyst.-Personal life:Dibble is a graduate of Southington High School in Southington, Connecticut...
and Norm Charlton
Norm Charlton
Norman Wood Charlton III , nicknamed "The Sheriff", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds , Seattle Mariners , Philadelphia Phillies , Baltimore Orioles , Atlanta Braves , and Tampa Bay Devil Rays .Charlton holds three degrees from Rice University.The left-handed...
, while being selected as an All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
in 1990. 1990 also gave Myers his second World Championship as the Reds swept the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. In , the Reds experimented with Myers as a starter, a move that proved highly unsuccessful as he posted a record of 6 wins and 13 losses.
found Myers back in a familiar role, but with a new team, as he became the closer for the Padres. After only one season in San Diego, Myers was a Cub in where he posted his best statistical season with a then National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
record 53 saves. In a September 28, 1995 game vs. the Padres, Myers was attacked by a fan at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...
after giving up a home run. In and , Myers earned his second and third All-Star selections. After the 1995 season, Myers became a member of the Orioles where he had two more solid seasons, highlighted by an All-Star selection in , when he saved 45 games. Myers had 28 saves for the Blue Jays in his final season, , before being traded back to the Padres after being claimed on waivers. Though he was under contract for both and , he did not pitch in the Major Leagues after 1998.
In a 14 year Major League career, Myers compiled a 3.19 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
, 347 saves, 44 wins, 63 losses and struck out 884 batters in 884.2 innings. Going into the 2008 season, Myers ranked 7th on the all-time Major League career saves list. He has since been passed by Billy Wagner
Billy Wagner
William Edward Wagner , nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is a retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He pitched for the Houston Astros , the Philadelphia Phillies , the New York Mets , the Boston Red Sox , and the Atlanta Braves...
of the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
and Troy Percival
Troy Percival
Troy Eugene Percival is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He gained fame as a closer. During a 14-year baseball career, he pitched from 1995-2009 for four different teams, pitching primarily with the California/Anaheim Angels...
of the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
.
In 2000, Myers earned a salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
6,916,667.00 while unable to pitch due to a damaged shoulder
Shoulder
The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle , the scapula , and the humerus as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joints. The major joint of the shoulder is the glenohumeral joint, which...
. Most of his 1999 and 2000 seasons were spent receiving treatment in the Padres training room after undergoing rotator cuff
Rotator cuff
In anatomy, the rotator cuff is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder. The four muscles of the rotator cuff, along with the teres major muscle, the coracobrachialis muscle and the deltoid, make up the seven scapulohumeral muscles of the human body.-Function:The...
surgery in 1999; his injury resulted in a legal dispute between the Padres and their insurance carrier after the carrier denied an $8 million claim due to Myers' inability to play. http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/padres/20030530-9999_1s30padside.html
The Padres' 1998 waiver claim of Myers is considered one of the biggest blunders in the history of the waiver wire. The Padres did not want Myers, mostly because of the $12 million and 2 additional years remaining on his contract as well as the fact that they already had an established closer in Trevor Hoffman
Trevor Hoffman
Trevor William Hoffman is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. During his 18-year career from 1993 to 2010, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and the Milwaukee Brewers, spending years of his career with the Padres. A long-time closer, he is the Major...
, but placed a waiver claim in order to prevent him from going to the rival Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
. They expected the Blue Jays to rescind their waiver claim, but the Blue Jays instead allowed the waiver claim to go through, leaving them responsible for the rest of his contract.http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/columnist/bodley/2006-08-28-bodley-trades_x.htm
In October 1990, Myers was featured on the 18 ounce box of Wheaties
Wheaties
Wheaties is a brand of General Mills breakfast cereal. It is well known for featuring prominent athletes on the exterior of the package, and has become a major cultural icon...
breakfast cereal
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
along with fellow Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
1990 World Series
1990 World Series
- Game 1 :Tuesday, October 16, 1990 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, OhioUntil , this was the last World Series to be scheduled to begin play on a Tuesday, and the first since . The schedule called for the seven-game series to be held Tue–Wed, Fri–Sat–Sun, Tue–Wed. Games 5, 6, and 7, however...
champions Eric Davis, José Rijo
José Rijo
José Antonio Rijo Abreu is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Reds .-Playing career:...
, Barry Larkin
Barry Larkin
Barry Louis Larkin is a retired Major League Baseball player. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team...
, Chris Sabo
Chris Sabo
Christopher Andrew Sabo is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds , Baltimore Orioles , Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals . At 6'0" and 180 lb , he batted and threw right-handed...
, and Hal Morris
Hal Morris
William Harold Morris III is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. He attended Munster High School in Munster, Indiana, and the University of Michigan. Morris was the Player of the Year while attending Munster High School...
. http://www.generalmills.com/stream_document.aspx?rID=8419&catID=359&itemID=6806
Randy Myers is a notable graduate of Evergreen High School
Evergreen High School (Vancouver, Washington)
Evergreen High School is a public high school located in Vancouver, Washington. It was founded shortly after the district was formed in 1945. Evergreen was the first high school in the Evergreen Public Schools.-Facilities:...
and Clark College
Clark College (Washington)
Clark College is a community college located in Vancouver, Washington.The college, which celebrated its 75th anniversary on October 1, 2008, was founded as a private, two-year, junior college in 1933...
.
Quotes
- "The Nasty Boys — The Reds' three flame-throwing relievers, Randy Myers, Rob DibbleRob DibbleRobert Keith Dibble is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and television analyst.-Personal life:Dibble is a graduate of Southington High School in Southington, Connecticut...
and Norm CharltonNorm CharltonNorman Wood Charlton III , nicknamed "The Sheriff", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds , Seattle Mariners , Philadelphia Phillies , Baltimore Orioles , Atlanta Braves , and Tampa Bay Devil Rays .Charlton holds three degrees from Rice University.The left-handed...
, emerged as arguably the deepest and most talented late-inning pitchers in postseason history." — John Erardi and John Fay, The Cincinnati Enquirer http://reds.enquirer.com/2002/06/23/red_surprise_90_series.html
See also
- List of athletes on Wheaties boxes
- List of Major League Baseball saves champions
- List of Major League Baseball saves champions
- List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
External links
- Biography of Randy Myers provided by baseballlibrary.com