Dennis Edward Neagle Jr. (; born September 13, 1968) is a 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 ...

who played for six teams over a 13-year career. During the 1990s, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball, but his career, and personal life, deteriorated in the early 2000s. With the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, he won the 2000 World Series over 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 ...

Career

Arundel Senior High School

Neagle attended Arundel Senior High School in Gambrills, MD and played on the baseball team.

University of Minnesota

Neagle attended the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and played on the

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

. In 1988, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Minnesota Twins

Neagle was drafted in the 3rd round of the amateur draft by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. He saw some action in the summer of for the Twins, but was not on their postseason roster when the club won the

1991 World Series The 1991 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) held after the 1991 season. The 88th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

Neagle was dealt to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

in , and became a full-time starter for the Pirates in . The following season, Neagle posted a 13–8 record with a 3.43

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 ...

and became the ace of a mediocre Pittsburgh staff. That year, Neagle represented the Pirates at the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

and led the National League in innings pitched () and hits allowed (221). He got off to an impressive 14–6 start in . On August 27, 1996, he pitched eight innings giving up only two runs to the first place

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 ...

. The next day, the Braves traded a young

Jason Schmidt Jason David Schmidt (born January 29, 1973), is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. In his career, he has played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–2009), San Francisco Giants (2001–06), Pittsburgh Pirates (1996–2001) and Atla ...

to Pittsburgh for Neagle in the midst of their playoff run.

Atlanta Braves

Neagle was given the opportunity to start in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series, earning a no-decision. Remaining with the Braves in , Neagle had his best season, going 20–5 with a 2.97 ERA. Neagle made the start for the Braves in the first regular season game at

Turner Field Turner Field was a baseball stadium located in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1997 to 2016, it served as the home ballpark to the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium in 1996 to serve as the c ...

, taking place on April 4, 1997. He earned another All-Star selection and finished third in

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

voting. In Game 4 of the 1997 National League Championship Series, Neagle pitched a complete-game

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. Neagle's 16–11 record and 3.55 ERA in were still solid numbers, but the emergence of

Kevin Millwood Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Colo ...

made him expendable and he was traded to 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 ...

after the season.

Cincinnati Reds

Injuries limited Neagle to 19 starts in , but he stormed out to an 8–2 record in .

New York Yankees

The playoff-bound

traded prospects

Drew Henson Drew Daniel Henson (born February 13, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and National Football League quarterback. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at ...

Jackson Melián Jackson Melián (born January 7, 1980) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder. Considered a top prospect, Melián received a record signing bonus for a Latin American player from the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB) when ...

and

Ed Yarnall Harvey Edward Yarnall (born December 4, 1975) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees, and two seasons in Japan with the Orix BlueWave. Career Yarnall played co ...

to acquire Neagle along with outfielder

Mike Frank Stephen Michael Frank (born January 14, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds in 1998. Biography Frank was born in Pomona, California and graduated from Escondido High School in (Escondi ...

on July 12, 2000. He only registered a 7–7 record over the rest of the season with the Yankees, and his playoff performance was shaky, but his team triumphed in the 2000 World Series and Neagle earned a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Devil Rays and legal troubles

In December 2000, 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 ...

signed Neagle and fellow left-hander

Mike Hampton Michael William Hampton, Jr. (born September 9, 1972) is an American former professional baseball player. Hampton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1993 through 2010. He pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros, New ...

to expensive contracts. Neagle's contract was for five years and $51 million, and his 17–19 record and 5.31 ERA over the and seasons spelled disaster for the Rockies. Due to injuries, Neagle only started seven games in . He went 2–4 with a 7.90 ERA, pitching what was to be his last Major League game on July 20, 2003. Neagle missed the season due to ligament and elbow surgeries. Then, in late November 2004, a Lakewood, Colorado, police officer ticketed him for soliciting a woman for oral sex. Less than a week later, the Rockies canceled the final year of his lucrative contract, citing a morals clause in his contract. The incident ultimately led to the end of Neagle's marriage. He signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before the 2005 season, but did not play due to injury.

Personal life

Denny Neagle was born and raised in the

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, suburb of Gambrills to Denny Sr. and Joanne Neagle. He has two sisters, Debbie and Diana, and a brother, Doug. He graduated from Arundel High School. On January 24, 2006, Neagle pleaded guilty in

Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood. ...

, on one charge of patronizing a prostitute. Although the sentence can carry a maximum of a $500 fine and up to six months in jail, Neagle was sentenced to only 40 hours of community service. On August 27, 2007, Neagle was arrested for and later pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. On December 13, 2007, Neagle was mentioned in the

Mitchell Report The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...

in connection with

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

s. In 2012, he sued his financial adviser, William S. Leavitt, for placing 80% of his money in “alternative investments” without his consent. These investments incurred huge losses. Neagle married hairstylist Jennifer Gray in 1996. They have three children, Denny III ("Trey") (b. January 6, 2000), and twins Chase and Avery (b. September 17, 2004). They divorced in 2006.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neagle, Denny 1968 births Living people University of Minnesota alumni National League All-Stars National League wins champions Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Maryland Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Yankees players Minnesota Twins players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Atlanta Braves players People from Gambrills, Maryland Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Elizabethton Twins players Kenosha Twins players Visalia Oaks players Orlando Sun Rays players Portland Beavers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Indianapolis Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players