Playing career On August 10, 1980, McCatty pitched a 14-inning game against the
Seattle Mariners, only to lose 2–1. During the
1981 strike-shortened season, McCatty finished the season with a league leading 2.33 ERA, second in the
American League to
Sammy Stewart's 2.32 mark and was tied with three others for most wins with 14, including a league leading four shutouts, the last two of which were consecutive starts for McCatty. He also finished second for the
Cy Young Award, behind
Rollie Fingers. However, McCatty would never even approach his 1981 form again. A number of baseball historians and statisticians blame this on manager
Billy Martin overworking McCatty and the other members of the 1981 staff. In 2006,
Rob Neyer estimated that McCatty threw 131 pitches per complete game in 1981, a heavy workload for a young pitcher even then. However, McCatty never blamed Martin for his post-1981 decline. During a
1982 exhibition game against the
San Diego Padres, McCatty stepped to the plate wielding a toy 15-inch bat but umpire
Jim Quick would not allow him to hit. McCatty did this on orders from Martin, who was furious that the
designated hitter rule was not allowed in
National League ballparks, to use the toy bat as a protest.
Coaching career After retiring as a player in 1986, McCatty remained in professional baseball working in radio and TV for the Oakland A's and with
ESPN Major League Baseball. McCatty later moved on to coach several minor league baseball clubs, and was hired as pitching coach by the
Detroit Tigers for the
2002 season. He subsequently coached for the
Ottawa Lynx when it was the AAA affiliate of the
Baltimore Orioles. During the offseason, McCatty works with youngsters of all ages to teach pitching mechanics at Jason Thompson Baseball in
Auburn Hills,
Michigan. In 2009, McCatty became the second pitching coach in
Washington Nationals franchise history, replacing
Randy St. Claire, who was fired, and McCatty was called upon to replace him after working at the Nationals'
AAA affiliate. The Nationals fired McCatty and the entire coaching staff after the 2015 season. ==References==