Derek Wayne Botelho (born August 2, 1956) is a former right-handed

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 ...

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), ...

for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, who is currently the pitching coach for the Class A-Advanced

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

.http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/12/22/braves_minors_coaches.html

Career

Botelho was drafted three times before signing with a Major League team, the first time as a 26th-round selection (555th overall) in 1974 by 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 ...

, as a high schooler out of

Boca Raton Community High School Boca Raton Community High School is a magnet high school that is part of the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It has been rated an "A" school each consecutive year by the Florida Department of Education since 2005 and ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, but he did not sign, electing to play for Miami-Dade South Community College. He was then drafted in the fourth round (76th overall) of the secondary phase of the 1975 draft by the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, but again did not sign. After his sophomore year of college, the Phillies again drafted him, this time in the second round (42nd overall) of the 1976 draft, after which he signed. After he had a solid 1978 season at AA Reading, the Phillies traded Botelho in an eight-player deal, sending him, along with Henry Mack, Jerry Martin,

Ted Sizemore Ted Crawford Sizemore (born April 15, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He was named the National League's Rookie of the Year in . Early life Sizemore was born in Gadsden, Alabama, but moved to Detroit, at the age of two y ...

, and

Barry Foote Barry Clifton Foote (born February 16, 1952), is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and minor league manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (–), Philadelphia Phillies (1 ...

to the Cubs in exchange for

Manny Trillo Jesús Manuel Marcano Trillo (born December 25, 1950), also nicknamed "Indio", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (–), Chicago Cubs (–, –), Phil ...

Greg Gross Gregory Eugene Gross (born August 1, 1952), is an American former professional baseball outfielder / pinch hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Philadelphia Phillies, from –. He was prev ...

, and Dave Rader. He pitched four games for the Cubs' AAA team in Wichita before being released. After being out of baseball for about a year, Botelho signed as a free agent with the Royals organization. In one and one-half years, he worked his way from high-A ball to the majors, debuting with Kansas City on July 18, 1982. Botelho's first Major League game was an impressive one. Starting against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

, Botelho pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits as the Royals blanked the Sox 9-0. His first strikeout victim was

Jerry Remy Gerald Peter Remy (November 8, 1952 – October 30, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and sports broadcaster. Remy played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for ten seasons—three with the California Angels (1 ...

. He made three more starts and one relief appearance before returning to AAA, but his career seemed to be heading in the right direction. He went 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA all told with the Royals. Unfortunately, 1983 didn't go as well for Botelho, as he stumbled to a 10-14 record and 5.42 ERA for AAA Omaha. The Royals decided to unload Botelho, trading him with

Don Werner Donald Paul Werner (born March 8, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. He played during seven seasons at the major league level, playing for the Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers (baseball). In 1978, the Reds starting catcher, Johnny ...

to the Cubs in exchange for

Alan Hargesheimer Alan Robert Hargesheimer (born November 21, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched in parts of four seasons between and for three different teams. Since his retirement, Hargesheimer has worked as a scout for several teams, i ...

just before the start of the 1984 season. Botelho spent the balance of the Cubs' 1984 division title season with their AAA team in Iowa, posting a solid season of a 10-11 record and 3.81

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, perhaps the best showing of any of the I-Cubs' starting pitchers. After going 11-7 in 20 starts for Iowa in 1985, Botelho was called up to the Cubs to join their injury-decimated starting rotation. He lost his first two starts on August 5 and 11 but remained in the rotation, finally winning his first game as a Cub on September 1 against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, when he pitched his only Major League

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

. However, after a disastrous September 6 start (1 innings, 5 earned runs), Botelho was moved to the bullpen. His appearance on September 24, 1985 would prove to be his last in the Major Leagues. Botelho spent three next three seasons pitching for the AAA teams of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, Royals, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

before retiring as a player at age 32. Botelho resurfaced in 1990 as a minor league pitching coach for the Martinsville Phillies and in 1998 as a minor league pitching coach for the

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Basebal ...

. He has also served in that capacity for the Rockford Reds,

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. In 2 ...

GCL Braves The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at CoolTo ...

Danville Braves The Danville Braves were a Minor League Baseball team in Danville, Virginia. They were an Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League and were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves. The Braves have played home games at American Legion Post 3 ...

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

, the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

, the

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

and currently, the

Personal

Botelho now resides in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...

References

External links

Mississippi Braves bio page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botelho, Derek 1956 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Long Beach, California Chicago Cubs players Daytona Beach Explorers players Denver Zephyrs players Fort Myers Royals players Iowa Cubs players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Royals players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Minor league baseball coaches Omaha Royals players Peninsula Pilots players Reading Phillies players Spartanburg Phillies players Sportspeople from Long Beach, California Wichita Aeros players Baseball coaches from California Boca Raton Community High School alumni