Pat Rapp was acquired by the Orioles in the off-season to compete for the fifth starting spot in the rotation. A somewhat serviceable veteran, Rapp had put in a few solid seasons as a starter for the Marlins, and a few soiled seasons as a starter for the Royals and Giants. What made him intriguing was his performance for the Red Sox in 1999. He had put up some reasonably solid numbers for the Sox, pitching to a 4.02 ERA, and giving up just one more hit than innings pitched. The Sox, however, had banished him from the rotation by season’s end, and he was not active for the ‘99 playoffs. Since he had a $3 Million option for 2000, the Sox dropped him into the semi-eager arms of the Orioles.

What the O’s got from Rapp was pretty much what they could have expected, only a bit less. The problem was, with the injury to Erickson and the ineffectiveness of Jason Johnson, Rapp was put out there more than the O’s could afford, both figuratively and literally, since he had an option that vested at a certain number of starts that meant the O’s paid about 2.5 million for nine wins and a 5.90 ERA.

Inconsistency plagued much of the O’s staff in 2000. This was not the case with Rapp. He was consistently below par. His ERA was over five runs per game every month but one. He pitched poorly on grass and on turf. In day games and night games. Before the All-Star break and after. When you add in a spectacularly bad July, when Rapp was deeply involved with the sudden and serious fatal illness of his father, the sum was a really bad season. If you remove the period Rapp was dealing with the illness, he pitched to a 5.30 ERA, much closer to what the O’s could have expected from Rapp.

Pat Rapp once again showed he is capable of eating some innings for a good ballclub as a long man and/or spot starter. Like many pitchers with limited stuff, the more he’s out there, the worse he looks. He is supposed to be tougher on lefties than most because of his cutter, but lefties hit .281 off of him in 2000, and he gave up a horrible .503 slugging percentage to righthanders.

Pat was released by the Orioles after the season due to the same sort of vesting option that had invoked last season’s release by the Red Sox. Hopefully, he will find a ballclub that can better use his offerings in 2001.

TO HELP A BALLCLUB IN 2001, RAPP MUST:

cut down on his pitches thrown.

reduce his walks from the high 4.3 per nine innings of 2000.

keep his strikes from being driven deep all over ballparks by righthanders.

work cheap.

NOTES: allowed 30 baserunners in 16 innings against the Tribe…30 in 18 innings against the Devil Rays…27 in 14 innings against the Rangers…well, you get the picture.