Fred Dabney

From BR Bullpen

Frederick Dabney

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Fred Dabney spent three seasons as a pitcher in AAA but never made the majors as a player. He later coached in the big leagues.

The Chicago White Sox took Dabney in the 15th round of the 1988 amateur draft. He had a great pro debut at 9-4, 2.67 for the Utica Blue Sox that year. He was third in the New York-Penn League in wins behind Dan Freed and Danilo Leon. In 1989, Dabney was 11-7 with a 2.09 ERA for the South Bend White Sox, giving up 128 hits (only 2 homers) in 163 1/3 innings. He struck out 150 but walked 65. He ranked 5th in the Midwest League in ERA, right ahead of Chris Nabholz, but only third on his own team. He turned in a couple gems - on June 14, he had a no-hitter through six before he plunked Steve Glass; a brawl ensued and Dabney broke a finger, ending his bid. Then, in the Northern Division finale, he combined with Jose Ventura and Scott Radinsky on a one-hit shutout of the Rockford Expos. South Bend went on to take the title.

In 1990, Fred fell to 6-7, 5.27 with the Sarasota White Sox, facing the first struggles of his career. Returned to Sarasota in '91, he improved to 11-3, 2.99 with a save. In 1992, the southpaw was 2-8 but with a 3.84 ERA for the Birmingham Barons. The next year, he went 2-5 with three saves and a 4.86 ERA in 51 games for the AAA Nashville Sounds, his only full year at that level. He was second on the club in appearances behind Brian Drahman.

Dabney was with the Cleveland Indians chain in 1994, going 4-3 with two saves and a 2.79 ERA for the Canton-Akron Indians. He wrapped up his Organized Baseball career with the other Chicago club, the Chicago Cubs. In 1995, he was 2-1 with a save and a 2.08 ERA in 13 games for the Orlando Cubs and 4-6 with a 5.95 ERA in 33 outings for the Iowa Cubs. He also split 1996 between Orlando (2.57 in 12 G) and Iowa (2-3, 4.34 in 33 G).

For 1997, Fred signed with the Mercuries Tigers and was 1-1 with 3 saves and a 2.32 ERA as the 5th-best Chinese Professional Baseball League import with 40+ innings that year. It was his last year as a player.

Following his playing career, Dabney was a long time coach in the minor leagues with the Texas Rangers (1999-2003) and Milwaukee Brewers (2004-2020) organizations. He was scheduled to be the Biloxi Shuckers pitching coach in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Dabney did reach the major leagues briefly in 2010. Brewers bullpen coach Stan Kyles needed surgery so Dabney was called up on April 23rd. He served as the Brewers' interim bullpen coach for approximately one month.

Related Sites[edit]

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