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Dobson, a former Padre, dies at 64

By: ASSOCIATED PRESS | Thursday, November 23, 2006 9:19 PM PST ∞

Pat Dobson, one of four pitchers to win 20 games for the Baltimore Orioles in 1971, has died. He was 64.

Dobson died Wednesday night in the San Diego area, the San Francisco Giants said Thursday. He was a special assistant to Giants general manager Brian Sabean this year, his ninth with the club. The team didn't immediately know the cause of death.

Dobson had 14-15 record in his one season pitching for the Padres, 1970. He returned as the team's pitching coach from 1988-90.

Dobson went 20-8 with a 2.90 ERA for the American League champion Orioles in 1971, rounding out a famous rotation that also included Hall of Famer Jim Palmer (20-9), Dave McNally (21-5) and Mike Cuellar (20-9). The 1920 Chicago White Sox are the only other team in major-league history to have four 20-game winners.

"He had a great curveball," said Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, Dobson's teammate with the Orioles. "He was a real gamer, a real competitor. He didn't give in to anybody."

Dobson made the AL All-Star team in 1972 with Baltimore. Though he finished that season 16-18, he had a solid 2.65 ERA.

He went 122-129 with a 3.54 ERA in 11 major league seasons and won a World Series ring with the 1968 Detroit Tigers. The right-hander also pitched for the New York Yankees, Atlanta and Cleveland.

Dobson spent eight seasons as a big league pitching coach for Milwaukee (1982-84), Padres (1988-90), Kansas City (1991) and Baltimore (1996). He joined the Giants in 1997 and served as an advance scout before becoming a special assistant to Sabean.

Dobson's bio in San Francisco's media guide said he was living in El Cajon. He was born on Feb. 12, 1942, in Depew, N.Y., and is survived by wife Kathe and six children: Pat III, Nancy, Stacy, Chris, Shannon and Stephanie.

Benefit tournament

A three-day baseball tournament featuring teams composed of Southern California high school players will be held this weekend in Glendora to help raise money for the Cory Lidle Foundation. Lidle, 34, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, and flight instructor Tyler Stanger died when the plane they were in crashed into a high-rise building last month in New York.