R.A. Dickey

2013

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2012

Dickey dealt with a variety of ailments during the season including a split fingernail, tight left glute and partially torn plantar fascia in his right foot, yet he may have pitched his best during the last two months of the season. He once again held batters to a low BABIP (.288) proving that the previous year's mark was no fluke. Dickey's GB/FB ratio dropped slightly last year, which may be concerning given that the Mets have moved the fences in at Citi Field. The team around him isn't great, yet Dickey should still be a solid starter with a good ERA and WHIP.

2011

Dickey came out of nowhere to finish the year with a 2.84 ERA, 1.187 WHIP and 104:42 K:BB ratio in 174.1 innings with the Mets, finishing seventh in the league in ERA. Dickey might have been the best of former GM Omar Minaya's bargain basement signings. He was a groundball machine, generating twice as many groundouts than flyouts while holding batters to a .281 BABIP, which may be sustainable due to the difficulty in hitting a knuckleball. It's also possible the bottom falls out as quickly as it rose, but Dickey is locked in as the Mets' second starter while Johan Santana is sidelined.

2009

A Rule 5 refugee, Dickey came in handy last season when the Mariners needed a long man or a spot starter. Dickey transformed himself into a knuckleballer after his last stint in the majors in 2006 but certainly hasn't mastered the pitch. When he controlled it, he was effective; when he didn't, he got rocked. In half of his 14 starts, he posted a 2.33 ERA and averaged 6.2 innings per start. In the other half, he had a 13.68 ERA and averaged 4.1 innings pitched. He was better as a reliever than a starter, with a 2.00 ERA out of the bullpen. As a result, Minnesota signed him to compete for a set-up role this spring.

2006

In the minors, and with modest success, Dickey added a knuckleball to his increasingly hittable repertoire in an attempt to save his career. He surely didn't pitch well in the majors, allowing mulitple earned runs in every appearance that lasted more than an inning. That he's still on Texas' 40-man roster is a bit of a surprise. He'll compete for a bullpen role in the spring.

2005

Dickey went from a feel-good story in April to getting his brains beat in over the rest of the season. He was decent as a reliever toward the end of the year, which may be his role for 2005.

2004

Dickey was passable as a starter for Texas the final few months, though a few forgettable starts tarnished the final numbers. His best starts came against AL lightweights Detroit, Cleveland and Baltimore, but there were solid starts against Toronto and Boston mixed in too. Dickey went two days between his first career complete game shutout and his first career save, which figures to be an answer to a trivia question somewhere.

2003