Thomas Marion Dodd (born August 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player. He had a short two-week stint in the major leagues with the 1986

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, but is likely best remembered for being one of the players included in the deal that brought

Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, post ...

to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

as a minor league prospect.

Yankee farmhand

A highly touted prospect himself, Dodd was drafted by the Oakland Athletics out of the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in the second round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. A year later, he was drafted by the

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

in the first round (seventh overall) of the secondary phase of the

1980 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1980 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * Tim Teufel, 2nd round, 38th overall Minnesota Twins *Dan Plesac, 2nd round, 41st overall ...

. Dodd was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

when he joined the

Fort Lauderdale Yankees The Fort Lauderdale Yankees, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, were an American Minor League Baseball franchise that existed from 1962 through 1992. The team was a member of the Florida State League (FSL) as an affiliate of the New York Yankees ...

in , though he played some first base and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

during his minor league career as well. In , Dodd hit 29 home runs and had 95

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

as a member of the Greensboro Hornets.

McGriff deal

Early in the season, he, fellow Yankees farmhand Jeff Reynolds and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Dave Revering David Alvin Revering (born February 12, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player. He appeared in 557 games as a first baseman, designated hitter and pinch hitter in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1982 for four American League t ...

were traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for John Mayberry. After the season, the Yankees reacquired Dodd and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Dale Murray for

Dave Collins David S. Collins (born October 20, 1952) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball from to . Collins is one of three players to have made it to the major leagues who played for the Rapid City Post 22 American Legion baseball program in ...

and Mike Morgan.

Third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

was also supposed to be included in the deal, but when the Jays refused to give him a hefty bonus, the Yankees included cash in the deal to compensate.

MLB debut

The Yankees released Dodd the following May. Shortly afterwards, he signed with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, with whom he remained through the season. The ChiSox released him just before the start of the minor league season. He signed with the

, and batted .300 for the first time in his career for the Orioles' Southern League and

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

affiliates. Dodd's best season was , when he batted .306 with thirty home runs for the

Charlotte O's The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

and Rochester Red Wings. Along the way, he earned a promotion to the big league club. He made his major league debut on July 25, drawing a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

in his only at-bat. He entered seven games as a pinch hitter, remaining in one at third base, despite the fact that he had made very few appearances as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

in his minor league career. He hit his only major league home run in his only major league start on August 1 when manager

Earl Weaver Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...

used Dodd as his

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

against the Toronto Blue Jays. Despite hitting a career high and team-record 37 home runs for the Charlotte O's in , Dodd never returned to the majors. He spent three more seasons in the Kansas City Royals' and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

farm systems before retiring. In his final season as a pro, Dodd led the Pacific Coast League in RBI with 114 for the Calgary Cannons.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodd, Tom 1958 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Portland, Oregon Benson Polytechnic High School alumni Calgary Cannons players Charlotte O's players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Glens Falls White Sox players Greensboro Hornets players Hagerstown Suns players Knoxville Blue Jays players Major League Baseball third basemen Nashville Sounds players Omaha Royals players Rochester Red Wings players Oregon Ducks baseball players