R. A. Dickey
Born: 10/29/1974 in Nashville, TN, USA
MLB Debut: 2001-04-22 | Final Game: 2017-09-26
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 215 lbs
Full name: Robert Allen Dickey
Biography
R. A. Dickey, born in 1974, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball from 2001 until his retirement in 2017. Known for his unique knuckleball pitching style, Dickey's career was marked by both resilience and transformation, as he evolved from a conventional pitcher into one of the most effective knuckleballers of his era. Over his 16 seasons in the league, he achieved a career record of 120-118 and posted an earned run average (ERA) of 4.04. He recorded 1,477 strikeouts and notched 2 saves, showcasing his ability to dominate hitters despite the challenges that came with his unconventional approach.
Dickey's career reached its pinnacle in 2012 when he was awarded the prestigious Cy Young Award, recognizing him as the best pitcher in the National League. In addition to this accolade, he was selected as an All-Star once during his career, solidifying his status among the top pitchers of his time. His journey through the majors included stints with several teams, but he is perhaps best remembered for his time with the New York Mets, where he captivated fans with his remarkable performances. R. A. Dickey's legacy as a knuckleball pitcher in an era dominated by power pitching left a lasting impact on the game, inspiring future generations to embrace the art of the knuckleball.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 118 | 400 | 300 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 2073.7 | 2033 | 930 | 264 | 663 | 1477 | 4.04 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | TEX | AL | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6.75 | -891.7 |
| 2003 | TEX | AL | 9 | 8 | 38 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 116.7 | 135 | 66 | 38 | 94 | 5.09 | 271.9 |
| 2004 | TEX | AL | 6 | 7 | 25 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 104.3 | 136 | 65 | 33 | 57 | 5.61 | -1795.9 |
| 2005 | TEX | AL | 1 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.7 | 29 | 22 | 17 | 15 | 6.67 | -1038.7 |
| 2006 | TEX | AL | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 18.90 | 0.0 |
| 2008 | SEA | AL | 5 | 8 | 32 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 112.3 | 124 | 65 | 51 | 58 | 5.21 | -2663.2 |
| 2009 | MIN | AL | 1 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64.3 | 74 | 33 | 30 | 42 | 4.62 | -1094.6 |
| 2010 | NYN | NL | 11 | 9 | 27 | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 174.3 | 165 | 55 | 42 | 104 | 2.84 | 1954.3 |
| 2011 | NYN | NL | 8 | 13 | 33 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 208.7 | 202 | 76 | 54 | 134 | 3.28 | 947.9 |
| 2012 | NYN | NL | 20 | 6 | 34 | 33 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 233.7 | 192 | 71 | 54 | 230 | 2.73 | 4557.9 |
| 2013 | TOR | AL | 14 | 13 | 34 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 224.7 | 207 | 105 | 71 | 177 | 4.21 | -4192.9 |
| 2014 | TOR | AL | 14 | 13 | 34 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 215.7 | 191 | 89 | 74 | 173 | 3.71 | -3258.2 |
| 2015 | TOR | AL | 11 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 214.3 | 195 | 93 | 61 | 126 | 3.91 | -2911.8 |
| 2016 | TOR | AL | 10 | 15 | 30 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 169.7 | 169 | 84 | 63 | 126 | 4.46 | -3673.4 |
| 2017 | ATL | NL | 10 | 10 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 190.0 | 193 | 90 | 67 | 136 | 4.26 | -1790.7 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 402 | 267 | 13 | 45 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 49 | 0.169 | 0.184 | 0.180 | 0.364 | -2057.4 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | TEX | AL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2003 | TEX | AL | 38 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | TEX | AL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | TEX | AL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2006 | TEX | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2008 | SEA | AL | 32 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.0 |
| 2009 | MIN | AL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2010 | NYN | NL | 27 | 51 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0.255 | -156.3 |
| 2011 | NYN | NL | 33 | 59 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0.136 | -591.8 |
| 2012 | NYN | NL | 34 | 72 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.153 | -674.1 |
| 2013 | TOR | AL | 34 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.0 |
| 2014 | TOR | AL | 35 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2015 | TOR | AL | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2016 | TOR | AL | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2017 | ATL | NL | 31 | 61 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0.148 | -635.1 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ALDS2 | TOR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2015 | ALCS | TOR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6.3 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7.11 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ALCS | TOR | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 21.60 |
| 2015 | ALDS2 | TOR | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1.93 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 400 | 300 | 119 | 386 | 16 | 27 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | TEX | P | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | TEX | P | 38 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 1 |
| 2004 | TEX | P | 25 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | TEX | P | 9 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2006 | TEX | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | SEA | P | 32 | 14 | 6 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | MIN | P | 35 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | NYN | P | 27 | 26 | 17 | 44 | 0 | 4 |
| 2011 | NYN | P | 33 | 32 | 7 | 58 | 2 | 5 |
| 2012 | NYN | P | 34 | 33 | 12 | 44 | 4 | 6 |
| 2013 | TOR | P | 34 | 34 | 11 | 40 | 2 | 1 |
| 2014 | TOR | P | 34 | 34 | 17 | 23 | 2 | 4 |
| 2015 | TOR | P | 33 | 33 | 11 | 25 | 0 | 1 |
| 2016 | TOR | P | 30 | 29 | 3 | 31 | 1 | 2 |
| 2017 | ATL | P | 31 | 31 | 15 | 44 | 2 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 400 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Gold Glove | P |
| 2012 | Branch Rickey Award | |
| 2012 | Cy Young Award | |
| 2012 | MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher | |
| 2012 | Pitcher of the Month | June |
| 2012 | Player of the Week | Week of 2012-05-28 |
| 2012 | This Year in Baseball Breakout Pitcher of the Year | MLB.com GIBBY |
| 2012 | This Year in Baseball Starter of the Year | MLB.com GIBBY |
| 2012 | TSN Pitcher of the Year |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | TOR | AL | $12,000,000 |
| 2015 | TOR | AL | $12,000,000 |
| 2014 | TOR | AL | $12,000,000 |
| 2013 | TOR | AL | $5,000,000 |
| 2012 | NYN | NL | $4,750,000 |
| 2011 | NYN | NL | $2,750,000 |
| 2009 | MIN | AL | $525,000 |
| 2006 | TEX | AL | $380,000 |
| 2005 | TEX | AL | $372,500 |
| 2004 | TEX | AL | $337,500 |
| Total Career Earnings | $50,115,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Tennessee | Knoxville | TN | 1994, 1995, 1996 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Cy Young Award | NL | 1st | 209.0 | 224 | 27 |
| 2012 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 14th | 16.0 | 448 | 0 |