Roger Mc Dowell - New York Mets (through 1989)

New York Mets (through 1989)

Roger McDowell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, graduated from Colerain High School and was drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft from Bowling Green State University. He spent 1982 in the A-level minor leagues and spent 1983 with the AA Jackson Mets, both as a starting pitcher. In 1984, McDowell was at Jackson when he suffered an elbow injury which limited him to only three games. As a result of the injury, he became a relief pitcher and developed a fantastic sinker ball that became the main weapon in his arsenal for his entire career.

McDowell debuted in the majors in 1985. He was impressive as both a middle relief pitcher and as a closer, splitting the duties with Jesse Orosco. Orosco was a lefty and a strikeout threat while McDowell was a righty and a groundball specialist, making them a challenging pair late in games. McDowell posted a 2.83 earned run average. The Mets continued on an upward surge that saw them barely miss their first postseason in over a decade. McDowell averaged more than two innings pitched per appearance in his rookie season and even logged the only two games started of his career. He never again averaged more than two innings per appearance and, through most of his career, averaged less than one-and-a-half inning, as became customary throughout the majors.

In 1986, McDowell was again impressive and was part of a strong core of Mets farm-hands — players that had come up through the minor leagues in the Mets' system — which, together with a few fiery veterans, helped the Mets win the 1986 World Series. McDowell was involved in many close games, posting an amazing 23 pitching decisions despite never starting a game. His 14–9 record, which included winning his first seven decisions, and 3.02 ERA resulted in five points in the voting for National League MVP. McDowell was fantastic in the 1986 National League Championship Series, allowing a single hit in seven innings pitched including five innings in the famous sixteen-inning Game 6. He was less impressive in the World Series, where he pitched in five of the seven games. Although Sid Fernandez gets much deserved recognition for holding the Boston Red Sox silent in the middle innings of Game 7, McDowell was credited with the win by pitching an important scoreless seventh inning before the Mets broke the tie in the bottom of the inning.

1987 was McDowell's first down year, with an ERA over four after missing the first six weeks of the season with a hernia. He did manage to post a career-high 25 saves but his most infamous game occurred on September 11, 1987 when he gave up a game-tying 9th inning two-run home run to the St. Louis Cardinals' Terry Pendleton. The Cardinals won the game the following inning. With the Cardinals and Mets in the midst of a close division race, many credited the home run with ending the Mets' chances for a repeat championship.

After the season, Jesse Orosco was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and, in 1988, McDowell improved his ERA back down to 2.63 and moved into third place on the Mets' all-time save list behind Orosco and Tug McGraw. The lefty-righty closer platoon system was maintained with McDowell and Randy Myers. The Mets won 100 games and were pitted against Orosco and the Dodgers in the 1988 National League Championship Series. In Game 4, the Mets had a chance to take a commanding 3–1 series lead but Mike Scioscia tied the game with a 2run shot off Dwight Gooden in the 9th inning. McDowell would later give up the game-winning home run to Kirk Gibson in the 12th inning. Overall, McDowell gave up a run in three of his four games. The favored Mets lost in seven games in their last postseason for over a decade. It also spelled the last postseason appearance of the 27-year-old McDowell's career.