Darren James Dreifort (born May 3, 1972) is an American former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
for the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
.
Early career
Dreifort played baseball in High School at
Wichita Heights High School
Wichita Heights High School, known locally as Heights, is a public secondary school in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is operated by Wichita USD 259 school district and serves students in grades 9 to 12. The school principal is Eric Filippi. ...
and was drafted out of High School by the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
in 1990. He chose instead to attend college at
Wichita State University
Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
. As a college ballplayer, Dreifort was a two-time consensus All-American and the 1993 NCAA Player of the Year. He was 26–5 with a 2.24 ERA in his career at WSU on the mound and was also a great power hitter at the plate. Darren was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame for his performance there.
Los Angeles Dodgers
He was subsequently drafted in the 1st round (2nd overall behind
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...
) in the
1993 Major League Baseball draft by the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
.
Dreifort became one of only
a select few players to make his professional debut in the Majors, without first appearing in a minor league game. He made his debut on April 7, 1994, against the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
, working one scoreless inning as a relief pitcher. He appeared in a total of 27 games for the Dodgers that season, finishing 0–5 with a 6.21 ERA.
After missing the 1995 season due to injuries, Dreifort returned to the Dodgers bullpen for the 1996 and 1997 seasons, pitching effectively as a late inning setup man. He recorded his first career win on August 30, 1996, in relief against the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
. In 1997 he was very good out of the pen, finishing 5–2 with a 2.86 ERA in 48 appearances and notched 4 saves.
He transitioned to the starting rotation for the 1998 season, making his first start on April 11 against the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
at Dodger Stadium, working five innings and taking the loss. He finished the season 8–12 with an ERA of 4.00. He continued to pitch effectively in 1999 (13-13) and in 2000 turned in his best season with a 12–9 record, 4.16 ERA in 32 starts and 164 strikeouts.
A free agent after the 2000 season, Dreifort re-signed with the team, and received a five-year, $55 million contract in 2001, a large contract in spite of the fact that he had a career record of 39–45, and a history of arm trouble. But, in 2001, with a limited free-agent pitching market, Dreifort's agent
Scott Boras
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...
sold the Dodgers on the right-hander's future potential, hinting he might sign with their
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
West rival, the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
. The Dodgers responded with the big contract.
Injuries
Dreifort's health shut him down during the 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 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 2004, after team medical personnel advised the Dodgers Dreifort could not pitch as a starter due to his injuries, Dreifort became the Dodgers' seventh inning reliever in front of setup man
Guillermo Mota
Guillermo Reynoso Mota (born July 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, New Yor ...
and closer
Éric Gagné
Éric Serge Gagné (; born January 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995 ...
. Dreifort pitched inconsistently due to knee and hip troubles in addition to older arm and shoulder issues.
Dreifort's issues may be traceable to a degenerative condition that weakened his connective tissues, as well as a deformed femur that may have been the root of his hip problems, affecting in turn his ability to rotate his body properly, which could have affected his knees and his elbows as well.
[ ] He is reported to have had 22 surgeries total, 20 of them since leaving college to play professional baseball.
Dreifort retired at age 32. He is married to former sports journalist
Krystal Fernandez
Krystal Fernandez (born November 11, 1971) is an American sports journalist. She joined Fox Sports Radio in March 2004 as the morning update anchor and also serves as a sports/feature reporter for KTTV/Fox 11 TV in Los Angeles. She was released ...
and lives in Pacific Palisades, California. He remains involved with baseball, working as a Dodgers minor league spring training instructor.
Dreifort was inducted into the
College Baseball Hall of Fame
The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...
in 2009.
See also
*
*
List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders
In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. Under Rules 6.05 and 6.09 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball, a batter becomes a runner when a third strike is not caught b ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dreifort, Darren
1972 births
Living people
Baseball players from Wichita, Kansas
Major League Baseball pitchers
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Wichita State Shockers baseball players
Golden Spikes Award winners
Albuquerque Dukes players
San Antonio Missions players
National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
All-American college baseball players
Anchorage Glacier Pilots players