Darren John Dreifort (DRY-fert)...he and his wife, Ann, have two sons, Jacob Evan (9/5/01) and Ford
William (11/30/03)...is in the final year of a five-year contract which runs through 2005...was the Dodgers' first-round
selection and the second pick overall in the June 1993 First-Year Player Draft behind Seattle's Alex
Rodriguez...was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in Fall 1990 and 1992 at Wichita State, as well as the
academic All-Missouri Valley Conference team in 1991...attended Heights High School in Wichita, KS, and lettered
four years in basketball and two in baseball...credits his older brother, Todd, who also earned college All-
America honors, as being his biggest inspiration in baseball...his college degree is in liberal arts and general
studies...signed by Tom Thomas.
2005
Did not appear in any games for the Dodgers, as he spent the year
recovering from a trio of offseason surgeries...had right hip surgery on Sept. 10, 2004, in a procedure performed by
Dr. Mark Phillipon...had right knee surgery on Oct. 22, 2004, in a procedure performed by
Dr. Ralph Gambardella...underwent surgery on his left knee on Jan. 6, 2005, to repair a
meniscus debridement (Dr. Gambardella)...underwent exploratory surgery on his right shoulder on Feb. 15, 2005 (also Dr. Gambardella).
2004
Became a full-time reliever and pitched in a career-high 60 games before having
his season cut short when he suffered a sprain of the anterior cruciate ligament
in his right knee on Aug. 16 vs. Florida...was subsequently placed on the 15-day
disabled list on Aug. 19 (retroactive to Aug. 17)...underwent surgery on his left hip
on Sept. 10 in a procedure performed by Dr. Marc Philipon...his previous career
high in appearances was 48 in 1997...hurled 1.0 scoreless inning on April 5 vs. San
Diego in his first relief appearance since May 18, 1999...had made 80 starts between
relief outings...has now made 161 relief appearances and 113 starts in his nine-year
big league career...appeared in four consecutive games from April 17-21, allowing
one run in 4.2 innings...on April 23 vs. Giants, pitched 2.0 scoreless and hitless
innings in club's come-from-behind 5-4 12-inning victory to earn his first win since
May 22, 2003 vs. Colorado...struck out a pair in 1.0 scoreless inning on May 8 at
Pittsburgh...in 23 outings from June 12-July 30, allowed just one earned run in 18.2
innings (0.48 ERA) with 28 strikeouts...over six appearances from June 12-21, did
not yield a run in 4.1 innings, giving up two hits and a walk while striking out eight
batters...in 17 appearances from June 25-July 30, pitched 13.2 consecutive scoreless
innings, striking out 19 batters...pitched in four consecutive games from July 1-4,
allowing just one hit in 3.1 innings...in Dodgers' 2-1 12-inning triumph on Aug. 1
at San Diego, pitched a scoreless 12th, striking out two, to record his 11th career
save and first since Sept. l5, 1997 at Colorado...following the season, underwent
right hip surgery on Sept. 10 in a procedure performed by Dr. Mark Phillipon and
right knee surgery on Oct. 22 in a procedure peformed by Dr. Ralph
Gambardella...also underwent surgery on his left knee on Jan. 6, 2005 to repair a meniscus debridement and
exploratory surgery on his right shoulder on Feb. 15, which were also performed by Dr. Gambardella.
2003
Was 4-4 with a 4.03 ERA in 10 starts before having season-ending knee surgery... the Dodgers were 5-5 in his starts...allowed three earned runs or less in eight of his 10 games and pitched 6.0 innings or more in eight of his 10 starts...fanned 67 batters in 60.1 innings...entered Spring Training after a year-and-a-half off while rehabilitating from his second "Tommy John" elbow surgery on July 9, 2001 and subsequent arthroscopic right knee surgery on July 30, 2002 to clean out loose cartilage...the Dodgers played 249 games between starts by the right-hander as he made his 2003 debut on April 4 at San Diego...he had last pitched in a Major League game on June 29, 2001 at San Diego, where he was forced to leave the game with the elbow injury...lost his 2003 debut, 4-2, as he allowed three runs on five hits in 6.0 innings...won in his second start of the season on April 9 vs. Arizona, winning 5-2...pitched 6.0-plus innings and allowed two runs on six hits, while walking four and striking out three...it was his first victory since June 12, 2001 vs. Texas...tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts but lost 3-0, to Philadelphia on April 28 at Dodger Stadium...followed a no-decision with perhaps his finest outing of the season, a 2-1 win vs. Florida on May 16...allowed one run in 8.0 innings, while walking one and striking out eight...it was Dreifort's longest outing since also pitching 8.0 innings on May 27, 2001 vs. Houston...fanned a career-high 12 batters and ran his record to 4-3 with a 4-3 win vs. Colorado on May 22...the 12 strikeouts were the most by a Dodger pitcher since Chan Ho Park fanned 13 on Sept. 24, 2000 vs. San Diego...accomplished a Major League first by fanning seven batters in the first two innings (four in the second inning)...placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 4 (retroactive to May 29) with a strained right knee and then transferred to the 60-day DL on July 3...had his medial collateral ligament repaired by doctors Frank Jobe and Ralph Gambardella on June 18 at Centinela Hospital Medical Center...then on Sept. 23, had arthroscopic surgery to repair a partial tear of the right labrum in his hip...that surgery was performed by hip specialist Dr. Joseph McCarthy in Boston...was 2-for-15 (.133) with an RBI as a batter.
CAREER SUMMARY: The former No. 1 draft pick and All-American from Wichita State University enters his 10th season in the Dodger organization...needed season-ending right knee surgery on June 18, 2003 at Centinela Hospital Medical Center to repair his medial collateral ligament and then on Sept. 23, 2003 had arthroscopic surgery to repair a partial tear of the right labrum in his hip...has pitched in 214 big league games, including 113 starts...the Dodgers are 59-52 in his starts...is tied for second among active Major League pitchers with six home runs...Mike Hampton has hit 12 and Russ Ortiz and Kerry Wood each have six...started professional career on the Major League roster and made his debut in relief on April 7, 1994 vs. Florida, becoming the 17th player in Major League history since the amateur draft began in 1965 to make their professional debuts in the Major Leagues...made 97 relief appearances before making first Major League start on April 11, 1998 vs. Houston...earned first Major League win on Aug. 30, 1996 at Philadelphia...recorded first save on April 19, 1994 at Philadelphia...slugged his first round-tripper on July 23, 1998 vs. Arizona off Omar Daal...hit a game-winning pinch-hit single on May 27, 1994 vs. Pittsburgh off Jeff Ballard in his first big league at-bat.
2002
Was sidelined the entire 2002 season after undergoing surgery on July 9, 2001 to repair a tear of the medial collateral ligament and a flexor tendon in his right elbow (the second "Tommy John" surgery of his career)...during his 2002 rehabilitation on his elbow, he injured his right knee and subsequently, on July 30, 2002 underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to clean out loose cartilage.
2001
Went 4-7 with a 5.13 ERA (54 ER/94.2 IP) in 16 starts before having his season cut short by a right elbow injury suffered on June 29 while pitching at San Diego...was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 30 and an MRI on July 3 revealed a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right elbow and that his flexor tendon muscle had partially torn from the bone...underwent surgery performed by Dr. Frank Jobe and Dr. Ralph Gambardella at Centinela Hospital Medical Center on July 9...picked up his first win of the season in his second start, defeating the Diamondbacks in Arizona 11-5, allowing two earned runs in 6.0 innings...took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on April 22 vs. San Diego, but allowed four runs in the sixth inning and had no decision in the Dodgers' 7-6, 11-inning win vs. the Padres...was the starting pitcher and took the loss in the Dodgers' 20-1 setback at Chicago, the worst loss in Los Angeles Dodger history...allowed four runs in 6.0 innings, but the bullpen allowed back-to-back eight-run innings (seventh and eighth innings)...picked up a win in his next start, May 10 vs. Florida 4-3, as he allowed two earned runs in 6.0 innings...flirted with a perfect game for 5.2 innings in his next start, May 16 at Montreal...allowed one run on one hit and struck out nine in 6.0 innings and earned a 7-2 win...batted .152 (5-for-33) with two doubles, a home run and two RBI...the home run came on April 28 off Bruce Chen vs. Philadelphia and was the sixth of his career...was a perfect 5-0 during Spring Training to lead all Major League pitchers...had a 2.67 ERA (8 ER/27.0 IP) in seven spring games.
2000
Was 12-9 with one shutout and a 4.16 ERA (89 ER/192.2 IP) in a career-high 32 starts...allowed three earned runs or less in 22 of his 32 starts...the Dodgers were 20-12 in his starts, including winning 12 of his last 16 starts...he was 8-2 with five no decisions and a 3.14 ERA (33 ER/94.2 IP) in his 15 starts after the All-Star break...had a career-high six-game winning streak July 17-Aug. 13, posting a 2.56 ERA and holding the opposition to a .210 average (30-for-143)...struck out a career-high 11 batters and had no decision in a 3-2 loss at Milwaukee on Aug. 30...held opposing hitters to a .238 average, tied for seventh best in the NL...had a 2.67 ERA (8 ER/27.0 IP) in five April starts...posted a 3-0 record and 2.77 ERA in July...tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout on May 12 at St. Louis...it was his third career shutout and complete game...allowed a first-inning double and a sixth-inning single, while facing the minimum 24 batters over the final eight frames...pitched a combined shutout with Terry Adams and Jeff Shaw in a 5-0 defeat of San Francisco at Dodger Stadium on July 23...hit .162 (11-for-68) with three home runs and eight RBI...the three home runs were the most by a Dodger pitcher since Fernando Valenzuela also had three in 1984...had no decision, but started the Dodgers on a 7-5 comeback win at San Diego on July 5 with a solo home run to cut the deficit to 5-1...on Aug. 8 vs. Chicago, he hit two home runs, including a game-tying solo home run in the fourth inning of the Dodgers' 7-5 win...his two blasts were 441 feet and 462 feet and he became the first Dodger pitcher to hit two homers in a game since Don Drysdale on Aug. 23, 1958 vs. the Milwaukee Braves...the last Major League pitcher to hit two homers in a game was Derek Lilliquist of the Atlanta Braves on May 1, 1990.
1999
In his second full season as a starting pitcher, he went 13-13 with a 4.79 ERA in 30 games (29 starts)...season ended prematurely during Sept. 15 start vs. Montreal at Dodger Stadium...left game because of tightness in pitching shoulder after facing one batter in the fifth inning...threw a bullpen session on Sept. 23 and felt tightness in his forearm...did not pitch again for precautionary reasons...prior to the injury, was enjoying one of his best stretches of the season, winning four of his last five starts and five of seven...had given up just six earned runs in 38.1 innings (1.41 ERA) covering the five victories with 25 strikeouts and five walks...walked just 25 batters in his last 97.2 innings covering 15 starts and issued three or fewer passes in 23 of his last 27 appearances after walking 19 in his first three starts...won three straight from April 9-20...was first among Dodger starting pitchers with a .210 batting average (13-for-62) with one home run and nine RBI...had two-hit games on June 19 at Philadelphia and on Aug. 18 vs. Florida...made only relief appearance on May 18 vs. Houston, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings in 11-3 loss...was first relief appearance since April 22, 1998...struck out season-high eight batters at Pittsburgh on July 19...did not walk a batter for the first time in 20 starts on July 29 vs. Cincinnati, striking out seven in 6.0 innings...slugged his second career home run on Aug. 8, a three-run shot off the Mets' Masato Yoshii in the second inning...pitched his second career shutout on Aug. 18 vs. Florida...scattered seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks...sparked Dodgers with his bat during 4-1 victory at Chicago on Sept. 5...trailing 1-0, the Dodgers scored four runs in the fifth inning, including Dreifort's bases-loaded double.
1998
Went 8-12 with a 4.00 ERA in 32 games, including 26 starts, as he was a regular in the Dodgers' starting rotation for the first time...set a career high in strikeouts with 168...in his 26 starts, went 8-12 with a 4.36 ERA (80 ER/165.0 IP)...did not allow an earned run in his six relief appearances, allowing eight hits, two walks and 13 strikeouts in 15.0 innings...among NL pitchers, tied for fifth with 8.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and ranked 11th in strikeouts...worked at least 6.0 innings in 19 of his last 22 starts, including 16 consecutive appearances from May 11-July 31...had a 3:1 strikeout to walk ratio (168 SO/57 BB)...made his first Major League start on April 11 vs. Houston, suffering the loss in a 6-2 decision after allowing five runs on eight hits in 5.0 innings while striking out four...earned his first big league win as a starter on May 16 vs. Montreal, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in 6.2 innings...won his next two starts to give him a three-game winning streak for the second time in his career...in his seventh Major League start on May 22 at Arizona, he pitched a six-hit shutout in the Dodgers' 5-0 victory...combined with Jeff Shaw to throw the 27th one-hitter in Los Angeles history on July 20 vs. Cincinnati...in his Aug. 22 start at Atlanta, left in the second inning with an injured right elbow after Braves' first baseman Andres Galarraga charged the mound when he was hit by a pitch, inciting a bench-clearing brawl...fanned 10 batters in a 7.0- inning stint on July 25 vs. Arizona, but suffered the loss in the Dodgers' 5-3 defeat...did not pitch for the remainder of the season due to soreness in his right shoulder after winning his last start on Sept. 4 vs. San Francisco...led all Dodger pitchers in batting with a .224 average (11- for-49)...on July 25 vs. Arizona, hit his first career home run off Omar Daal -- a 430-foot blast to center field...it was the first home run by a Dodger pitcher since Kevin Gross went deep on May 23, 1994.
1997
Spent his first full season with the Dodgers and went 5-2 with four saves and a 2.86 ERA in 48 games...retired 38 of the 42 first batters he faced (90 percent) and stranded 21 of the 27 runners he inherited (78 percent)...held opposing batters to a team-low .202 average... earned a save in his first appearance of the season on April 2 vs. Philadelphia after throwing 1.1 scoreless innings of relief...missed 32 games after being placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 14 (retroactive to May 12) with tendinitis in his right elbow...was reinstated from the disabled list on June 17...recorded six strikeouts and earned his second save of the season on Aug. 8 at Cincinnati after allowing one hit in 4.0 scoreless innings.
1996
Compiled a 1-4 record and 4.94 ERA in 19 games for the Dodgers after splitting the season with Los Angeles and Triple-A Albuquerque as he bounced back from elbow surgery...was recalled from Albuquerque on July 25...earned his first Major League win on Aug. 30 at Philadelphia after pitching 2.1 shutout innings...the win snapped a six-game losing streak to start his career...pitched 0.2 scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NL Division Series at Atlanta...was 5-6 with a 4.17 ERA in 18 starts at Albuquerque.
1995
Missed the entire season recovering from reconstructive surgery performed by team physician Dr. Frank Jobe on March 14 to repair a torn medial collateral ligament in his right elbow...took advantage of his recovery time by earning his undergraduate degree at Wichita State University.
1994
Finished 0-5 with a 6.21 ERA and six saves in nine opportunities for the Dodgers in 27 games...pitched a perfect ninth inning in his Major League debut on April 7 vs. Florida in the Dodgers' 1-0 defeat...he and Chan Ho Park became the 17th and 18th players in Major League history since the amateur draft began in 1965 to make their professional debuts in the Major Leagues...enjoyed great success at Dodger Stadium, going 0-0 with a 0.79 ERA (1 ER/11.1 IP) in 10 games...hit a game-winning pinch-hit single on May 27 vs. Pittsburgh off Jeff Ballard in his first big league at-bat...had a sacrifice bunt on April 22 vs. Montreal in his first plate appearance as a Major Leaguer...was optioned to Double-A San Antonio on June 23 and went 3-1 with a 2.80 ERA in eight starts...promoted to Albuquerque and won his only start (4 ER/ 6.1 IP).
