Mark Bomback

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Mark Vincent Bomback was a starting pitcher who spent six seasons in the Red Sox minor league system, and played in the majors for three different teams. In 4 major league seasons he compiled a record of 16-18 with 124 strikeouts and a 4.47 ERA.

A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Mark grew up in New England and graduated in 1971 from Durfee High School in Fall River, Massachusetts after leading the Hilltoppers to the state high school baseball championship. After signing with the Red Sox, Bomback was sent to short-season Williamsport in the New York-Penn League where he went 3-3 with 62 strikeouts in as many innings. He continued climbing the ladder, going 14-5 with a 2.06 ERA for high class A Winter Haven with 149 strikeouts and just 44 walks while surrendering only 112 hits in 162 innings. Bomback also pitched a 7-inning no-hitter and earned a mid-season promotion to Pawtucket (then a AA Eastern League club), where he went 5-1 in seven starts with a 2.81 ERA.

Bomback spend the next two seasons with Pawtucket, which had become Boston's AAA affiliate. He regressed, going 10-7 with a 3.36 ERA in 1973 and 10-15 with a 5.44 ERA in 1974. His control suffered, as his K/BB ratio slipped first to 1.44 (105/73) and then to 1.12 (102/91). Demoted to AA in 1975, he regained his form, going 12-6 with a 2.32 ERA to help lead the Bristol Red Sox to the Eastern League championship. His control also returned, as he struck out 118 and walked 59 for a 2.00 K/BB. However a mid-season call-up to Pawtucket was disastrous, as he went 0-4 with a 6.69 ERA in seven starts. He made insufficient progress at AAA with the renamed Rhode Island Red Sox in 1976 (5-7, 4.05 ERA, 62 K, 60 BB), and Boston released him at the end of training camp the follwing spring. He signed with the Milwaukee Brewers a month later.

After toiling for the AA Holyoke Millers and AAA Spokane Indians in 1977-78, Mark made his major league debut as the starting pitcher for the Brewers against Seattle at the Kingdome on September 12, 1978. After striking out the first batter, Julio Cruz, things went downhill. The Mariners pounded Bomback for 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk, including a 2-run homer by Ruppert Jones, and he lasted just two-thirds of an inning. Three days later he regrouped and pitched a shutout inning of relief against the Twins.

Bomback spent all of 1979 with the Brewers' new AAA club, the Vancouver Canadians. It was by far his best pro season, as he went 22-7 with a 2.56 ERA and 156 strikeouts. He allowed just 3 home runs in 246 innings. Despite being named the Pacific Coast League's Most Valuable Player, the Brewers declined to promote him to the majors. Instead, they traded him to the Mets that fall.

The Mets planted Bomback in their starting rotation, and he responded by leading the team with 10 wins. His record was somewhat deceiving, as he also gave up a team-high 191 hits in 162.2 innings. He did pitch two complete games, including a shutout.

Following spring training in 1981, he was traded once again - this time to the Toronto Blue Jays. Bomback started the season on fire, winning 3 of his first 4 starts, going at least 7 innings in each, and allowing 2 or fewer runs each game. However the Jays only won one of his next eight starts, and he was demoted to the bullpen in mid-June to work long relief. Mark split the following year between Toronto and AAA Syracuse, and he spent all of the 1983 and 1984 seasons in Syracuse as well to finish his pro career. His last appearance in the majors came against the Royals on July 21, 1982, when he gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits in 1.2 innings. Over his two seasons with Toronto, he went 6-10 with a 4.74 ERA.

Mark remained in the game, playing semi-pro and amateur ball for two decades. In 1989, he pitched for the Winter Haven Super Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association. The following year, he played in the Pacific Senior League.

Bomback pitched in the 40+ division of the Boston Men's Baseball League, the largest adult league in New England. He played for the Brockton Indians from 2000-02 and the Brockton Athletics in 2003, and was the starting and winning pitcher for the Booth Division in the 2000 MSBL All-Star Game at age 47.

Now retired as a player, he resides in Somerset, Massachusetts.

Moments in the Sun

• 1979 Minor League Player of the Year, Vancouver Canadians, Pacific Coast League
• April 30, 1980: Bomback pitches a two-hit complete game shutout over the eventual World Champion Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium. He yields only a pair of singles to Mike Schmidt and Garry Maddox. After walking the first two batters in the sixth, Bomback induced a ground ball by Pete Rose as the Mets turned a double play. In the 8th, clinging to a 1-0 lead, Bomback again walks a pair but retires Bake McBride on a grounder to retire the side.

Trivia

• 12th on the 1980 AL Hit Batsmen list with 4.
• 8th on the 1981 AL Wild Pitches list with 6.
• Led Mets in wins with 10 in 1980.
• Led Mets in hits allowed with 191 in 1980.
• Inducted to the Durfee High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
• Nicknamed "Bomber"

Transactions

• June 8, 1971: Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 25th round of the 1971 amateur draft (#577 overall).
• April 7, 1977: Released by the Boston Red Sox.
• May 7, 1977: Signed as a Free Agent with the Milwaukee Brewers.
• October 26, 1979: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the New York Mets for Dwight Bernard.
• April 6, 1981: Traded by the New York Mets to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later and cash. The Toronto Blue Jays sent Charlie Puleo (April 14, 1981) to the New York Mets to complete the trade.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis