Dobson was a solid starter for the A’s between 1967 and 1971, giving them about 200+ innings every year while averaging about 15 wins.
In 1971, after going 15-5 over 30 starts and a 3.81 earned run average, he developed elbow pain which led to surgery to remove growing calcium deposits.
The surgery caused him to miss the next two seasons, making only that one appearance in 1973 when he pitched 2.1 innings, giving up four runs, two of them earned, before finding himself a member of the California Angels in 1974.
He’d only appear in 14 games over those two seasons in California, going 2-5 before retiring for good, his career effectively ended because of the elbow surgery .
Overall, Dobson finished with a career 74-69 record, with an ERA of 3.78 over 202 appearances and 1258.1 innings pitched, tossing 11 shutouts including a league-leading five in 1970.