Mike MacDougal
MacDougal with the Washington Nationals
Pitcher
Born: (1977-03-05) March 5, 1977 (age 46)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 22, 2001, for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
April 30, 2012, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record18–23
Earned run average4.00
Strikeouts325
Saves71
Teams
Career highlights and awards
MacDougal pitching for the Florida Marlins in 2010 spring training.

Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal (born March 5, 1977) is a former relief pitcher in professional baseball. He is a switch hitter and throws right-handed. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.

His pitch selection include a fastball in the 95-98 mph range, a slider, curve, and a changeup used only occasionally.[1]

Amateur career

Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, MacDougal graduated from Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona,[2] and attended Wake Forest University, where he pitched for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball team. In 1997, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League, was named a league all-star,[3] and returned to the league in 1998 to play with the Chatham A's.[4]

He was selected in the 22nd round (651st overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft and the 17th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft by the Baltimore Orioles, but did not sign on either occasion.[5][6]

Professional career

Kansas City Royals

Following his senior season at Wake Forest, MacDougal was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the first round (25th overall) of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft, as a compensation pick from the Boston Red Sox for the signing of José Offerman.[7] He signed on July 1, 1999.

MacDougal made his major league debut as a starting pitcher, but suffered a fractured skull late in the 2001 season when he was struck in the head by a bat that had escaped from the hand of Carlos Beltrán. He lost feeling in his right arm and was unable to pitch for three months.[8] In 2003, the Royals turned him into a closer. That season, he was 3–5 with 27 saves and a 4.08 ERA in 68 relief appearances.[9] He also made the American League All-Star team for the only time in his career.[9]

MacDougal struggled with flu-like symptoms in spring training in 2004, causing him to lose weight and, as a result, to lose velocity off his fastball, which had been clocked as high as 103 miles per hour. He lost his job as the Royals' closer to Jeremy Affeldt and spent much of the 2004 season in the minor leagues.[10] However, early in 2005, he was reinstalled as the closer after Affeldt himself was injured.[11]

MacDougal battled injuries again in 2006, starting the season on the DL and not returning to the field until mid-July.[12] After only about a week after his first appearance of the year, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox for minor-league pitchers Tyler Lumsden and Dan Cortes on July 24, 2006.[13]

Chicago White Sox

The addition of MacDougal was to be a move to bolster the White Sox bullpen as they vied for playoff contention, and while the team ended up missing the playoffs, MacDougal was quite effective in his 25 appearances, going 1–1 with an ERA of 1.80.[9] Combining his appearances with both teams, he finished the year with a 1.55 ERA.[9]

MacDougal's 2006 performance earned him a new three-year, $6.45 million deal with the White Sox on December 8, 2006.[14] However, he was not able to carry his success from the end of the 2006 season into 2007. MacDougal finished the season 2–5 with a 6.80 ERA in 54 relief appearances.[9] He also spent more time on the DL with right-shoulder inflammation,[15] and was also optioned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in June due to his struggles.[16]

On April 21, 2009, MacDougal was designated for assignment by the White Sox,[17] and was released on April 29.[18]

Washington Nationals

MacDougal signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals on May 3, 2009.[19] On December 12, 2009, MacDougal was non-tendered by the Nationals, making him a free agent.[20]

On February 18, 2010, MacDougal signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins with an invite to spring training.[21] He was released on March 23.[22] The next day, MacDougal signed a minor league deal to return to the Nationals.[23] On July 1, 2010, he decided to opt out of his contract to become a free agent.[24]

St. Louis Cardinals

On July 7, 2010, MacDougal signed a minor league deal with the St. Louis Cardinals,[25] making his debut for Triple-A Memphis that night, giving up two runs on two hits in one inning pitched. MacDougal made his Cardinals debut on July 28, 2010, earning the win in a 7–6 victory over the New York Mets.[26] In 17 games with the Cardinals, he was 1–1 with a 7.23 ERA.[9]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 28, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers,[27] and made the Major League club to start the season.[28] MacDougal pitched in 69 games with the Dodgers, working 57 innings and had a record of 3–1 and a team-leading 2.05 ERA.[9] He re-signed with the Dodgers after the season for a one-year, $1 million contract that included a 2013 option.[29] He pitched in seven games for the Dodgers in 2012, recording a 7.94 ERA.[9] MacDougal was designated for assignment on May 3, removing him from the 40-man roster.[30] He was released on May 11.[31]

Later career

On May 15, 2012, the Chicago Cubs signed MacDougal to a minor league contract.[32] He pitched in 19 games for the AAA Iowa Cubs, going 1–2 with one save and a 7.85 ERA.[33] On July 11, he was released by the Cubs.[34] On July 29, the Washington Nationals re-signed MacDougal to a minor-league deal.[35] He joined the AAA Syracuse Chiefs, where he had a 1–1 record an ERA of 4.22 in 12 games.[33]

In April 2013, the Cincinnati Reds signed MacDougal to a minor-league deal.[36] He joined the AAA Louisville Bats. He was released by the Reds on June 8,[37] going 0–1 in 17 appearances with the Bats, striking out 20 in 19+2⁄3 innings with a 5.49 ERA.[33] On June 25, MacDougal signed a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies and reported to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.[38]

The Seattle Mariners signed MacDougal on a minor-league deal on May 10, 2014. He had been pitching for the independent Camden Riversharks.[39]

References

  1. ^ The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers: An Historical Compendium of Pitching, Pitchers, and Pitches. Bill James and Rob Neyer. 2004.
  2. ^ "Mike MacDougal Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Judd, Grant (July 24, 1997). "Pitching Decides the Kettleers' Fate". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. p. 18.
  4. ^ "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). Cape Cod Baseball League. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "22nd Round of the 1996 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  6. ^ "17th Round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  7. ^ "1st Round of the 1999 MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Ayres, Kenny (July 10, 2013). "Living an Inning at a Time". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mike MacDougal Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  10. ^ "Kansas City makes closer out of Affeldt". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. May 24, 2004. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  11. ^ "Healthy Affeldt rejoins Royals". CBC.ca. June 4, 2005. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  12. ^ "MacDougal activated from disabled list". ESPN. Associated Press. July 13, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Heyman, Jon (July 24, 2006). "White Sox trade for MacDougal". Sports Illustrated. CNN. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2006.
  14. ^ "White Sox, P MacDougal agree on three-year deal". ESPN. Associated Press. December 8, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "White Sox put MacDougal on DL, call up Day". ESPN. Associated Press. July 6, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
  16. ^ Gonzales, Mark (June 5, 2007). "Prinz, Bukvich get promotions". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  17. ^ "White Sox designate Mike MacDougal for assignment; Recall Jack Egbert from Class AAA Charlotte". Chicago White Sox. MLB.com. April 21, 2009. Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  18. ^ Gonzales, Mark (April 29, 2009). "Mike MacDougal released by White Sox". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  19. ^ Silva, Drew (May 3, 2009). "Nats, MacDougal Agree To Minor League Deal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  20. ^ "MacDougal and Olsen set free by Nationals". San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. December 13, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  21. ^ Axisa, Mike (February 18, 2010). "Marlins Sign Mike MacDougal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
  22. ^ Dierkes, Tim (March 23, 2010). "Marlins Release Mike MacDougal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  23. ^ Dierkes, Tim (March 24, 2010). "Nationals, Mike MacDougal Agree To Terms". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  24. ^ Adams, Luke (July 1, 2010). "Mike MacDougal Opts Out Of Nationals Contract". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  25. ^ Schafer, Aaron (July 8, 2010). "Cards Sign Reliever Mike MacDougal". Riverfront Times. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  26. ^ "Cards batter Santana early but need late comeback to stop Mets". ESPN. Associated Press. July 28, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  27. ^ "Dodgers sign MacDougal to minor league deal". ESPN. Associated Press. January 29, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  28. ^ Stephen, Eric (March 30, 2011). "2011 Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Roster". SB Nation Los Angeles. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  29. ^ "Dodgers re-sign MacDougal to one-year deal". ESPN. Associated Press. January 5, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  30. ^ Levine, Julian (May 3, 2012). "Mike MacDougal Designated for Assignment". MLB Daily Dish. SB Nation. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  31. ^ Gurnick, Ken (May 12, 2012). "Dodgers ink Miles, set to cut loose MacDougal". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on May 16, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  32. ^ Padilla, Doug (May 15, 2012). "Cubs sign former Dodgers reliever MacDougal". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  33. ^ a b c "Mike MacDougal Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  34. ^ Silva, Drew (July 11, 2012). "Cubs release veteran reliever Mike MacDougal". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  35. ^ Kolko, Dan (July 29, 2012). "Nats notch a thrilling win". MASN. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  36. ^ Blontz, Blaine (April 8, 2013). "Reds ink MacDougal". MLB Daily Dish. SB Nation. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  37. ^ Dierkes, Tim (June 8, 2013). "Reds Release Mike MacDougal". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
  38. ^ Dierkes, Tim (June 25, 2013). "Minor Moves: MacDougal, Tallet, Mather". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  39. ^ Baer, Bill (May 11, 2014). "Mariners sign Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 5, 2022.

External links

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1999 Major League Baseball draft first round selections
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