Former Red Sox pitcher Dick Drago dead at 78

Dick Drago, a pitcher on the 1975 Red Sox team, died Thursday at the age of 78 from complications following surgery, the Boston Globe reported.

“We’re saddened by the passing of Dick Drago, a staple of the 70’s Red Sox pitching staff and a beloved teammate,” the team tweeted. “We extend our sympathies to the Drago family.”

Drago pitched in the majors from 1969-81.

He played his first five seasons with the Royals and finished fifth in the 1971 Cy Young, going 17-11 with a 2.98 ERA and 15 complete games.

He was traded to the Red Sox, where he was a starter and reliever, in 1974.

“That was the most difficult year for me on my arm,” Drago later recalled in an interview. “I would pitch a couple of games in relief. Then a starter would come up lame and I would fill in as the starter. That happened all year and at the end of the year, I felt like I had pitched 300 innings.”

In 1975, focused on closing, he saved 15 games for the AL East champs and then two more in the ALCS victory over Oakland where he recorded the final out.

He recorded four outs or more in 11 of those 17 saves.

“It would have been great to only have to get three outs for a save,” he said in 2009 about the shorter workload for modern relievers.

“A lot of times back then, we would go three innings to get a save. I probably would have had a lot more saves if pitching today.”

In Game 6 of the World Series against the Reds — widely considered to be the greatest game ever played — Drago pitched three innings of shutout relief in Boston’s victory, though Cincinnati took the title the following night.

I was shocked to hear about the sudden passing of my old teammate. He was our closer before they called it a closer.
My thoughts go out to his family. He will be missed. https://t.co/yvUjPLbM2Y

— Fred Lynn (@19fredlynn) November 5, 2023

He was traded to the Angels after the season and gave up Hank Aaron’s 755th home run, the last of Aaron’s career, in a loss to the Brewers.

Drago pitched for the Orioles and then returned to the Red Sox before finishing his career with the Mariners.

“I was shocked to hear about the sudden passing of my old teammate,” 1975 AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP Fred Lynn tweeted. “He was our closer before they called it a closer. My thoughts go out to his family. He will be missed.”