View source for Mike Boddicker

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1957)}}
{{about|the Major League Baseball player|the film composer|Michael Boddicker}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Mike Boddicker
|image= Mike Boddicker.jpg
|position=[[Pitcher]]
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1957|8|23|mf=y}}
|birth_place=[[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=October 4
|debutyear=1980
|debutteam=Baltimore Orioles
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=June 13
|finalyear=1993
|finalteam=Milwaukee Brewers
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
|stat1value=134–116
|stat2label=[[Earned run average]]
|stat2value=3.80
|stat3label=[[Strikeouts]]
|stat3value=1,330
|teams=
* [[Baltimore Orioles]] ({{mlby|1980}}–{{mlby|1988}})
* [[Boston Red Sox]] ({{mlby|1988}}–{{mlby|1990}})
* [[Kansas City Royals]] ({{mlby|1991}}–{{mlby|1992}})
* [[Milwaukee Brewers]] ({{mlby|1993}})
|highlights=
* [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1984]])
* [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1983}})
* [[ALCS MVP]] ({{alcsy|1983}})
* [[Gold Glove Award]] (1990)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|AL wins leader]] (1984)
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders|AL ERA leader]] (1984)
* [[Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame]]
}}
'''Michael James Boddicker''' (born August 23, 1957) is an American right-handed former [[Major League Baseball]] [[pitcher]] for the [[Baltimore Orioles]] (1980–1988), [[Boston Red Sox]] (1988–1990), [[Kansas City Royals]] (1991–1992), and [[Milwaukee Brewers]] (1993). He was the [[1983 American League Championship Series|ALCS]] MVP in [[1983 in baseball|1983]] and was an American League All-Star in 1984.

==Early years==
Boddicker was born in [[Cedar Rapids, Iowa]], on August 23, 1957.<ref>[http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000813/SPORTS11/50623021 ''Des Moines Register'' article] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130121140409/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000813/SPORTS11/50623021 |date=2013-01-21 }}</ref><ref name="mboddickerbbref">[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/boddimi01.shtml Mike Boddicker (statistics & history)] ''Baseball-Reference.com''</ref> His ancestors (Johan & Elisabeth (Jacobi) Boddicker) emigrated in 1861 from the village of Brilon, [[Province of Westphalia]], which was situated in current-day Germany, and were among the original settlers of [[Norway, Iowa]], where he was raised. He was the youngest of five children to Harold and Dolly. His father, who was commonly known as Bus, operated a travelling [[hammermill]] for [[cereal|grain]] milling before becoming a [[janitor|custodian]] at the local [[elementary school]].<ref name="swulfsi">Wulf, Steve. [https://web.archive.org/web/20121026103016/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1121583/1/index.htm "He Has Returned To His Roots"] ''Sports Illustrated'', December 19, 1983</ref>  He is a distant cousin of the musician [[Michael Boddicker]].

He was drafted by the [[Montreal Expos]] in 1975, but decided to attend the [[Iowa_Hawkeyes_baseball|University of Iowa]].<ref>"Mike Boddicker, Norway, 2000", ''Des Moines Register'', June 23, 2005, [https://archive.today/20130121140409/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000813/SPORTS11/50623021#selection-2773.0-2773.98]</ref> He was a First-team All-Big Ten pitcher in 1978 and third-team All-Big Ten as an infielder in 1976. In 1978, he led the NCAA with an average 11.5 strikeouts per game. He held school records with six career shutouts and 0.79 ERA in a season. He led the team in innings and strikeouts in 1978 and 1979 and led the team in batting average in 1978 (.350) and doubles in 1978 (9) and 1976 (9). He finished his career with 189 strikeouts, ranking in the top 10 in school history.<ref>"2024 Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame Class Announced", ''University of Iowa Athletics'', June 6, 2024, [https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2024/06/06/2024-iowa-athletics-hall-of-fame-class-announced/]</ref>

==Baseball career==
Boddicker's pitching repertoire, once called "[[Little League Baseball|Little League]] slop" by [[Rod Carew]], featured [[off-speed pitch]]es and deception to compensate for a lack of power.<ref name="mklingamantdbs">Klingaman, Mike [http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/thetoydepartment/2010/04/catching_up_with_former_oriole_7.html "Catching Up With...former Oriole Mike Boddicker"] ''The Toy Department'' (''The Baltimore Sun'' sports blog), Thursday, April 8, 2010.]</ref> He was able to throw from three different arm angles. He had a [[fastball]] that never came close to reaching 90 miles per hour. The one pitch that made him famous was the fosh, which he called "a glorified [[changeup]]." Another one he used with success was the [[slurve]]. [[Tony Phillips]] once commented, "What I noticed about him is that he lets you get yourself out. I find myself sometimes actually jumping at his pitches, being overanxious because he doesn't throw very fast, and I wind up popping the ball up."<ref name="iberkownyt">[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/09/sports/sports-of-the-times-mike-boddicker-and-his-fosh-ball.html?pagewanted=1 Berkow, Ira. "Sports of The Times; Mike Boddicker And His Fosh Ball"], ''The New York Times'', Sunday, October 9, 1988</ref>

Boddicker had a win–loss record of 134–116 with a 3.80 ERA during his career. In his rookie season, 1983, he went 16–8 with a 2.77 ERA and led the majors with five shutouts. Perhaps his best season was [[1984 in baseball|1984]], when he went 20–11 with a 2.79 [[Earned run average|ERA]] (leading the [[American League]] in both wins and ERA). He also won the [[List of Gold Glove Award winners at pitcher|Gold Glove Award]] in [[1990 in baseball|1990]].

Boddicker had a notable performance in the 1983 postseason. With his team down 1–0 in both the [[1983 American League Championship Series|ALCS]] and [[1983 World Series|World Series]], Boddicker pitched his team out of the hole by winning Game 2 of the ALCS 4–0 against the Chicago White Sox (complete game shutout) and Game 2 of the World Series 4–1 against the Philadelphia Phillies en route to a world championship.
After going 0&ndash;8 with a 5.83 ERA to begin the [[1988 Baltimore Orioles season|1988 campaign]], Boddicker rebounded with a 6&ndash;4 record and a 2.95 ERA in his last 13 starts with the Orioles. On a team that lost its first 21 games of the season and was never in postseason contention, he was traded to the [[Boston Red Sox]] for [[Brady Anderson]] and [[Curt Schilling]] on July 29, 1988, two days prior to the non-waivers trade deadline. Contending for the [[American League East]] title, the Red Sox outbid the [[Minnesota Twins]] and [[Oakland Athletics]] to land him.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/30/sports/baseball-red-sox-acquire-orioles-boddicker.html Chass, Murray. "Baseball: Red Sox Acquire Orioles' Boddicker," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, July 30, 1988.] Retrieved September 6, 2021</ref> Boddicker went 7–3 down the stretch for the Sox, helping them win the AL East crown that year. He went 15–11 in [[1989 in baseball|1989]] and in 1990 went 17–8 with a 3.36 ERA while helping the Red Sox win another division title.

After signing with the Royals, he finished 12–12 with a 4.08 ERA in 1991, his last full season (30 games). After his contract was purchased by the Brewers, he pitched 54 innings for them in 1993, his final year. He finished 3–5 with a 5.67 ERA that year.

==See also==
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders]]
* [[List of Major League Baseball career hit batsmen leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|mlb=111139|br=b/boddimi01|fangraphs=1001111|brm=boddic001mic}}

{{1983 Baltimore Orioles}}
{{Baltimore Orioles Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{ALCS MVP}}
{{AL P Gold Glove Award}}
{{AL wins champions}}
{{AL ERA champions}}
{{Sporting News MLB Rookie of the year}}
{{Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boddicker, Mike}}
[[Category:1957 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Baltimore Orioles players]]
[[Category:Boston Red Sox players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Royals players]]
[[Category:Milwaukee Brewers players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Gold Glove Award winners]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cedar Rapids, Iowa]]
[[Category:American League ERA champions]]
[[Category:American League wins champions]]
[[Category:Iowa Hawkeyes baseball players]]
[[Category:Bluefield Orioles players]]
[[Category:Charlotte O's players]]
[[Category:Rochester Red Wings players]]
[[Category:Beloit Brewers players]]
[[Category:Omaha Royals players]]
[[Category:American League Championship Series MVPs]]
[[Category:Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]