{{short description|American baseball player (born 1950)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Dick Pole |position=Pitcher |image=Dick Pole 1976.jpg |caption=Pole with the Red Sox in 1976 |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1950|10|13}} |birth_place=Trout Creek, Michigan, U.S. |bats=Right |throws=Right |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=August 3 |debutyear=1973 |debutteam=Boston Red Sox |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=July 18 |finalyear=1978 |finalteam=Seattle Mariners |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=25–37 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=5.05 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=239 |teams= '''As player''' *Boston Red Sox ({{mlby|1973}}–{{mlby|1976}}) *Seattle Mariners ({{mlby|1977}}–{{mlby|1978}}) '''As coach''' *Chicago Cubs ({{mlby|1988}}–{{mlby|1991}}) *San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|1993}}–{{mlby|1997}}) *Boston Red Sox ({{mlby|1998}}) *Anaheim Angels ({{mlby|1999}}) *Cleveland Indians ({{mlby|2000}}–{{mlby|2001}}) *Montreal Expos ({{mlby|2002}}) *Chicago Cubs ({{mlby|2003}}–{{mlby|2006}}) *Cincinnati Reds ({{mlby|2007}}–{{mlby|2009}}) }} '''Richard Henry Pole''' (born October 13, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and a former pitching coach. A right-handed pitcher, Pole was {{convert|6|ft|3|in|abbr=on}} tall and weighed {{convert|210|lb}} during his playing career.
==Playing career== Pole was born in Trout Creek, Michigan and attended Ewen-Trout Creek High School then Northern Michigan University and signed with the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent. He quickly developed into a top pitching prospect. With Class AAA Pawtucket in 1973, his 2.03 earned run average and 158 strikeouts led the International League. That same year, he pitched a no-hitter against Peninsula.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=chc&coachorstaffid=316103111914|title=The Official Site of The Chicago Cubs: Team: Manager and Coaches<!-- Bot generated title -->|access-date=2006-03-29|archive-date=2006-05-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525041218/http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=chc&coachorstaffid=316103111914|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Pole made his Major League debut on August 3, 1973, starting the second game of a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. He surrendered six runs in {{frac|3|2|3}} innings pitched and received the loss, as the Orioles won 8–2.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1973/B08032BAL1973.htm|title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Baltimore Orioles 8, Boston Red Sox 2 (2)|website=www.retrosheet.org}}</ref> He remained with the team, and spent the next four seasons moving between the rotation and the bullpen for the Red Sox.
Pole's career was nearly ended by an injury during a game against the Orioles on June 30, 1975, when a line drive by Tony Muser struck him in the face. The ball had been hit so hard that it bounced into foul territory near third base, scoring two runs on the play. Pole sustained a broken jaw and damage to the retina of his right eye. The damaged eye never fully recovered, and he ultimately lost ninety percent of the vision in that eye.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/07/27/sox_get_a_scare_as_line_drive_hits_clement/|title=Boston Red Sox - Sox get a scare as line drive hits Clement - The Boston Globe|website=www.boston.com}}</ref> Pole recovered from his injuries in time to pitch in the 1975 World Series, walking the only two batters he faced in a 6–2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds in Game 5. The Red Sox ultimately lost the series in seven games.
At the end of the 1976 season, Pole became one of the inaugural members of the Seattle Mariners franchise, as they selected him from the Red Sox with the seventh pick in the 1976 MLB expansion draft. Pole spent 1977 and 1978 with the Mariners, but his performance was not up to the standard he had set in Boston, possibly due to effects from the injury. His most memorable moment with Seattle came on August 5, 1977, when he surrendered Reggie Jackson's 300th career home run.<ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_8_62/ai_104362924 7th inning stretch; players who hit 500 lifetime home runs - Illustration | Baseball Digest | Find Articles at BNET.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> On March 24, 1979, the Mariners released him.
Pole ended his time in the majors with 25 wins, 37 losses, one save, and a 5.05 ERA in 122 games pitched and 531 innings. His one save came on September 28, 1974. He pitched 4 innings to preserve a 7-2 Red Sox win over the Tigers. He saved the game for Red Sox Hall of Famer Luis Tiant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET197409280.shtml|title=Boston Red Sox at Detroit Tigers Box Score, September 28, 1974|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> After the end of his Major League career, he continued to play professionally in Mexico.
==Coaching career== Pole began his coaching career in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system in 1983, and joined their Major League coaching staff in 1988, working as pitching coach for Don Zimmer. Pole remained in that capacity through 1991, during which time he oversaw the development of Greg Maddux.
Maddux credits Pole as a major influence, and a significant contributor to his success. In a 2005 interview, he said, "I remember when Dick Pole told me one day, 'Why don't you stop trying to strike guys out? Just try to get them out, and you'll probably strike out just as many guys, if not more. He was right. I've always tried with two strikes just to make a pitch and get the guy out. You get a lot of strikeouts just on accident."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8718583/|title=Maddux is 9th to join 3,000-300 club - Baseball - MSNBC.com|date=July 29, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050729003621/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8718583/|archive-date=2005-07-29}}</ref>
Pole returned to his roots as pitching coach for the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1992, then spent 1993 to 1997 on the coaching staff of the San Francisco Giants, under Dusty Baker. Pole next worked as bullpen coach for Boston in 1998. After that, he was pitching coach for the Anaheim Angels in 1999, for the Cleveland Indians from 2000 to 2001, and for the Montreal Expos in 2002. He re-joined the Cubs' staff in 2003. He was most recently the pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds, taking the job in early November 2006. On October 2, 2009, the Reds relieved him of his duties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sheldon |first1=Mark |title=Pole dismissed as Reds pitching coach |url=http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091002&content_id=7286764&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin |website=mlb.com |publisher=Cincinnati Reds |access-date=December 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102182223/http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20091002&content_id=7286764&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin |archive-date=January 2, 2010 |date=October 2, 2009}}</ref>
==Personal life== Pole's nephew, Hank Pole pitched professionally in the Montreal Expos' system in 2002.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/mlb/players/|title=Major Leaguers - The Baseball Cube|website=www.thebaseballcube.com}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Baseballstats|mlb=120649|espn=|br=p/poledi01|fangraphs=|brm=pole--001ric}} :
{{s-start}} {{succession box | title=Chicago Cubs pitching coach | before=Herm Starrette | years=1988–1991 | after= Billy Connors}} {{succession box | title=San Francisco Giants pitching coach | before=Carlos Alfonso | years=1993–1997 | after= Ron Perranoski}} {{succession box | title=Boston Red Sox bullpen coach | before=Herm Starrette | years=1998 | after= John Cumberland}} {{succession box|title=Anaheim Angels pitching coach|before=Marcel Lachemann|years=1999|after=Bud Black}} {{succession box | title=Cleveland Indians pitching coach | before=Phil Regan | years=2000–2001 | after= Mike Brown}} {{succession box | title=Montreal Expos pitching coach | before=Brad Arnsberg | years=2002 | after= Randy St. Claire}} {{succession box|title=Chicago Cubs bench coach|before=Rene Lachemann|years=2003–2006|after=Alan Trammell }} {{succession box|title=Cincinnati Reds pitching coach|before=Vern Ruhle|years=2007–2009|after=Bryan Price }} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pole, Dick}} Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball people in Canada Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Category:Anaheim Angels coaches Category:Baseball coaches from Michigan Category:Baseball players from Michigan Category:Birmingham Barons players Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Cardenales de Lara players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Chicago Cubs coaches Category:Cincinnati Reds coaches Category:Cleveland Indians coaches Category:Greenville Red Sox players Category:Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Category:Major League Baseball bench coaches Category:Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Major League Baseball pitching coaches Category:Mexican Baseball League pitchers Category:Montgomery Rebels players Category:Montreal Expos coaches Category:Northern Michigan University alumni Category:Pawtucket Red Sox players Category:People from Ontonagon County, Michigan Category:Portland Beavers players Category:San Francisco Giants coaches Category:San Jose Missions players Category:Santo Domingo Azucareros players Category:Seattle Mariners players Category:Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Category:Tiburones de La Guaira players Category:Tigres del México players Category:Winston-Salem Red Sox players Category:Winter Haven Red Sox players Category:20th-century American sportsmen