Dick Pole

From SoSH

Richard Henry "Dick" Pole (born October 13, 1950 in Trout Creek, Michigan) was a big right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (1973-1976) and Seattle Mariners (1977-1978). He is currently the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds.

Contents 1 Playing Career 2 Coaching Career 3 Moments in the Sun 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Playing Career

After attending Northern Michigan University, Pole signed with the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent. He quickly developed into a top pitching prospect. With Class AAA Pawtucket in 1973, his 2.03 Earned Run Average and 158 strikeouts led the International League. That same year, he pitched a no-hitter against Peninsula.

Pole made his major league debut on August 3, 1973, starting the second game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. He surrendered six runs in 3 2/3 innings pitched and received the loss, as the Orioles won 8-2.He remained with the team, and spent the next four seasons moving between the rotation and the bullpen for the Red Sox.

Pole's career was nearly ended by an injury during a game against the Orioles on June 30, 1975, when a line drive by Tony Muser struck him in the face. The ball had been hit so hard that it bounced into foul territory near third base, scoring two runs on the play. Pole sustained a broken jaw and damage to the retina of his right eye. The damaged eye never fully recovered, and he ultimately lost 90 percent of the vision in that eye.

Pole recovered from his injuries in time to pitch in the 1975 World Series, walking the only two batters he faced in a 6-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in Game 5. The Red Sox ultimately lost the series in seven games.

At the end of the 1976 season, Pole became one of the inaugural members of the Seattle Mariners franchise, as they selected him from the Red Sox with the seventh pick in the 1976 expansion draft. Pole spent 1977 and 1978 with the Mariners, but his performance was not up to the standard he had set in Boston, possibly due to effects from the injury. His most memorable moment with Seattle came on August 5, 1977, when he surrendered Reggie Jackson's 300th career home run. On March 24, 1979, Pole was released.

Pole ended his time in the majors with 25 wins, 37 losses, one save, and a 5.05 ERA in 122 games pitched and 531 innings. After the end of his major league career, he continued to play professionally in Mexico.

Coaching Career

Pole is currently the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds. He began his coaching career in the Cubs' minor league system in 1983, and joined their major league coaching staff in 1998, working as pitching coach for Don Zimmer. Pole remained in that capacity through 1991, during which time he oversaw the development of Greg Maddux.

Maddux credits Pole as a major influence, and a significant contributor to his success. In a 2005 interview, he said, "I remember when Dick Pole told me one day, ‘Why don’t you stop trying to strike guys out? Just try to get them out, and you’ll probably strike out just as many guys, if not more. He was right. I’ve always tried with two strikes just to make a pitch and get the guy out. You get a lot of strikeouts just on accident."

Pole returned to his roots as pitching coach for the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1992, then spent 1993-1997 on the coaching staff of the San Francisco Giants, under Dusty Baker. Pole next worked as bullpen coach for Boston in 1998. After that, he was pitching coach for the Anaheim Angels in 1999, for the Cleveland Indians from 2000-2001, and for the Montreal Expos in 2002. He re-joined the coaching staff of the Cubs in 2003 and remained with them through the 2006 season. The Cincinnati Reds named Pole their pitching coach on November 7, 2006.

Moments in the Sun

• Appeared in one game in the 1975 World Series for Boston.
• Tossed a no-hitter while pitching for Triple-A Pawtucket against Peninsula on June 23, 1973.

Trivia

• Perhaps the most sexually suggestive name in the history of the Red Sox.
• Fluent in conversational Spanish.
• Dick's nephew, Hank Pole, was a pitcher in the Expos farm system in 2002.

Transactions

• Before 1969 Season: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent.
• November 5, 1976: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners from the Boston Red Sox as the 7th pick in the 1976 Expansion Draft.
• March 24, 1979: Released by the Seattle Mariners.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis