Patrick Edward Dobson Jr.

[weams]

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/fa8951c3

On December 1, 1970, he was traded to the Orioles along with Tom Dukes for Tom Phoebus, Al Severinsen, Fred Beene, and Enzo Hernandez. Earl Weaver, the Orioles manager, was elated. He had been a fan of Dobson ?ever since the night I saw him strike out 21 guys in a game in Puerto Rico.? His first start of the season was against his old team, the Tigers. He gave up three runs in the first inning, then shut Detroit out for the next seven. He was pulled for a pinch-hitter, and the Tigers went on to win in extra innings. Pat won his next start against the Yankees, only allowing one run in the complete-game victory. But he won one of his next nine starts. Before his June 17 start, his record stood at 3?4 with an ERA of 3.70. Starting with a victory over the Yankees that day, Pat would win 12 starts in a row. Eleven of the twelve victories were complete games. Then, starting with a loss to the Yankees, Pat slumped, winning only two of nine starts. He finished strong, however, winning his last three starts to reach the coveted twenty-win level. Dobson and teammates Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and Jim Palmer all won 20 or more games, and the 1971 Orioles were only the second team in major league history to boast four twenty-game winners.

Baltimore swept the Oakland A?s in the American League playoffs, and went into the 1971 World Series as the favorite over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pat at first was the odd man out as Weaver decided to go with a three-man rotation for the postseason. Pat did not appear in the AL Championship Series but finally got a chance to start Game 4 of the World Series. The O?s staked him to a 3?0 lead in the first, but Pittsburgh came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. They tied it up in the third, and Pat was pulled in the sixth inning with the score 3?3. The Pirates went on to win, 4?3. Pat made another Series appearance in Game 6, coming on to start the 10th inning. He retired the first batter, but then gave up a single to Dave Cash, who stole second on a strike-three pitch to Richie Hebner. Dobson intentionally walked Roberto Clemente and then was replaced by lefty Dave McNally to face the left-handed batting Willie Stargell. McNally ended up with the win when the Orioles scored in the bottom of the tenth. In Game 7, Dobson came on to start the ninth inning with the Orioles down 2?1. He retired the first two batters, striking out Clemente. But he gave up back-to-back singles, and McNally was once again summoned to face Stargell, whom he retired for the final out. The Orioles went down meekly in the ninth, and the Pirates were world champions.