Octavio Dotel, the well-traveled right-hander who pitched parts of 15 Major League seasons with 13 teams, was among more than 50 people killed in a roof collapse at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic early Tuesday.
Dotel, 51, was reportedly trapped under rubble at the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo for about 11 hours before he was located by rescuers. He was later pronounced dead at Armed Forces Hospital.
Dotel accomplished quite a bit over his career, including winning a World Series ring with the 2011 Cardinals and saving 109 games -- a career-high 36 of them with the Astros and Athletics in 2004. But it was the way he jumped around the league that made him, for a time, the holder of a Major League record. Before Edwin Jackson tied him in 2018 and then passed him in 2019, Dotel was the only player to suit up for 13 teams.
Dotel was traded six times and also signed as a free agent six times. By the time he wrapped things up in 2013, Dotel had pitched a combined 758 games for the Mets, Astros, A’s, Yankees, Royals, Braves, White Sox, Pirates, Dodgers, Rockies, Blue Jays, Cardinals and Tigers. He played for multiple teams in four seasons ('04, '07, '10 and '11), including three in '10, when he was traded from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to Colorado.
"I wasn't looking for it," Dotel told MLB.com after joining his 13th team, the Tigers, in 2012. "But now that I have it, I'm proud of it. I'm proud of all the times teams wanted me. You've got to look at it in a good way.
"I've been with so many teams because everybody wants some piece of Dotel. It's something you've got to enjoy and feel good about. You don't want this to happen every year, but if it happens, it's like, 'OK, thank you everybody, I appreciate everything. Thank you for having me here,' and you move on."
That journey began with the Mets, with whom Dotel signed as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican in March 1993, when he was 19. He became a top prospect in the Mets’ system, ranking 45th on Baseball America’s list before the 1999 season. On June 26 that year, Dotel made his debut with New York, at Atlanta, getting the start and taking the loss after allowing six earned runs over 4 1/3 innings. It was one of 34 starts Dotel made over his first three seasons before finding his true calling as a reliever.
After the 1999 season, Dotel was traded for the first time, going to the Astros as part of a deal that sent Mike Hampton and Derek Bell back to Queens. Hampton helped pitch the 2000 Mets into the World Series, but that was hardly the first consequential trade to involve Dotel. In June 2004, he was part of a famous three-team deal between the Astros, A’s and Royals that sent Carlos Beltrán to Houston ahead of his memorable postseason hot streak.
In 2011, it was Dotel who was an impactful Deadline addition, when the Cardinals acquired him as part of a seven-player swap with the Blue Jays in late July. Dotel pitched well for St. Louis down the stretch, then had a 2.61 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 10 1/3 postseason innings. He tied for the team lead with five appearances in the World Series as the Cardinals pulled out a dramatic, seven-game victory over the Rangers.
Overall, Dotel went 59-50 with a 3.78 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1,143 strikeouts to go with those 109 saves. He added a 3.86 ERA over 26 postseason appearances.
The righty spent the most time with the Astros, for whom he pitched in 302 games over five seasons. Dotel's best season came with Houston in 2002, when he went 6-4 with a 1.85 ERA in 83 appearances, compiling 4.2 bWAR.
Dotel helped the Astros make history on June 11, 2003, when he and five teammates no-hit the Yankees in the Bronx. Dotel pitched just one inning that night but joined a relatively short list of pitchers to record four strikeouts in an inning.