Pat Underwood

Patrick John Underwood (born February 9, 1957 in Kokomo, Indiana) was a Major League Baseball Pitcher from 1979 to 1983.

Underwood was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 1st round of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft, as the second pick overall.

He spent the next several seasons in the Tigers farm system. He had a record of 6-2 in 1976 with the Advanced A level Lakeland Flying Tigers in the Florida State League and an earned run average of 2.22. He split the 1977 season, spending the first half of the year at Montgomery in the AA Southern League, where he had a record of 9-2 and an ERA of 3.38 with 64 strikeouts in 104 innings of work. At Evansville Triplets in the AAA American Association, Underwood was 3-5 with a 5.22 ERA. He spent the entire 1978 season in Evansville, finishing with a 5-5 record a 4.15 ERA.

Underwood started the 1979 season in Evansville and had a 2-3 record and an ERA of 2.81. He was called up by the Tigers and pitched his first game on May 31 against the Toronto Blue Jays at Exhibition Stadium. Underwood defeated his brother, Tom Underwood, in his major league debut, pitching 8⅓ innings and giving up three hits and a walk, with the Tigers winning 1-0. With the Tigers, he had a 6-4 record and an ERA of 4.59 with 83 strikeouts in 27 appearances.

He spent the entire 1981 season with the Tigers, switching from starting to relieving. He had a 3-6 record that season and five saves, with an ERA of 3.59. In 1982, he was back in the minor leagues at Evansville, where he was used exclusively as a starting pitcher, and had a record of 9-8 with an ERA of 3,98, throwing 90 strikeouts in 165 innings.

With the Tigers in 1983, he pitched in four games and had an ERA of 8.71. His final major league appearance was on June 21, 1983, when he gave up five runs in two innings as part of a 10-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Tigers traded him on June 30, 1983 to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for third baseman Wayne Krenchicki. He split the season in the minor leagues between Evansville with the Tigers and at the Indianapolis Indians of the International League for the Reds. Between the two teams he had a record of 7-4 with a 4.09 ERA.

He was drafted by the Texas Rangers on December 5, 1983 from the Reds in the 1983 Rule 5 draft, but the Rangers released him before the start of the 1984 season. He signed with the Baltimore Orioles on April 2, 1984 as a free agent. He played in 1984 for the Rochester Red Wings, the Orioles' AAA affiliate, and had an 0-2 record and an ERA of 9.00 in three appearances in relief.

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Pat Underwood, Baseball-Reference. Accessed November 18, 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Pat Underwood, Baseball Cube. Accessed November 18, 2008.
3. ^ Staff. "Tigers Top Blue Jays As Brothers Duel, 1-0", The New York Times, June 1, 1979. Accessed November 18, 2008.
4. ^ May 31, 1979, Tigers at Blue Jays Play by Play and Box Score, Baseball-Reference. Accessed November 18, 2008.
5. ^ Jun 21, 1983, Brewers at Tigers Play by Play and Box Score, Baseball-Reference. Accessed November 19, 2008.