Bob Ojeda

From SoSH

Bob Ojeda (born December 17, 1957 in Los Angeles, California) had an up and down career with the Red Sox, pitching well in the minors early on, but struggled at the Major League level. By 1983, Ojeda had finally translated his talent in Major League success and in 1984, he and Bruce Hurst led the team in victories.

Contents 1 Red Sox Career 2 Later Career 3 Awards 4 Achievements 5 Trivia 6 Transactions 7 External Links

Red Sox Career

Ojeda was the winning pitcher in the longest professional baseball game in history between Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings. Ojeda started the 33rd and got credit for the win when Pawtucket won in the bottom of the inning. Not long after, the 1981 baseball strike began and Ojeda's 2.13 ERA earned him a call-up when it ended. He responded with a complete game seven-hit victory. This time, his stay in the majors was permanent as he pitched well in all but his last two starts for Boston.

1982 went poorly for Ojeda in his first full season in the majors. After a couple poor starts in May, he split time between the rotation and the bullpen.

In 1983, Ojeda turned things around for a Boston team that finished near the bottom of the division. As the fourth starter, he posted a 12-7 record and a 4.04 ERA which were both tops in the rotation. In 1984, Ojeda and Bruce Hurst were the number-one starters and Ojeda posted another twelve wins (to go with twelve losses) which included a Major League lead-tying five shutouts. The Red Sox improved in the standings but Ojeda's numbers – including an ERA again near four – mostly stayed the same.

When 1985 started, the Red Sox were overstocked on starting pitchers, including a young Roger Clemens, so Ojeda was relegated to the bullpen. He pitched so well in that capacity that he was moved back into the rotation at the end of May but his ERA again balooned over four prompting him to be traded after the season. The eight-player trade seemed benign at the time but would have repercussions the following year as it sent Ojeda to the New York Mets and Calvin Schiraldi to the Red Sox. Both would play important roles in the 1986 World Series.

Later Career

Despite starting in the bullpen and then being only the fourth starter, Ojeda finished with an 18-5 record, 2.57 ERA in 1986 (second-best in the league) and 148 strikeouts – all career-bests. He got through the fifth inning in all but two of his starts and allowed zero earned runs in eight different starts.

The Mets cruised through the 1986 regular season building a double-digit lead before July that only widened in the second half of the season. They lost the first game to the Houston Astros in the 1986 National League Championship Series but Ojeda pitched a complete game to easily win Game 2. He also started Game 6 but quickly gave up three runs in the first inning. The Mets didn't recover until the ninth but won the game in an epic sixteen innings to earn a trip to the World Series. Coincidentally for Ojeda, the Mets' opponents in the World Series were Ojeda's old team, the Boston Red Sox.

When the Mets' ace, Dwight Gooden, again faltered in Game 5, they needed another big performance in Game 6. They turned to Ojeda again but, this time, he was less than perfect, giving up two early runs. The Mets recovered later to tie and Ojeda left the game with no decision. When the Red Sox scored again to take the lead, they turned to the pitcher they traded Ojeda for, Calvin Schiraldi, to close out the World Series. Instead, Schiraldi gave up the lead after just five batters.

Ojeda had surgery in May of 1987 and missed most of that season. He pitched well in 1988 but was involved in what some consider one of the most ridiculous accidents in baseball history when he severed the tip of his left middle finger while trimming his hedges in mid-September. After microsurgery to reattach his fingertip (and save his career), he missed the playoffs and the Mets lost the NLCS. Ojeda did not recover well, declining in 1989 and spending most of 1990 pitching out of the bullpen. After 1990, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Hubie Brooks.

In his first season with the Dodgers, Ojeda pitched well as their only left-handed starter. He won an important game in the heat of a pennant race but the Dodgers lost three of their last four games and missed the playoffs. In 1992, his numbers sank some and he became a free agent after the season. After six weeks as a free agent, he was signed by the Cleveland Indians.

The Indians were in Winter Haven for spring training when Ojeda went on a boat ride with new teammates Steve Olin and Tim Crews. Crews was legally drunk and it was nearly dark when the boat struck a pier killing Crews and Olin. It was the first death of active major league players since Thurman Munson in 1979. Ojeda suffered major head lacerations and sat out most of the season to recuperate – both physically and mentally. He returned late that season and had a respectable 4.40 ERA in 43 innings.

Ojeda became a free agent after the 1993 season. He was signed by the New York Yankees for 1994 but pitched poorly in two games and was soon released. He retired as a player at age 36.

Awards

• 1981 International League Pitcher of the Year

Achievements

• 1984 American League Shutouts Leader

Trivia

• Ojeda is the pitching coach for the Can-Am League's Worcester Tornadoes, former teammate Rich Gedman is the manager.
• Participated in a bar brawl to celebrate the birth of teammate Tim Teufels child.
• While gardening, Ojeda accidentially cut his middle finger off with an electric trimmer. It was on his pitching hand and they were able to re-attach it, though they say he was never the same. I bet he hires landscapers now.
• Was the only person to survive the tragic boating accident that took the lives of Major Leaguers Tim Crews and Steve Olin. Investigators found an unopened six pack and a "mostly full" bottle of vodka on the scene, though they aren't sure booze played a factor.
• Blamed his poor performance in a July 1991 game on his ex-wife, who Ojeda claimed had been sticking pins in a voodoo doll with Ojeda's face on it.

Transactions

• May 20, 1978: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent.
• November 13, 1985: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Chris Bayer (minors), Tom McCarthy, and John Mitchell to the New York Mets for Calvin Schiraldi, Wes Gardner, John Christensen, and La Schelle Tarver.
• December 15, 1990: Traded by the New York Mets with Greg Hansell to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Hubie Brooks.
• October 28, 1992: Granted Free Agency.
• December 8, 1992: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cleveland Indians.
• October 29, 1993: Granted Free Agency.
• January 28, 1994: Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees.
• May 5, 1994: Released by the New York Yankees.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis