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Dick Drago was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers in the 1964 amateur draft, though was selected by the Kansas City Royals during the 1968 expansion draft and started his Major League career with the Royals in 1969, becoming the ace of their pitching staff in 1971, after going 17–11 with a 2.98 ERA. Finishing with a 3.01 ERA in 1972, Drago went 12–17, but declined with 12–14 and 4.23 in 1973. He was traded by the Royals to the Red Sox for Marty Pattin in October, 1973. He started off in the bullpen in 1974, but injuries and ineffectiveness of some of the starters caused manager Darrell Johnson to put him in the rotation for long stretches. As a result, Drago became one of the busiest pitchers on the Sox. He pitched in 33 games and made 18 starts, with a 7-10 record and 3.48 ERA. Going into 1975, Drago had a total of four career saves. He wasn’t a full-time stopper, but ended up with 15 of Boston’s 31 saves. He adapted to the relief role quickly with a 2-2 record, a 3.84 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 40 games. In March of 1976, he was traded to the Angels and then to the Orioles in 1977. He filed for free agency after his lone season with the Orioles and returned to Boston after signing with the Red Sox in November, 1977. He returned to the Sox bullpen and picked up where he had left off. He wasn’t the team’s official closer, though he led the team with 13 saves in 1979. He ended his major league career with Seattle in 1981. In a 13-season career, Drago posted a 108–117 record with a 3.62 ERA and 58 saves in 519 appearances. The 78-year-old Dick Drago died in Florida on November 2, 2023 of complications following surgery. |
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