Mike MacDougal: The Story Of Mac The Ninth

[Darin Watson]

On Opening Day of the 2003 season, the Royals entered the ninth inning clinging to a 3-0 lead over the Chicago White Sox. The previous year, Kansas City had lost 100 games for the first time in franchise history; a win would be a most welcome sight for Royals fans. Chicago had the heart of a dangerous order coming to the plate. But Jose Valentin lined out. Frank Thomas struck out looking on a filthy slider. And Magglio Ordonez grounded out meekly. Although it was not his major league debut, this was how most Royals fans were introduced to Mike MacDougal.

Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal was born on March 5, 1977, in Las Vegas, to parents Tom and Dorothy, both of whom were teachers. Tom had pitched a couple of seasons in the minors before beginning his career in education. After attending Mesa (Arizona) High School, the younger MacDougal was chosen by Baltimore in the 22nd round of the 1996 draft. He decided not to sign and instead attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina. The Orioles drafted him again, this time in the 12th round in 1998. With college eligibility left, he again decided not to sign. It was a good bet. After a successful senior season that included a no-hitter against Duke, MacDougal was named a first-team All-American. The Royals used the 25th overall pick in the 1999 draft to select the lanky right-hander.

MacDougal breezed through the minors, with 11 starts in Low-A Spokane in 1999, then 25 in High-A Wilmington and two in Double-A Wichita in 2000. After 27 starts for Triple-A Omaha in 2001, MacDougal was called up to the majors near the end of the 2001 season. Although the Royals had only brought him to Kansas City after Omaha’s season ended to work with pitching coach Al Nipper, a series of injuries led the team to activate him. In his first big-league start, he pitched 4 ⅓ innings against the White Sox, allowing six hits and three runs. His next two starts were somewhat better, and it looked like he would be a candidate for the rotation to start 2002. But a freak accident nearly derailed his career. 

On October 4, the Royals were hosting Cleveland for their final home game of the season. In the fourth inning, Carlos Beltran lost his grip on his bat while swinging. The bat hit MacDougal, who had been leaning on the dugout railing. Although he never lost consciousness, he was taken to a hospital, where he spent the night in intensive care. He had suffered a fractured skull from the bat, with a crack just above his left temple. Even worse, the injury caused numbness in his right hand, a malady that lasted into the following spring.

It’s hard to throw a baseball when you can’t feel it. MacDougal struggled through spring training in 2002, ultimately being optioned to Omaha before Opening Day. Midway through the season, he was bumped down to Wichita. His control started to come back as the numbness subsided, and he was able to make it back to the majors as a September call-up, pitching in relief six times.

Following a strong showing in winter ball in Puerto Rico, where he was regularly topping 100 mph on the radar gun, MacDougal earned the closer role with a strong spring training in 2003. He hit the ground running as the Royals got off to a surprising 16-3 start, including a 9-0 run to start the season. MacDougal had 10 saves by the end of April, quickly earning the nickname “Mac the Ninth” and eventually made the All-Star team, although he did not appear in the game. He ended the year with 27 saves, a 3-5 record, and a 4.08 ERA.

Again, MacDougal’s health betrayed him. During spring training in 2004, he suffered a stomach ailment that cost him several pounds on an already slight frame and a few ticks off his fastball. He opened the season on the disabled list and wasn’t activated until late April. He was wild and ineffective when he returned, and was demoted to Omaha just a few weeks later. Then the elbow soreness started. After some more struggles, he was demoted again, this time to Wichita. Here, he seemed to regain his fastball and his control, and was again a September call-up. Although he did not resume closing duties, he was effective in eight games, salvaging something from a disaster of a season.

MacDougal enjoyed a much better 2005 season. He did not begin the year as a closer, but reclaimed it in late May after injuries to Jeremy Affeldt and Ambiorix Burgos. It was another terrible year for the Royals, but MacDougal picked up 21 saves to go with a 5-6 record and 3.33 ERA. His role in 26 wins meant he played a part in nearly half the team’s total of 56.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: MacDougal headed to spring training as the presumptive closer, and then the injury bug got him again. This time, it was a strained right shoulder —a teres muscle injury, rather than the dreaded rotator cuff. But it was enough to cost him half of the 2006 season. In his second outing, he picked up his 50th career save as a Royal.

It was also his last. Two weeks later, MacDougal was traded to the White Sox for two minor-league pitchers (Tyler Lumsden and Dan Cortes) as Chicago sought to upgrade their bullpen depth. MacDougal finished his time in Kansas City with a 10-14 record, those 50 saves, and a 3.88 ERA in 163 games. 

He remained in Chicago for nearly three seasons before the White Sox released him in 2009. He soon caught on with the Washington Nationals and wound up leading the team with 20 saves despite not joining them until early May. A free agent after the season, he signed with Florida but was released during spring training. He then began the bouncing-around phase of his career, going back to Washington’s organization, then to the St. Louis Cardinals, and finally to the Los Angeles Dodgers. When LA released him in May of 2012, his major-league career came to an end, although he would pitch in the minor leagues for two more years and five different franchises.

In his post-playing days, MacDougal seems to be participating in a community outreach program run by his father-in-law’s waste management company near Philadelphia. He works with youth, sharing his story of returning to the majors after his skull fracture. He was also inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

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