Darren Dreifort

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Injury-addled Darren Dreifort in mid-pitch

Darren James Dreifort (born May 3, 1972 in Wichita, Kansas) was a Major League Baseball pitcher whose career was ruined by numerous injuries. He announced his retirement officially on February 23, 2006 after playing his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the last five under a big money contract he signed before the 2001 season that may be the way he'll be remembered best.

1 The Big Contract
2 The Big Pain
3 The End
4 See also

[edit] The Big Contract

Drafted originally by the New York Mets in 1990 but not signing with them, Dreifort signed with the Dodgers after they drafted him in 1993. Many ridiculed the five-year, $55 million contract he signed in 2001 from the outset because Dreifort had had a career record of 39-45 in six years and only once (in 1997) brought his ERA below 4.00, not to mention a history of arm trouble prior to that signing. With his free agency pending after the 2000 season and a limited pitching market seen, Dreifort's agent Scott Boras sold the Dodgers on the righthander's future potential, hinting he might sign with a National League West rival. The Dodgers responded with the big contract.

[edit] The Big Pain

But Dreifort's health shut him down during the very first season of the deal; he was finished in early July when he was forced to undergo elbow reconstruction surgery that kept him out until the end of 2002. With continuing arm and shoulder trouble, plus additional knee and even hip trouble, Dreifort actually pitched in only three of the five years on the deal, also missing the entire 2005 season and parts of two other seasons during the life of the deal. In fairness, there were published stories that indicated Dreifort's frustration with his physical troubles; and, that his teammates and team management actually respected Dreifort for his willingness to take the ball and pitch when he was able to pitch, for a competitive attitude whenever he did pitch, and for his willingness to do what needed to be done to rehabilitate from his injuries.

In 2004, after team medical personnel advised the Dodgers Dreifort was physically incapable of being a starting pitcher after all the previous injuries, Dreifort became the Dodgers' setup reliever following Guillermo Mota's trade to the Florida Marlins. When he was able to pitch, Dreifort had alternating games in which a solid performance would be followed by a shaky one, and it turned out that he now developed knee and hip trouble on top of his long history of arm and shoulder trouble.

A normally acerbic Los Angeles Times sports columnist, T.J. Simers, wrote sympathetically of Dreifort after a rough outing against the Marlins followed by disclosure of the new knee problem the following day: "Every time I saw the guy he looked sad, hanging his head as if he was ashamed to be paid so much for doing so little. Insiders say he was not only a workout freak, but the ultimate competitor who wanted to earn his keep only to be frustrated by a body that would not allow it. The Dodgers knew Dreifort had a sore hip, which prevented him from being a regular contributor and which put him at risk of injuring another part of his body while trying to compensate."

[edit] The End

Dreifort never pitched again after that game against the Marlins. He finished that big contract with a 9-15 won-lost record and a 4.53 earned run average over the years of the deal, appearing in only 86 games and pitching only 205.2 innings during that period. (Calculated by the contract, that equaled $267,431.68 per inning pitched.) Dreifort finished with a career record of 48-60, 11 saves, 802 strikeouts, a 4.35 earned run average, and a 1.39 ratio of walks and hits per inning pitched over a nine-year career.

Dreifort graduated from Wichita Heights High School in 1990 and has since made his home with his wife, Ann, in San Marino, California. He was a member of the United States Olympics baseball team in 1992.

One of Dreifort's more unique career highlights was a game he pitched against the Chicago Cubs on August 8, 2000---because what he did as a batter outshone what he did on the mound. Dreifort hit two home runs in the game and was one of four Dodgers (Kevin Elster, Gary Sheffield, and Shawn Green were the others) to hit homers in the fourth inning, against Cubs pitcher Phil Norton in Norton's major league debut. Dreifort was the first pitcher in ten years hit two homers in a game; Norton became the first Cub pitcher ever to give up four homers in one inning. The Dodgers won the game, 7-4. Dreifort himself got the win, his ninth of the season, pitching six and two-thirds innings, surrendering two earned runs and striking out five while walking four and giving up six hits.