All-Time Indians: Rick Waits

The Indians didn’t have a lot to root for during the 1970’s and 1980’s (outside of Rick Manning in a bright red jersey), but one of the better pitchers for almost a decade was the left handed Rick Waits. Initially drafted by the Washington Senators, in the fifth round in 1970, it took just three years for Waits to burn through the minors and he made his MLB debut for what were now the Texas Rangers in 1973. He would pitch just one inning in one game for his initial franchise, however, as he was traded to Cleveland in 1975 as part of one of the worst deals in franchise history, losing Gaylord Perry to the Rangers for Waits, Jim Bibby and Jackie Brown. While Perry would win another Cy Young, 85 games and strike out 897 before hitting free agency after the 1980 season, only Waits would be of any value to the Indians.

It took just nine starts in the Indians farm system in 1975 before they were ready to play with their new toy and Waits would never return to the minors while playing for Cleveland. Initially a reliever, Waits won the first game he pitched in (an extra inning affair against the Orioles) and was generally adept at his position, often throwing multiple innings until being added to the rotation in late August. Once there, he was even more impressive, improving his record to 6-2 by the end of the year, his best being a ten inning complete game win against Boston on September 10th.

His entrance into the rotation took and for the next two seasons, he was a regular member of the starting five along with Dennis Eckersley and Wayne Garland, posting an ERA of 4.00 and 3.99 in 1976 and 1977. This consistency, which included a K/9 slightly above four and a BB/9 around three, continued on for the rest of his career as, while he was not a superstar, he was very dependable.

Waits’ biggest outlying season came at the age of 26 in 1978 when he became the staff ace. Eckersley had been traded to Boston, Garland was no longer himself and Waits took over, leading the team in innings, wins, ERA, average allowed and WHIP. While still no strike out king, his 97 were a career high, only to be surpassed once more by the soft tossing lefty.

From 1979 through 1982, Waits made at least 21 starts per season and, although his ERA climbed each year, he was always the same steady force in the rotation. In 1980 he set a personal best with 109 strike outs (still just a 4.4 K/9) and completed nine games in his last year of real dominance. At the age of 30 in 1982, things caught up to Waits as his ERA rose above 5.00 for the first time and he hit a new low in innings pitched (115). This would be his final year in the Indians rotation as he was moved to the bullpen for the start of 1983 and ultimately traded to Milwaukee in June along with Manning in exchange for Ernie Camacho, Jamie Easterly and Gorman Thomas.

This would be another lackluster deal for both teams as Waits and Manning both struggled for the Brewers. After a career worst ERA (6.51) in 24 relief appearances in 1985, Waits put an end to his 12 year Major League career. While he never received recognition for his service in terms of All-Star games or other accolades, his dependability allowed him to stick around Cleveland for an extended time, making him one of just 25 pitchers with at least 1,200 innings and among the leaders with 74 wins as well. He also ranks among the club’s best left handed starters behind Sam McDowell, C.C. Sabathia and Willie Mitchell.

Shortly after his playing career ended, Waits moved to Italy, where he was a coach for a few seasons before coming back to the United States and joining the Mets organization. He is currently the pitching coach for the Seattle Mariners and has been since 2014 when he replaced another former Indian, Carl Willis.