Todd Worrell
Todd Roland Worrell is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played all or part of eleven seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball, serving as those teams' closer for most of his seasons from 1985 through 1997. During his playing career, Worrell was a three-time National League All-Star.
Born and raised in Arcadia, California, Worrell attended Biola University. He seldom pitched until his senior year, but his 94 mile-per-hour fastball caught the attention of a scout for the Cardinals, who made him their first round draft pick in 1982. He was expected to be a starting pitcher, but he was moved to the bullpen in 1985, when the Cardinals called him up for the playoff race. Worrell posted a 2.91 earned run average in 17 games at the end of the year. In the 1985 World Series, he tied a World Series record by striking out six consecutive hitters, but the Cardinals lost to the Kansas City Royals in seven games. Still considered a rookie in 1986, Worrell led the NL with 36 saves, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award and the Rolaids Relief Man Award.
In 1987, he became the first pitcher to start his career with back-to-back 30-save seasons, and he made seven appearances in the playoffs that year, as the Cardinals lost the 1987 World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games. He was selected to the NL All-Star team in 1988 and finished third in the NL in saves, but he then injured his ulnar nerve in 1989, forcing him to undergo Tommy John surgery. The recovery from the operation, as well as a later rotator cuff tear, forced him to miss all of 1990 and 1991. Lee Smith had been acquired to close in his absence, but Worrell served as his set-up man in 1992, posting a 2.11 ERA. After the season, Worrell became a free agent.
On December 9, 1992, Worrell signed a three-year contract with the Dodgers. Expected to serve as their closer, he battled injuries his first two years in Los Angeles, prompting the Los Angeles Daily News to call him "perhaps the biggest free-agent bust in baseball this season" in 1993. However, he was selected to the NL All-Star team back-to-back years in 1995 and 1996, recording 32 saves in 1995 and leading the NL in saves with 44 in 1996. That season, he finished fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting and 21st in NL Most Valuable Player Award voting, as the Dodgers reached the playoffs before getting swept in the NL Division Series by the Atlanta Braves. Worrell pitched one final season, recording 35 saves but posting a 5.28 ERA in 1997 before retiring. He threw a fastball and a slider.
Early life
Todd Roland Worrell was born on September 28, 1959, in Arcadia, California. His middle name, Roland, was also his father's first name. Worrell was raised in Arcadia, and his father frequently took him to Los Angeles Dodgers games at nearby Dodger Stadium when he was growing up.College career
In 1978, he enrolled as a Bible student at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he also played baseball.At Biola, Worrell played a number of different positions. He was used mostly as a catcher during his junior year, though he also pitched as a long reliever. As a senior, he was used as a pitcher more often, but he played the outfield on days when he was not pitching. He was throwing up to 94 miles per hour his senior year, when he caught the attention of Steve Flores, a scout for the St. Louis Cardinals who attended a Biola game to watch Tony Woods of Whittier College play.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
Flores was impressed with how hard Worrell threw, and the Cardinals selected him in the first round of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. The Cardinals were hoping Worrell would be a starting pitcher for them in the future. He began his professional career in 1982 with the Erie Cardinals of the Single-A short season New York-Penn League. In nine games, he had a 4–1 record, a 3.31 earned run average, 57 strikeouts, 15 walks, and 52 hits allowed in innings pitched. By his second professional season, he was already pitching for the Louisville Redbirds of the Triple-A American Association. Manager Jim Fregosi was impressed with the prospect, saying he had not seen a pitcher with a better arm since he managed Nolan Ryan. Worrell had a 4–2 record in 14 starts for Louisville, but his ERA was 4.74 and he had almost as many walks as strikeouts. He also spent part of the year with the Arkansas Travelers of the Double-A Texas League, posting a 5–2 record and a 3.07 ERA in 10 starts.In 1984, Worrell made 18 starts for Arkansas again, posting a 3–10 record, a 4.49 ERA, 88 strikeouts, 67 walks, and 109 hits allowed in innings. His ERA was lower in eight games with the St. Petersburg Cardinals of the Single-A Florida State League, where he had a 3–2 record, 33 strikeouts, 24 walks, and 41 hits allowed in innings. By 1985, he was "languishing in the minors," according to Peter Gammons of Sports Illustrated. "I'd throw great for three or four innings every start, then something would happen," Worrell said. He began the season with Louisville as a starter once again, but Fregosi grew tired of waiting for him to improve and moved him to the bullpen in the middle of the season. As a relief pitcher, Worrell struck out 43 batters in under 31 innings before being promoted to the majors for the first time on August 27.
St. Louis Cardinals (1985–1989, 1992)
1985
Worrell joined a Cardinals team that was fighting to make the playoffs. He made his MLB debut on August 28, 1985, pitching scoreless innings in relief in a 7–6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Though no runs were charged to him, he allowed two inherited runners to score as the Reds tied the game. After suffering another blown save on September 8, he picked up his first save on September 13 against the Chicago Cubs, striking out four in innings and allowing only one run, a home run to Jody Davis, in a 9–3 victory. His ERA was 5.68 through September 8, but Worrell posted a 1.76 ERA thereafter, converting five saves in five opportunities through the end of the year as the Cardinals won the National League East Division title. In 17 games, he had a 3–0 record, a 2.91 ERA, 17 strikeouts, seven walks, and 17 hits allowed in innings.1985 playoffs
The Cardinals faced the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series, and Worrell pitched in four of the six games of the series, making scoreless appearances in Games 1, 3, and 5. Relieving Joaquin Andujar to begin the seventh inning of Game 6, with the score tied at four, Worrell threw a scoreless seventh inning, then gave up a home run to Mike Marshall to start the eighth. He retired the next three hitters he faced, then got the win after Jack Clark hit a three-run home run in the ninth, helping the Cardinals defeat the Dodgers 7–5 and win the series in six games. In Game 1 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals, Worrell relieved John Tudor with two outs in the seventh and runners on first and third. After walking Lonnie Smith, Worrell got Willie Wilson to pop out to end the inning. In the eighth, he nearly gave up a home run to George Brett, but Andy Van Slyke caught the ball at the fence, and Worrell earned the save as the Cardinals won 3–1.In Game 5, he struck out all six batters he faced, but the Cardinals lost the game 6–1. However, he joined Hod Eller and Moe Drabowsky as the only pitchers to strike out six hitters in a row in World Series play. Worrell relieved Ken Dayley to start the ninth inning of Game 6, with the Cardinals leading 1–0 and three outs away from clinching a World Series title. The leadoff hitter for Kansas City, Jorge Orta, hit a ground ball to the mound that first baseman Clark fielded, then threw to Worrell, who had covered first. The throw narrowly beat Orta to the base, but umpire Don Denkinger mistakenly called him safe. Worrell went on to allow a couple more runners to reach base, then gave up a pinch-hit single to Dane Iorg that won the game for the Royals by a score of 2–1. The Cardinals went on to lose the World Series in seven games.
1986
By 1986, Worrell was the Cardinals' "ace reliever," according to Mitch Lawrence of the Dallas Morning News. On April 10, the St. Louis closer relieved Rick Ownbey with two runners on in the seventh inning of a game against the Cubs, with the Cardinals leading 3–1. Worrell allowed one of the runners to score but pitched three scoreless innings, earning the save as the Cardinals won 4–2. Against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 21 and 22, he struck out four batters in and four batters in innings, respectively, earning the win in the first game and the save in the second. He entered another game against the Phillies on July 30 with one out in the seventh, the bases loaded, and the Cardinals only up by two runs. Worrell retired Mike Schmidt and Von Hayes on fly balls without any runs scoring, then threw two more scoreless innings for the save when the Cardinals won 6–3. Still considered a rookie in 1986, Worrell's 2.08 ERA and league-leading 36 saves netted him that year's NL Rookie of the Year Award, as well as the NL Rolaids Relief Man Award. His 36 saves were a record for MLB rookies at the time, though this has since been surpassed by multiple pitchers. In 74 games, the third highest-total in the NL, Worrell had a 9–10 record and struck out 73 hitters in innings. Though he had 36 saves, he also blew 10 save opportunities as well.1987
Worrell's 1987 season got off to a "poor start," according to the Associated Press; he blew saves in three games in a row from April 29 through May 2 and posted a 10.57 ERA through May 4. Thereafter, he posted a 1.80 ERA in 18 more games through June 10, at which point he had 14 saves, a total only surpassed in the NL by Steve Bedrosian's and Lee Smith's 15. Against the Atlanta Braves on August 29, he entered a game in the ninth inning with runners on second and third, two outs, and the Cardinals up 4–2. After intentionally walking Ken Griffey, Sr., he got Ted Simmons to fly out to end the inning. On September 19, he relieved Joe Magrane in a game against the Cubs with one out in the seventh, the bases loaded, the Cardinals up 5–3, and Ryne Sandberg at the plate. Worrell struck out Sandberg and Andre Dawson to end the inning with no runs scoring, then threw two more scoreless innings for the save.In the second game of a doubleheader against the Montreal Expos on September 29, Worrell relieved Greg Mathews with no outs in the seventh, runners on first and second, and the Cardinals up 3–0. He did not allow either of the runners to score and pitched three scoreless innings for the save. Worrell finished the year with 33 saves, becoming the first major league pitcher to have at least 30 saves in each of his first two full seasons. Only Bedrosian and Smith had more saves than Worrell, but he blew 10 saves as well for the second year in a row. In 75 games, he had an 8–6 record, a 2.66 ERA, 92 strikeouts, 34 walks, and 86 hits allowed in innings pitched.