TIM STODDARD: UNSUNG HERO OF THE 80's YANKEES PEN

Tim Stoddard was one of the unsung heroes of the Yankees bullpen in the middle 1980’s. He came to us at a time when the Yankees desperately needed help with their relief pitching. The combined ERA of the men originally slated to set up closer Dave Righetti lived in the neighborhood of 5.00. Additionally, they had a personnel problem named Ed Whitson. After a year and a half of verbal abuse, hate mail, threats on his life, and a bar fight with then-manager Billy Martin, it was time for Whitson to go. So, on July 9, 1986, the team sent Whitson to San Diego and Tim Stoddard became a Yankee. His job was to raise the level of the game in the bullpen, and he quickly inserted his 3.83 ERA into the bullpen mix.

He made 24 appearances in the second half of 1986, 18 times with inherited runners on base, and only allowed 24% of them to score. His job was to put the fire out. In the following year, Stoddard posted a 3.50 ERA and got some help from Cecilio Guante. His proficiency in stranding runners increased, allowing only 22% of them to score. He also filled in as an occasional backup closer in 1987, converting eight out of nine save opportunities, when Righetti was starting to struggle closing out games.

His final year with the Yankees was in 1988, which was not a good year for him. Despite establishing himself as a reliable setup guy, it all came apart in 1988. At times, he looked good, and at other times, he looked lost. His ERA fluctuated between 6 and 8 throughout the season. By late August of that year, he had given up earned runs in seven consecutive appearance. Most of them involved multiple earned runs surrendered. So, at age 35, the Yankees released him. He pitched one more year in 1989 with the Cleveland Indians, appearing in 12 games with a very respectable 2.95 ERA.

These days Tim Stoddard serves as the Assistant Coach of the Northwestern Wildcats college baseball team. He has a strong record of accomplishment with coaching pitchers, as his pitching staffs have achieved two Big Ten ERA titles in his tenure at NU, read HERE. As of this writing, twelve of his pitchers have been selected in the MLB draft. He also is the holder of two curious records. First, he is one of only two players to have made it to the World Series (he was a member of the 1979 Orioles) and to the Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. Kenny Lofton was the other. Second, he was the first pitcher to have ever given up a broken bat home run, read HERE.

 It wouldn't be a complete Stoddard tribute if I didn't mention one of our favorite appearances ever by Tim.  When he appeared in the film Rookie of the Year.  

We were proud to have him as a member of our team, and we wish him all the best.

 
--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row

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