Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Durham Bulls’

Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Dale Thayer has been called up to the Tampa Bay Rays from Triple-A Durham. If/when he makes his Major Leage Baseball debut, he’ll become the 80th former Wizard to do so.

With the Wizards in 2003, Thayer appeared in 45 games, all in relief. He posted a 1-3 record with a 2.06 ERA and 25 saves. In 48 innings pitched, he gave up 15 runs (11 earned) and struck out 72 while walking just 15. His WHIP was a crazy .960

UPDATE 10:30PM EST

Dale Thayer made his Major League Debut tonight, going three innings while giving up one run on 3 hits. The run came in the bottom of the ninth in as Tampa Bay had a 15-1 lead and Thayer had already tossed two scoreless innings.

Related Dale Thayer posts on BBIFW:

• Former Wizards Likely to Debut in 2009 – Part I
• Dale Thayer Competing Against Time
• More Former Wizards Get 40-Man Roster Protection
• Dale Thayer at Triple All-Star Game in Louisville
• Half Way There: A Mid-Season Look at Estranged Friars

Just got back from Louisville, Kentucky where we didn’t see Jared Wells. But We did see former Wizards and current Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) pitcher, Dale Thayer pitch a scoreless inning for the International League All-Stars.

Thayer worked a scoreless fifth inning, giving up a one-out double to the PCL’s Matthew Brown, who went 2-3 with an RBI and run scored in route to being named PCL Star of the Game.

Now a full-time relief pitcher, Thayer is the three-time reigning Southern League (Double-A) saves champion and doing well at Triple-A. He has a 1.46 ERA in 37 appearances and a newly introduced slider, which he rarely threw before this season. In doing so, Thayer has posted better strikeout numbers (57 in 49 1/3 innings).

“Dale can pitch and be successful in the big leagues today,” Bulls pitching coach Xavier Hernandez said [source: Montgomery Advertiser].

With the Wizards in 2003, Thayer appeared in  45 games, all in relief. He posted a 1-3 record with a 2.06 ERA and 25 saves. In 48 innings pitched, he gave up 15 runs (11 earned) and struck out 72 while walking just 15. His WHIP was a crazy .960, although his MiLB career WHIP is still just 1.12.

In fact, his whole career has been remarkably consistent with the numbers he posted in the Fort. He boasts a career record of 24-13 with 132 saves (25, 23, 27, 27, and 21 over 2003-2007) and a career ERA of 2.10.

Photos by Chad Gramling. See more photos from the trip.