Thomas Marion Dodd(born August 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player. He had a short two-week stint in the major leagues with the 1986Baltimore Orioles,but is likely best remembered for being one of the players included in the deal that broughtFred McGriffto theToronto Blue Jaysas a minor league prospect.
| Tom Dodd | |
|---|---|
 Dodd with theNashville Soundsin 1982 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born:August 15, 1958 Portland, Oregon,U.S. | |
Batted:Right Threw:Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 25, 1986, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 6, 1986, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .231 |
| Home runs | 1 |
| Hits | 3 |
| StatsatBaseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Yankee farmhand
editA highly touted prospect himself, Dodd was drafted by theOakland Athleticsout of theUniversity of Oregonin the second round of the1979 Major League Baseball draft,but did not sign. A year later, he was drafted by theNew York Yankeesin the first round (seventh overall) of the secondary phase of the1980 Major League Baseball draft.[1]
Dodd was anoutfielderwhen he joined theFort Lauderdale Yankeesin1980,though he played some first base andcatcherduring his minor league career as well. In1981,Dodd hit 29home runsand had 95runs batted inas a member of theGreensboro Hornets.
McGriff deal
editEarly in the1982season, he, fellow Yankees farmhand Jeff Reynolds andfirst basemanDave Reveringwere traded to the Toronto Blue Jays forJohn Mayberry.After the season, the Yankees reacquired Dodd andrelief pitcherDale MurrayforFred McGriff,Dave CollinsandMike Morgan.Third basemanGraig Nettleswas also supposed to be included in the deal, but when the Jays refused to give him a hefty bonus, the Yankees included cash in the deal to compensate.[2]
MLB debut
editThe Yankees released Dodd the following May. Shortly afterwards, he signed with theChicago White Sox,with whom he remained through the1984season. The ChiSox released him just before the start of the1985minor league season. He signed with theBaltimore Orioles,and batted.300 for the first time in his career for the Orioles'Southern LeagueandCarolina Leagueaffiliates.
Dodd's best season was1986,when hebatted.306 with thirty home runs for theCharlotte O'sandRochester Red Wings.Along the way, he earned a promotion to the big league club. He made his major league debut on July 25, drawing awalkin his onlyat-bat.[3]
He entered seven games as apinch hitter,remaining in one at third base, despite the fact that he had made very few appearances as athird basemanin his minor league career. He hit his only major league home run in his only major league start on August 1 when managerEarl Weaverused Dodd as hisdesignated hitteragainst the Toronto Blue Jays.[4]
Despite hitting a career high and team-record 37 home runs for the Charlotte O's in1987,Dodd never returned to the majors. He spent three more seasons in theKansas City Royals' andSeattle Marinersfarm systems before retiring. In his final season as a pro, Dodd led the Pacific Coast League in RBI with 114 for the Calgary Cannons.
References
edit- ^"Baseball Draft Today".Rome News-Tribune. January 9, 1980.
- ^"Yanks Sign Kemp, 21 Players Move as Trading Heats Up".The Telegraph-Herald. December 10, 1982.
- ^"Baltimore Orioles 6, Chicago White Sox 2".Baseball-Reference. July 25, 1986.
- ^"Baltimore Orioles 7, Toronto Blue Jays 3".Baseball-Reference. August 1, 1986.
External links
edit- Career statistics fromMLB,orESPN,orBaseball Reference,orFangraphs,orBaseball Reference (Minors)