Dick Pole

Richard Henry Pole (born October 13, 1950) is a retired Major League Baseball player and a former pitching coach. A right-handed pitcher, Pole was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall and weighed 210 pounds (95 kg) during his playing career.

Playing career

Pole attended 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.

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 3⅔ innings pitched and received the loss, as the Orioles won 8–2. 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. 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.