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T.R.’s Memoirs: R.A. Dickey for the Hall of Fame? Actually, he’s in a class by himself

 

 

Editor’s note: T.R. Sullivan covered the Texas Rangers over 32 years for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and MLB.com, and is sharing his “memoirs” with this newsletter. In this latest installment, Sullivan recounts the saga of R.A. Dickey, the Rangers’ first-round pick in 1996 who is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year.

 

Former Rangers manager Buck Showalter once had a particularly memorable message for a pitcher he was about to pull from a game.

Starting pitcher R.A. Dickey was taking a beating early, and Showalter decided his young right-hander had enough. Not only was Dickey’s ass taking a beating, but so, too, was his fragile ego. Dickey badly wanted to be in the Rangers’ rotation, but a start like this one could easily lead to a young pitcher getting sent to the bullpen or — even worse — banished to Triple A Oklahoma City.

Showalter walked to the mound, stretched out his hand for the baseball, looked Dickey in the eye and said:

“See you in five days.”

Dickey got a pat on the backside and walked off the mound feeling lousy about his performance but relieved by his manager’s confidence.

“That meant a lot to me when he said that,” Dickey later told me.

Dickey deserved that respect. He is one of the most unique and amazing players I ever covered during my 32 years on the Rangers beat.

I am voting for him on my Hall of Fame ballot this year.

Jeff Wilson

Sports reporter for two decades. Sports fan for life. Covers the Texas Rangers. Graduate of TCU. Colorado native. Author of Purple Passion: TCU Football Legends (https://t.co/2fmXLyympx). Follow me on Twitter at @JeffWilsonTXR

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