Houston Sports - Doug Drabek

Doug Drabek

Born: July 25, 1962

Sport: Baseball (155-134 pitching record, All-Star, Cy Young)

I probably started getting serious about sports when I was 8 or 9 years old, at which point I was playing basketball and watching the rise of my hometown Rockets which would result in them winning our city's first major championships a few years later.  One could argue that the Oilers winning a pair of AFL titles in the 1960s should count, but while a bit of recognition is certainly warranted I obviously wasn't around for those and the NFL was the bigger league with a longer history at that point.  My focus on baseball was based primarily on whatever games I could attend, and my parents decided to get my brother and I involved in the Astros Buddies.  Started in the 1960s, it is the longest-running fan program in franchise history, and it got us tickets to a handful of games to see our team play at the Astrodome, which my grandfather had a hand in building long before I was born.  At the time I had very little understanding of who I was watching, but some of the players made impressions on me during a very limited sample size, and I learned to love athletes that had a good day when I happened to be present, and to hold a grudge against some that had a bad day, even though they probably didn't deserve it.  Today, I'm going to talk about one of those players that caught my attention who enjoyed a pretty decent career, including a short peak that was among the best of his era.  Let's learn a bit about Doug Drabek.

When Drabek came to the Astros in 1993, his home stadium wasn't far from where he'd pitched at UH

Born in the town of Victoria, Texas, Doug Drabek was the only child of Anton and Emilie Drabek.  He performed well in the classroom and on the field, and by the late 70s he was making his mark at Victoria's St. Joseph High School.  In fact, he started pitching for the high school baseball team at the age of 13 and threw in the state title game while still just 14.  Drabek was also found on the football field as a fullback and kicker, on the basketball court as a forward, and even competing in track and field as a high jumper.  Despite scholarship offers in football, baseball showed the most promise as he compiled a 33-8 record and set the school record for home runs in a season, so after a strong senior season in 1980 Doug was tabbed by the Cleveland Indians as their 4th round pick in the MLB Draft.  But Tony, as his dad was known, wouldn't allow him to skip college to try his hand at baseball, and the University of Houston had offered him a scholarship to play just 125 miles from home so that's the direction Doug chose.  Drabek made a name for himself with the Cougars, setting a school record for wins with 27, including a second-best season with 12, and alongside six career no-hitters he also managed to earn a save in the biggest game of his college career when the Cougars took down another local legend named Roger Clemens to end the University of Texas baseball team's 33-game winning streak in 1982.  After three seasons at UH, Drabek held a 27-11 record and was once again selected in the MLB Draft, this time by the Chicago White Sox, and although it was only in the 11th round and the team only offered a $13,000 signing bonus he immediately accepted and became a pro in 1983.  That fall he found the right girl who would pick him as he married Kristy Krippel, and the couple would eventually have two sons and a daughter together.

Becoming a pro in 1983, Doug Drabek quickly began his climb through the minor leagues.  Finishing his initial short season at the A ball level, he advanced to AA early in 1984.  Drabek was then included in a trade to the Yankees system where he stalled and remained at the Double-A level through the end of the following season.  Finally reaching the AAA Columbus Clippers at the start of the 1986 season, Drabek got called up to the majors for his debut on May 30, 1986, where he pitched in relief of Joe Niekro.  He stayed in the big leagues for the rest of the year, pitching his way to a respectable 7-8 record in 27 appearances.  Despite his manager, Lou Pinella, reportedly asking the team not to move Drabek, he was involved in a trade during the offseason and sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He started poorly with his new team, posting a 1-8 record during the first half of the season.  But during the All Star break, Drabek worked with pitching coach Ray Miller to add a few new pitches to his arsenal, and he suddenly become a completely new man on the mound.  Sporting a new changeup, curveball, and sinker led him to wrap up the 1988 season with a record of 11-12, and then Drabek had a significant breakthrough a year later by posting a 15-7 record for his very first winning season.  In 1990, he surpassed even the most optimistic projections by leading the NL in wins with a 22-6 record and claiming the Cy Young Award, just the second ever by a Pirates pitcher.  He nearly claimed the only no-hitter of his career early in August as he gave up a lone single with two outs in the ninth inning of a 11-0 drubbing of the Phillies.  On September 30, 1990, Drabek took the mound for his final start of the regular season and went the distance for a complete game 3-hit shutout of the St. Louis Cardinals, clinching the division title for Pittsburgh and sending them to the playoffs.

Despite two additional strong seasons for the Pirates, Doug Drabek decided to return home to Texas after the 1992 season by signing a contract with the Houston Astros.  His performance in 1993 did not match expectations for a high-priced free agent as he posted a poor 9-18 record, leading the NL in losses and losing 10 of his final 12 decisions of the season.  Fortunately for Drabek and fans of the Astros, his 1994 campaign started off strong and he earned the only All-Star selection of his career with a 12-6 record.  But a work stoppage ended the season prematurely, as players went on strike to pressure ownership into a new collective bargaining agreement.  What turned out to be the longest pause in MLB history not only caused the remainder of 1994's season and postseason to be canceled, but also saw a significant decline in Drabek's pitching.  Over four seasons, including two with Houston and one each with the White Sox and Orioles, he posted a 35-40 record.  After the 1998 season Drabek chose to retire to his home just outside of Houston where, among other things, he coached his sons' youth baseball teams.  Both boys enjoyed playing the game, with Justin Drabek playing independent ball and Kyle Drabek having a 7-year major league career.  Doug himself found his way back into the game as well, serving as a pitching coach in the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league system both before and after Kyle's time in the big leagues.  In 2000 Drabek was inducted into the UH Athletics Hall of Honor after having his number retired four years earlier, and in 2016 he was included in both the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame and the inaugural class of the St. Joseph High School Athletic Hall of Fame.  Today he works as the pitching coach for the Reno Aces at the AAA level and often takes time to team up with other former pros like Mike Hampton and Roger Clemens to host charity events.

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