View source for Jack McDowell

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1966)}}
{{for|the Northern Irish political activist|Jack McDowell (politician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2010}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Jack McDowell
|image=Jack McDowell Qatar 2a.jpg
|caption=McDowell at [[Camp As Sayliyah]] in 2007
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date= {{birth date and age|1966|1|16}}
|birth_place=[[Van Nuys, California]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 15
|debutyear=1987
|debutteam=Chicago White Sox
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=August 8
|finalyear=1999
|finalteam=Anaheim Angels
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=127–87
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.85
|stat3label=[[Strikeout]]s
|stat3value=1,311
|teams=
*[[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1987}}–{{mlby|1988}}, {{mlby|1990}}–{{mlby|1994}})
*[[New York Yankees]] ({{mlby|1995}})
*[[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|1997}})
*[[Anaheim Angels]] ({{mlby|1998}}–{{mlby|1999}})
|highlights=
*3× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1991 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1991]]–[[1993 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1993]])
*[[AL Cy Young Award]] (1993)
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|AL wins leader]] (1993)
}}

'''Jack Burns McDowell''' (born January 16, 1966) is an American former [[baseball]] player. A right-handed [[pitcher]], McDowell played for the [[Chicago White Sox]], [[New York Yankees]], [[Cleveland Indians]], and [[Anaheim Angels]] of the [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB). Nicknamed "'''Black Jack'''", he was a three-time All-Star and won the [[American League]] [[Cy Young Award]] in 1993.

McDowell has also been a professional musician, most notably with the rock band stickfigure.

==Baseball career==

===Amateur career===
McDowell attended [[Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California)|Notre Dame High School]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sondheimer |first=Eric  |date=14 February 2012 |title=Sherman Oaks Notre Dame to honor Cy Young winner Jack McDowell |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-xpm-2012-feb-14-la-sp-0215-sondheimer-column-20120215-story.html |access-date=2024-07-01 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> in [[Sherman Oaks]], [[California]]. He was drafted by the [[Boston Red Sox]] in the 20th round of the [[1984 MLB draft]], but did not sign.

He chose to attend [[Stanford University]], where he was the co-Freshman of the Year in 1985, a second-team All-American in 1986 and a third-team All-American in 1987. He led the [[Stanford Cardinal baseball|Cardinal]] to the [[1987 College World Series]] championship.

===Chicago White Sox===
McDowell was drafted by the [[Chicago White Sox]] in the first round (fifth pick) of the [[1987 Major League Baseball draft|1987 amateur draft]]. After only six games in the minor leagues, he made his Major League debut on September 15, 1987. He pitched seven shutout innings against the [[Minnesota Twins]] that day to pick up the win. In four starts, he was 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA.

In 1988, he was 5-10 with a 3.97 ERA in 26 starts for the White Sox, but in 1989, while dealing with various injuries he did not pitch in the Majors, making 16 starts for the AAA [[Vancouver Canadians]], where he was 5-6 with a 6.13 ERA.

By the early 1990s, he had established himself as one of the most dependable pitchers in the game, pitching effectively and recording over 250 innings each season from 1991 to 1993; he was selected to the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game]] each of those years. He won 20 games in 1992 and 22 in 1993, when he won the [[American League]] [[Cy Young Award]] and led the White Sox to the postseason (they lost in the [[1993 American League Championship Series]] to the [[Toronto Blue Jays]]). From 1988 until 1995, his season [[Earned run average|ERA]] was consistently between 3.00 and 4.00, well below the league average.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jack McDowell Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcdowja01.shtml |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In 1993, he set a modern (post-1950) record by recording a decision in each of his first 27 starts.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.telegram.com/article/20070813/NEWS/708130427/1009/SPORTS |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-08-21 |archive-date=2015-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115929/http://www.telegram.com/article/20070813/NEWS/708130427/1009/SPORTS |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===New York Yankees===
After the 1994 season, McDowell was traded to the [[New York Yankees]] for minor league pitcher Keith Heberling and outfielder [[Lyle Mouton]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/15/sports/baseball-the-yankees-make-a-deal-for-an-ace-in-mcdowell.html?pagewanted=1|title=The Yankees Make a Deal for an Ace in McDowell|last=Curry|first=Jack|date=15 December 1994|work=[[The New York Times]]|page=23|access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref> McDowell spent one season in New York with the Yankees, ending the season 15-10 with a 3.93 ERA in 30 starts. He was perhaps best known for giving [[the finger]] to the fans at Yankee Stadium while being booed off the field after getting bombed by the White Sox on July 18, 1995, in the second game of a doubleheader.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-07-20-9507200119-story.html|title=McDowell Latest Yankee To Give It To Fans|first=Fred|last=Mitchell|newspaper=Chicago Tribunedate=July 20, 1995}}</ref> McDowell was also the pitcher who gave up the walk-off, series-winning [[The Double (Seattle Mariners)|hit]] to [[Edgar Martínez]] in Game 5 of the [[1995 American League Division Series]], scoring [[Joey Cora]] and [[Ken Griffey Jr.]] to eliminate the Yankees from the playoffs and send the Seattle Mariners to the [[American League Championship Series]].  This, coupled with the emergence of [[Andy Pettitte]] who became the team's ace [[1996 New York Yankees season|the following season]], resulted in the Yankees not showing interest in bringing McDowell back for a second season; he thus was forced to enter free agency.

===Cleveland Indians===
McDowell spent 1996–1997 with the [[Cleveland Indians]]. In 1996, he was 13-9 with a 5.11 ERA in 30 starts, but in 1997 he made only six starts due to an injury, which may have been made worse by his trying to pitch through it. McDowell's injury resulted in the emergence of rookie [[Jaret Wright]].

===Anaheim Angels===
He signed as a free agent with the [[Anaheim Angels]] in 1998 but was hampered with injuries during his time with the team. He was 5-7 with a 5.68 ERA in 18 starts over two seasons with Anaheim. He was released by the Angels after the 1999 season and retired from baseball.

===Coaching career===
On January 29, 2014, McDowell announced on his [[Facebook]] page that he had been hired to manage the [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] Rookie League affiliate, the [[Ogden Raptors]], in the [[Pioneer League (baseball)|Pioneer League]]. In 2015, he was named manager of the [[Arizona League Dodgers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2015/01/12/dodgers-announce-2015-minor-league-coaching-staff/|title=Dodgers announce 2015 minor-league coaching staff|work=Dodgers.com|first=Jon|last=Weisman|date=January 12, 2015|access-date=January 12, 2015|archive-date=January 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113004414/http://dodgers.mlblogs.com/2015/01/12/dodgers-announce-2015-minor-league-coaching-staff/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Dodgers dismissed him after the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2015/09/16/nine-minor-league-coaches-including-double-a-and-triple-a-managers-will-not-return-in-2016/|title=Nine minor league coaches, including Double-A and Triple-A managers, will not return in 2016|work=Los Angeles Daily News|first=J.P.|last=Hoornstra|date=September 16, 2015|access-date=September 20, 2015}}</ref>

On March 2, 2017, [http://www.queens.edu Queens University of Charlotte], in Charlotte, North Carolina, announced that McDowell would be the head coach of its new baseball team. The team competed in its first season in 2018 as a club sport before entering Division II competition in 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2018-02-13/dii-baseball-former-cy-young-winner-jack-mcdowell-begins-new-era|title=DII baseball: Former Cy Young winner Jack McDowell begins a new era at Queens (NC) {{!}} NCAA.com|date=2018-02-13|work=NCAA.com|access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> On March 27, 2020, Queens University announced that McDowell stepped down as the head coach.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://queensathletics.com/news/2020/3/27/jack-mcdowell-steps-down-as-queens-head-baseball-coach.aspx|title=Jack McDowell Steps Down as Queens Head Baseball Coach|website=Queens University of Charlotte Athletics|date=March 27, 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-14}}</ref>

He has spent the 2021 summer season as the manager of the collegiate summer team the [[Burlington Sock Puppets]].

==Music career==
During his baseball career, McDowell played [[guitar]] in various groups in the [[alternative rock]] genre, usually performing during the off-season.

McDowell's first band, V.I.E.W., which consisted of him and fellow baseball players [[Lee Plemel]] and [[Wayne Edwards (baseball)|Wayne Edwards]], had two albums, ''Extendagenda'' and ''Replace the Mind''. The band was formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1992. Their most notable accomplishment was touring with [[The Smithereens]] in 1992.

His second band, stickfigure, consisted of McDowell, [[Mike Hamilton (guitarist)|Michael Hamilton]], [[Mike Mesaros (musician)|Mike Mesaros]] and [[Frank Funaro]]. They produced the albums ''Just a Thought'', ''Feedbag'', ''Ape of the Kings'' and ''Memonto Mori'', before the group disbanded in 2003.<ref>[http://www.whatarerecords.com/stickfigure/bio.html stickfigure bio]</ref>
In November 1993, McDowell and Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder were involved in a barroom brawl in New Orleans, Louisiana that resulted in Vedder being arrested for public drunkenness and disturbing the peace.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1993-11-19 |title=SPORTS PEOPLE: BASEBALL; McDowell Involved in New Orleans Scuffle |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/19/sports/sports-people-baseball-mcdowell-involved-in-new-orleans-scuffle.html |access-date=2023-09-14 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Discography===
*''Extendagenda'' (1991) – V.I.E.W.
*''Replace the Mind'' (1992) – V.I.E.W.
*''Just a Thought'' (1995) – stickfigure
*''Feedbag'' (2001) – stickfigure
*''Ape of the Kings'' (2002) – stickfigure
*''Memonto Mori'' (2003) – stickfigure

==In popular culture==
In 2008, musicians Scott McCaughey (of [[The Minus 5]]), [[Steve Wynn (musician)|Steve Wynn]], [[Linda Pitmon]], and Peter Buck formed [[The Baseball Project]] to pay homage to America's greatest pastime. Their album ''[[Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails]]'' contains the song "The Yankee Flipper", a tribute to their friend McDowell and a confession that a long night of drinking with the musicians may have led to the infamous finger to the crowd.

==See also==
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jack McDowell}}
{{Baseballstats|mlb=118656|espn=1954|br=m/mcdowja01|fangraphs=1008473|brm=mcdowe001jac}}
*[http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?HT_Search=ARTIST&HT_Search_Info=Jack+McDowell&style=music Discography on CD Universe]

{{AL Cy Young}}
{{AL wins champions}}
{{Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year Award}}
{{Chicago White Sox Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{1987 Stanford Cardinal baseball}}
{{1987 MLB Draft}}
{{Chicago White Sox 1st round}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDowell, Jack}}
[[Category:1966 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:American League wins champions]]
[[Category:Anaheim Angels players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Birmingham Barons players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:Cy Young Award winners]]
[[Category:Edmonton Trappers players]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast White Sox players]]
[[Category:Lake Elsinore Storm players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball managers]]
[[Category:Midland Angels players]]
[[Category:New York Yankees players]]
[[Category:Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California) alumni]]
[[Category:People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal baseball players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Canadians players]]