Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal (born March 5, 1977 in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago White Sox. He bats and throws right-handed.

A former star pitcher for Wake Forest University, MacDougal began his career as a starting pitcher but suffered a fractured skull late in the 2001 season when he was struck in the head by a bat that had escaped from the hand of Carlos Beltrán. He lost feeling in his right arm and was unable to pitch for three months. In 2003 the Royals turned him into a closer. He recorded 24 saves by midseason and made the American League All-Star team.

MacDougal struggled with flu-like symptoms in spring training in 2004, causing him to lose weight and, as a result, to lose velocity off his fastball, which had been clocked as high as 103 miles per hour. He lost his job as the Royals' closer to Jeremy Affeldt and spent much of the 2004 season in the minor leagues. However, early in 2005, he was reinstalled as the closer after Affeldt himself was injured.

In a seven-season career, MacDougal has a 12-18 record with 50 saves and a 3.90 ERA.

He was acquired in a trade for minor-league pitchers Tyler Lumsden and Dan Cortes by the Chicago White Sox on July 24, 2006. [1]

Trivia

• His nickname is 'Mac the 9th.'
• The Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" comes on before he pitches.
• MacDougal has an odd tendency to knock off his cap while pitching.

See also

• Chicago White Sox all-time roster

Sources

• Baseball Reference

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