Tidrow originally came up as a starter with the Cleveland Indians, having two solid years in 1972 and 1973 before getting traded over to the New York Yankees, where he would become an important, while overlooked piece in the Bronx bullpen over the next 5+ seasons.
While it’s easy to see how he could be overlooked when you have teammates like Sparky Lyle, Ron Guidry and Rich Gossage, if you take a look at Tidrow’s contributions to the Yankee dynasty of 1976-1978 you can see how he really had quite the impact, both as a reliever and a spot starter.
After his Yankee days, in which he picked up two World Championships and three American League Pennants, he moved on to the Chicago Cubs, where he’d lend his arm over the next four years before a season with the cross-town White Sox and finally, the New York Mets in 1984.
All told, “Dirt” played 13 years, compiled a record of 100-94, with an ERA of 3.68, 55 saves, five shutouts and 620 appearances between 1972 and 1984.
Not a bad baseball resume to say the least.
