Octavio Dotel

Octavio Eduardo Dotel Diaz (born November 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher.

Dotel graduated from Liceo Cansino Afuera in the Dominican Republic and was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1993.

He played for their minor league affiliate in the Dominican Summer League through 1994 and then promoted through the Mets' minor league system for the next several seasons.

Dotel made his MLB debut on June 26, 1999, for the Mets, taking the loss in a 7–2 defeat to the Atlanta Braves.

His first MLB win came July 1, 1999, against the Florida Marlins.

He ended the season as the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the 1999 National League Championship Series against the Braves.

He was voted Player of the Week for the week of July 25, 1999.

On December 23, 1999, Dotel was traded by the Mets with Roger Cedeño and minor leaguer Kyle Kessel to the Houston Astros for Mike Hampton and Derek Bell.

This season marked the first time in National League history that a pitcher had over 15 starts and 15 saves (the only other season in MLB history came in the American League in 1999 when Tim Wakefield won six games in 17 starts and attained 15 saves for the Boston Red Sox).

In 2000, Dotel went 3–7 with 16 saves and a 5.40 ERA in 50 games (16 starts).

His role was converted from a starter to a relief pitcher for the Astros, and Dotel began to fill in as closer for an injured Billy Wagner.

In 2001, Dotel again began the season as a starter but moved into the bullpen as the setup man for Wagner.

Dotel had an excellent season in 2002; he led all relievers with 118 strikeouts and helped secure a well-reputed bullpen for the Astros at that time.

By 2003, Dotel and Wagner were joined by future Astros closer Brad Lidge and all three partook in a historic event in which six Astros pitchers combined for a no-hitter against the New York Yankees on June 11, 2003.

After the 2003 season, Wagner was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, and Dotel started 2004 as the closer for the Astros.

On June 24, 2004, Dotel was traded to the Oakland Athletics in a three-team trade that sent Carlos Beltrán to the Astros, minor leaguer Mike Wood, Mark Teahen, and John Buck to the Kansas City Royals.

Dotel served as closer for the Athletics and finished the 2004 season with a combined 6–6 record with a 3.69 ERA and a career-high 36 saves (22 for the A's and 14 for the Astros) in 77 relief appearances.

Dotel began 2005 as closer for the Athletics again, but had a rough start and went on the 60-day disabled list on May 21.

It was later announced on June 2 that he would undergo Tommy John surgery, ending his season after just 15 games.

Dotel signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the New York Yankees in December 2005.

He missed the first four months of the 2006 season, recovering from his Tommy John surgery.

Dotel had a setback after developing tendinitis in his elbow while on a rehab assignment with the Trenton Thunder.

This pushed his return into August as he went through another minor league assignment with the Columbus Clippers.

Dotel pitched his first game in a Yankees uniform on August 16, coming into the game in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles, facing two batters with one strikeout and one walk.

He finished the season playing in 14 games with no record and an ERA of 10.80.

Dotel became a free agent at the end of the 2006 MLB season.

On December 8, 2006, he agreed to a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals for $5 million.

Dotel made 24 relief appearances to start the season, going 2–1 with 11 saves and a 3.91 ERA.

On July 31, 2007, the Royals traded Dotel to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for pitcher Kyle Davies.

He made his Braves debut on August 1, throwing a scoreless ninth inning in a 12–3 rout of the Astros.

On August 10, Dotel was placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain.

He made his return on September 22 escaping a bases-loaded jam which eventually led to a Braves win.

He recorded a 4.70 ERA in nine appearances with the Braves, and he finished the season 2–1 with a 4.11 ERA in 33 combined relief appearances.

On January 21, 2008, Dotel agreed to a two-year, $11 million deal with the Chicago White Sox.

On January 21, 2010, Dotel agreed to a one-year, $3.25 million deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates, plus bonuses for games finished.

Dotel won the 2011 World Series as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Dotel played for 13 major league teams, the second most teams played for by any player in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), setting the mark when he pitched for the Detroit Tigers on April 7, 2012, breaking a record previously held by Mike Morgan, Matt Stairs, and Ron Villone.

In 2013, as part of the World Baseball Classic champions along with fellow Dominicans Robinson Canó and Santiago Casilla, Dotel became one of the few players in history to win both a World Series and a World Baseball Classic.

Edwin Jackson broke this record in 2019.

Dotel's longest tenure with any one team was the five seasons he spent with the Houston Astros.