Rich Wortham
Rich Wortham | |||||||||||||||
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Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
Born: Odessa, Texas, U.S. | October 22, 1953|||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Left | |||||||||||||||
MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
May 3, 1978, for the Chicago White Sox | |||||||||||||||
Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
July 23, 1983, for the Oakland Athletics | |||||||||||||||
MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
Win–loss record | 21–23 | ||||||||||||||
Earned run average | 4.89 | ||||||||||||||
Strikeouts | 189 | ||||||||||||||
Teams | |||||||||||||||
Member of the College | |||||||||||||||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||
Induction | 2010 | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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Richard Cooper Wortham (born October 22, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1978 and 1983, for the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics.
Amateur career
Highly sought after out of
In 1973, he was also a member of Team USA during the Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur Amateur World Series, the first time Team USA won a Gold Medal in that competition. He defeated Dennis Martínez and Team Nicaragua in the final.[2]
Wortham had a great deal of success as a college pitcher with a record of 50–7 and was the ace of the 1975 Longhorns team that won the
Professional career
Early minor league career
After signing with the White Sox, he was assigned directly to
1978: First taste of the majors
In 1978, Wortham opened the season in Iowa. However, when starting pitcher Ken Kravec got off to a rough start, he was sent to the minors, and Wortham was called up to replace him. He made his debut on May 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers, and he pitched 6.2 innings and gave up 3 runs in a 4–0 loss.[3] In his next start, he beat the Minnesota Twins, pitching 8 innings and giving up 2 runs on 9 hits.[3] His next outing found him giving up 10 hits in just 4.1 innings, and he was returned to the minors, with Kravec returning to the majors.[3]
Wortham spent most of the rest of the season in Iowa, and was recalled in September when the rosters expanded. In five September starts, Wortham went 2–0 with a 2.70 ERA, lowering his overall ERA for the season to 3.02.[3] He also pitched his first two major league complete games. Wortham was seen as a future star.
1979: Taking a regular turn
In 1979, Wortham came out of
1980: A step backward
Wortham was moved to the bullpen to start the 1980 season, where he was used as a long reliever. He got off to an impressive start, as in his first three outings of the year, he pitched at least four innings, giving up no runs and a combined four hits in 12.2 innings while picking up a pair of wins.[4] However, as April ended, he had a bad outing, giving up five runs in two innings, followed shortly by giving up six runs without recording an out on May 4.
Wortham was moved back to the rotation, and his first start of 1980 was excellent, as he pitched seven shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals to pick up his third win of the year. However, he gave up four runs in 4.2 innings in his next start, and he went back to the bullpen. The rest of the season went much the same, as he would have good and bad outings, but more bad than good, winding up with a 5.97 ERA and a record of 4–7. After the season, the White Sox traded him to the Montreal Expos for second baseman Tony Bernazard.
Back to the minors: Control problems
Wortham was assigned by the Expos to the Triple-A
Wortham went to
Last appearance
Shortly thereafter, Wortham was signed by the Athletics, whose pitching staff had collapsed after three seasons of abuse by manager
Life after baseball
Wortham served as the executive director of the Texas Beef Council, and he retired in 2019. Richard Cooper Wortham lived in Austin, TX before moving to his current residence of
Notes
- ^ a b Rich Wortham transactions at Baseball-Reference
- ^ Bjarkman, Peter C. (2005). Diamonds around the globe: the encyclopedia of international baseball. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 430.
- ^ a b c d "Wortham's 1978 game log". Archived from the original on 2013-01-17.
- ^ "Wortham's 1980 game log". Archived from the original on 2012-07-21.
- ^ July 23, 1983 box score
- ^ "Texas Beef Council staff page". Archived from the original on 2012-09-13.
- ^ "Odessa American story". Archived from the original on 2012-09-06.
Sources
- Baseball Almanac
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)