Dooley Womack

Horace Guy "Dooley" Womack is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, he played all or part of five seasons in Major League Baseball from 1966 to 1970 for the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Seattle Pilots and Oakland Athletics, almost exclusively as a relief pitcher. He also played in the Cincinnati Reds minor league system for one season.

Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) tall and weighing 170 pounds, Womack was never a highly touted prospect, due in part to his unimposing size and fastball. "I admit," he once said, "I won't overpower anybody..." Despite the lack of fanfare surrounding him, Womack "went from a non-prospect to a must-use" at the beginning of his major league career, according to Harvey Frommer in his book, A Yankee Century. According to modern accounts, Womack was "...one of the best relief pitchers on two of the worst Yankee teams [1966 and 1967] in the franchise’s fabled history."

Womack began his professional career as a starting pitcher in 1958 at the age of 18 and played for 14 seasons, ending his career as a relief pitcher at the age of 31 in 1971. He spent ten seasons in the minor leagues and five in the major leagues, spending one year at the D-level, one year at the C-level, one full year and part of another at the B-level, one full year and part of another at the Single-A level, two full years at the Double-A level, two full years at the Triple-A level and most of a third year at the Triple-A level.

At the major league level, Womack went 19–18 with a 2.95 ERA in 193 games, one of which he started. In 302.1 innings, he had 24 saves, 121 games finished and 177 strikeouts. He allowed 253 hits, 111 runs, 99 earned runs, 21 home runs, 111 walks, 33 intentional walks and 18 wild pitches. As a batter, he went 7-for-31 for a .226 batting average. He never drew a base on balls, though he did have a stolen base in 1968. His career fielding percentage was .970.

In total, he appeared in 349 minor league games, going 65–55 with a 3.13 ERA in 1,041.1 innings. He allowed 952 hits, 461 runs, 362 earned runs and 399 walks. At the plate, he was used as a pinch hitter from time to time, hitting .267 with 107 hits (including 16 doubles and five triples) in 401 at bats.

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2. ^ Frommer, Harvey (2002). A Yankee Century. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-19177-X. Retrieved July 29, 2011. 
3. ^ "Pinstripe Birthdays". Pinstripe Birthdays. MLBlogs Network. 
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