Pat Dempsey

Patrick Archer Dempsey

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 185 lb.
• School Columbia State Community College

• Born October 23, 1956 in Encino, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Catcher Pat Dempsey was a prospect for the Oakland Athletics who never reached the majors. He was picked in the second round of the 1977 amateur draft and played 11 seasons of pro ball, reaching as high as the AAA level. He is the brother of former catcher and current Baltimore Orioles coach Rick Dempsey and the uncle of big leaguer Gregg Zaun.

Pat spent his first three years in traction with the Modesto A's. He hit .295/~.349/.352 for Modesto in 1977 and stole 9 of 10 tries. In 1978, Dempsey batted .253/~.296/.304 and led California League catchers in errors (26) and double plays (9). At .255/~.329/.313 in 1979, he was making little progress, but he still got bumped up two levels, hitting .282/~.331/.342 with the Ogden A's of the Pacific Coast League.

Dempsey returned to Ogden at age 23 and produced at a .318/~.367/.416 clip in 1980, 10th in the Pacific Coast League in average. Portland's Tony Pena beat him out for the All-Star spot. Though Oakland's trio of Jim Essian, Mike Heath and Jeff Newman struggled at catcher, Pat did not get called up. Pat fell backwards in 1981, hitting only .209/~.262/.252 with the Tacoma Tigers and getting sent back to AA, where he batted .297/~.371/.406 for the West Haven A's. He followed with a .237/.289/.379 average in West Haven in 1982.

In 1983, Dempsey was in the Baltimore Orioles system. He hit .264/~.297/.374 for the Charlotte O's and stole 13 in 14 tries while driving in a career-best 63 runs. He also went 0 for 3 with the Rochester Red Wings. In 1984, the 27-year-old was on the Nashville Sounds and hitting .256/~.308/.375. In the Cleveland Indians organization in 1985, Dempsey returned to AAA for his first extended look there in five years. He hit .244/~.266/.293 for the Maine Guides. In 1986, the veteran minor leaguer had his best year, now with the Minnesota Twins chain. He hit .300/~.326/.457 for the Toledo Mud Hens, setting a career high in homers (12) and finishing sixth in the International League in batting average. He was named the IL All-Star catcher. Pat finished his career by hitting .240/~.257/.395 with the Portland Beavers in 1987, only drawing seven walks in 89 games at age 30.

He became a competitive golf long driver in 1998. He is currently the owner of [www.HorsepowerGolf.com] Horsepowergolf Tour Van, and Horsepower Golf Sport & Fitness Center in Tujunga, CA. In 2008 and 2009 Pat Dempsey was the color analyst for a new televised Long Drive Competition: "Big Shots: Titans at the Tee" as seen on Fox Channel-Speed TV

His stats as a long drive professional are as follows:

• 2010 ALDA California State Champion
• 2008 / 2007 "UST High Performance Driving Team" Team Captain
• 2007 ReMax World Long Drive Championship Top 2
• 2007 Top 3 Money List LDA Tour Sr. Div
• 2007 LDA Desert Launch Top 4 Sr. Div.
• 2006 International Long Drive Sr. Champion
• 2005 ALDA Sr. Champion
• 2004 LDA Tour Tulsa, OK Sr. Champion
• 2004 LDA Tour Rochester, NY Sr. Champion
• 2004 Top 3 Money List LDA Tour Sr. Div.
• 2002 USA / S. Africa Team Captain
• 2002 ReMax World Long Drive Sr. Champion
• 2003 & 2002 NorCal Long Drive Challenge Sr. Champion
• 2001 World Ranked #6 Long Driver-Open Division
• 2001 Oldest Ranked Finalist in Open Division
• 1998 World Ranked #9 Long Driver- Open Div.

Sources: 1978-1982 and 1984-85 Baseball Guides, 1984 IL Record Book, 1986-87 Baseball America Statistics Reports, 1988 Baseball Almanac