Pat Zachry

Patrick Paul Zachry (born April 24, 1952 in Richmond, Texas) is a former Major League baseball pitcher who had a ten year career from 1976 to 1985.

Cincinnati Reds

Zachry joined the Cincinnati Reds out of Spring training in 1976. He made his debut on April 11 out of the bullpen, however, shortly afterwards, he was moved into the starting rotation. For the season, he had a 14-7 record, a 2.74 Earned run average and 143 strikeouts in 204 innings pitched, and tied for the National League Rookie of the Year award with San Diego Padres pitcher Butch Metzger.

Zachry pitched quite well in the post-season as well, starting and winning game two of the 1976 National League Championship Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, and in the 1976 World Series, he started and won game three at Yankee Stadium, helping the "Big Red Machine" become the only team to ever sweep the entire post-season en route to winning their second consecutive world championship.

New York Mets

Zachry's record was only 3-7 in 1977 when he was traded to the New York Mets on June 15 as part of the infamous "Midnight Massacre." He, Doug Flynn, Dan Norman and Steve Henderson were traded to the Mets in exchange for Tom Seaver. The Mets also dealt Dave Kingman to the San Diego Padres for Bobby Valentine and Paul Siebert, and Mike Phillips to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joel Youngblood that same night. Zachry became a regular starter for the Mets over the rest of the season, winning seven games and lost just six for the last-place team.

Zachry had a 10-4 record, and was selected by Tommy Lasorda as the sole Mets representative on the All-Star team in 1978, but did not play. After dropping his next two decisions, On July 24, Zachry was the starting pitcher against the Cincinnati Reds at Shea Stadium as Pete Rose entered the game with a 36 game hitting streak. Rose was 0-3 until a seventh inning single gave him a 37 game hitting streak to tie the N.L. record. Four batters latter, Zachry is pulled in favor of Kevin Kobel. Frustrated, Zachry went to kick a batting helmet sitting on the dugout steps, missed the helmet and kicked the step-- fracturing his left foot, and ending his season.^[1]

Injuries also derailed his 1979 season. When he returned to full strength, the Mets were still a last-place team, and Zachry led the league in losses with 14 in the strike-shortened 1981 season. On April 10, 1982, Zachry took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. With two outs, pinch hitter Bob Molinaro singled to right to break it up.^[2] Zachry still ended up with the win, but by the end of the season, he lost his place in the starting rotation. During the off season, the Mets traded Zachry to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jorge Orta.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Now a reliever, Zachry pitched two years for the Dodgers and pitched two games in the 1983 National League Championship Series, which the Dodgers lost to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Philadelphia Phillies

Following the 1984 season, the Dodgers traded Zachry to the Phillies for Al Oliver. After ten games with the Phillies in 1985, all in relief, the Phillies cut Zachry in June. He later played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989, and was profiled in a book by Peter Golenbock about the league.

References

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube