Former Orioles P Dobson dies in San Diego hospital

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Pat Dobson, one of four 20-game winners for the American League champion Baltimore Orioles in 1971, died Thursday in a San Diego hospital. He was 64. Dobson had just completed his ninth season with the San Francisco Giants and his first as a special assistant to general manager Brian Sabean. "Pat's untimely death is a complete shock to the whole organization and me and it's hard for us to express our feelings right now," Sabean said. "We've all become so close through the years and we're going to miss him dearly. "Obviously, our concern is for (his wife) Kathe and their family, and on behalf of the Giants, I want to express our condolences. I can't put into words the impact Pat had on the Giants over the years." Dobson was 20-8 with a 2.90 ERA in 1971, his second of seven straight 10-win seasons. He was joined in that rotation by Hall of Famer Jim Palmer (20-9), Dave McNally (21-5) and Mike Cuellar (20-9). That squad and the 1920 Chicago White Sox are the only teams in major league history to post four 20-game winners. The righthander was 16-18 in 1972 - his only All-Star season - and was 19-15 for the New York Yankees in 1974. Dobson was 122-129 with a 3.54 ERA in 11 seasons for Detroit, San Diego, Baltimore, the Yankees and Cleveland from 1967-77. He went 5-8 with seven saves and a 2.65 ERA in helping the Tigers to a World Series win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Dobson spent eight years as an advance scout for the Giants before becoming Sabean's special assistant. Prior to joining the Giants organization, the Buffalo, New York native served as the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles in 1995 and as a television commentator for Orioles broadcasts the following year. "The sudden death of Pat Dobson deeply saddens me and the entire Orioles organization," Baltimore executive vice president of baseball operations Mike Flanagan said. "Pat had his best seasons as a player in an Orioles uniform and will be fondly remembered by Orioles fans. "I got to know Dobber well when he returned to our organization as pitching coach in 1996 and will never forget the fun times we had, talking baseball and telling stories, before and after games." Dobson was the Colorado Rockies' first advance scout from 1993-95. He logged eight seasons as a major league pitching coach for Milwaukee (1982-84), San Diego (1988-90), and Kansas City (1991) in addition to Baltimore, while also spending five years as a minor league pitching instructor. Dobson also managed the Fort Myers Sun Sox in the Senior League in 1989-90. Dobson, who lived in El Cajon, California is survived by his wife, Kathe, and six children, Pat III, Nancy, Stacy, Chris, Shannon and Stephanie.