Octavio Dotel, baseball player, 1999-2013

Octavio Dotel

Born: 11/25/1973 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, D.R.

Died: 4/8/2025 in Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional, D.R.

MLB Debut: 1999-06-26 | Final Game: 2013-04-19

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 230 lbs

Full name: Octavio Eduardo Dotel

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Biography

Octavio Dotel was a versatile pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1999 to 2013. Born in 1973, Dotel established himself as a reliable arm in the bullpen and a key contributor to several teams across his 14-year career. He finished with a record of 59-50 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.78, showcasing his ability to effectively manage games in high-pressure situations. Dotel was particularly known for his strikeout capability, amassing a total of 1,143 strikeouts, which highlighted his overpowering fastball and sharp breaking pitches. Throughout his career, Dotel played for multiple franchises, including the New York Mets, Houston Astros, and St. Louis Cardinals, among others. He recorded 109 saves, demonstrating his effectiveness as a closer and his adaptability in various pitching roles. Dotel's career spanned a transformative period in baseball, during which the game saw an increased focus on specialized relief pitching. His contributions to the teams he played for and his longevity in the league made him a notable figure in the evolution of the modern bullpen.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
59 50 758 34 0 0 109 951.0 765 399 117 412 1143 3.78 0

Career ERA 3.78 vs. league average 4.32 across their career seasons — 12.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1999 NYN NL 8 3 19 14 0 0 0 85.3 69 51 49 85 5.38 4.71 (-14%) -423.4
2000 HOU NL 3 7 50 16 0 0 16 125.0 127 75 61 142 5.40 4.77 (-13%) -1373.9
2001 HOU NL 7 5 61 4 0 0 2 105.0 79 31 47 145 2.66 4.42 (+40%) 5661.8
2002 HOU NL 6 4 83 0 0 0 6 97.3 58 20 27 118 1.85 4.28 (+57%) 4592.4
2003 HOU NL 6 4 76 0 0 0 4 87.0 53 24 31 97 2.48 4.40 (+44%) 2392.9
2004 HOU NL 0 4 32 0 0 0 14 34.7 27 12 15 50 3.12 4.46 (+30%) 1235.4
2004 OAK AL 6 2 45 0 0 0 22 50.7 41 23 18 72 4.09 4.46 (+8%) 902.1
2005 OAK AL 1 2 15 0 0 0 7 15.3 10 6 11 16 3.52 4.29 (+18%) -188.4
2006 NYY AL 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 10.0 18 12 11 7 10.80 4.53 (-139%) -
2007 KCR AL 2 1 24 0 0 0 11 23.0 24 10 11 29 3.91 4.47 (+13%) -
2007 ATL NL 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 7.7 5 4 1 12 4.70 — 0.0
2008 CHW AL 4 4 72 0 0 0 1 67.0 52 28 29 92 3.76 4.32 (+13%) -
2009 CHW AL 3 3 62 0 0 0 0 62.3 54 23 36 75 3.32 4.32 (+23%) -
2010 PIT NL 2 2 41 0 0 0 21 40.0 35 19 17 48 4.28 4.08 (-5%) 278.0
2010 LAD NL 1 1 19 0 0 0 1 18.7 11 7 11 21 3.38 4.08 (+17%) -
2010 COL NL 0 1 8 0 0 0 0 5.3 6 3 4 6 5.06 — 0.0
2011 TOR AL 2 1 36 0 0 0 1 29.3 20 12 12 30 3.68 3.94 (+7%) -505.5
2011 STL NL 3 3 29 0 0 0 2 24.7 16 9 5 32 3.28 3.94 (+17%) -
2012 DET AL 5 3 57 0 0 0 1 58.0 50 23 12 62 3.57 4.01 (+11%) 2513.5
2013 DET AL 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 4.7 10 7 4 4 13.50 — 0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
758 77 3 5 0 0 0 1 0 5 44 0.065 0.133 0.065 0.197 0.0

Career AVG .065 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — 75.3% below league average.

Career OBP .133 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 60.0% below league average.

Career SLG .065 vs. league average .418 across their career seasons — 84.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.197 vs. league average 0.750 across their career seasons — 73.7% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1999 NYN NL 19 24 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 17 0.125 — — — — 0.0
2000 HOU NL 50 32 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 16 0.031 — — — — 0.0
2001 HOU NL 61 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.091 — — — — 0.0
2002 HOU NL 83 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2003 HOU NL 76 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2004 HOU NL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2004 OAK AL 45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 OAK AL 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2006 NYY AL 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2007 KCR AL 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2007 ATL NL 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2008 CHW AL 72 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 CHW AL 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 PIT NL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2010 LAD NL 19 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2010 COL NL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 TOR AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2011 STL NL 29 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2012 DET AL 57 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2013 DET AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2012 ALCS DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2012 ALDS2 DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2012 WS DET 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2011 NLCS SLN 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2011 NLDS1 SLN 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2011 WS SLN 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2008 ALDS2 CHA 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2001 NLDS1 HOU 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 NLCS NYN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 NLDS2 NYN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
3 1 26 0 0 23.3 17 10 11 33 3.86

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2012 ALCS DET 0 0 2 0 0 2.3 0 0 2 3 0.00
2012 ALDS2 DET 0 0 2 0 0 1.0 0 0 1 2 0.00
2012 WS DET 0 0 2 0 0 1.7 0 0 2 1 0.00
2011 NLCS SLN 1 0 4 0 0 4.0 2 1 1 5 2.25
2011 NLDS1 SLN 1 0 3 0 0 2.7 0 0 0 4 0.00
2011 WS SLN 0 1 5 0 0 3.7 3 2 1 5 4.91
2008 ALDS2 CHA 0 0 4 0 0 1.3 2 2 0 3 13.50
2001 NLDS1 HOU 0 0 2 0 0 3.3 5 2 0 5 5.40
1999 NLCS NYN 1 0 1 0 0 3.0 4 1 2 5 3.00
1999 NLDS2 NYN 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 1 2 2 0 54.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 758 34 43 77 10 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1999 NYN P 19 14 8 9 1 0
2000 HOU P 50 16 4 14 1 1
2001 HOU P 61 4 9 14 2 3
2002 HOU P 83 0 0 8 0 0
2003 HOU P 76 0 0 6 0 0
2004 HOU P 32 0 4 0 0 0
2004 OAK P 45 0 2 5 0 1
2005 OAK P 15 0 0 1 1 0
2006 NYA P 14 0 0 2 0 0
2007 KCA P 24 0 1 1 0 0
2007 ATL P 9 0 0 0 0 0
2008 CHA P 72 0 3 4 1 0
2009 CHA P 62 0 2 3 1 0
2010 PIT P 41 0 3 4 1 0
2010 LAN P 19 0 2 0 0 0
2010 COL P 8 0 0 0 0 0
2011 TOR P 36 0 0 1 0 0
2011 SLN P 29 0 4 0 1 0
2012 DET P 57 0 1 4 1 0
2013 DET P 6 0 0 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 758

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1999 Player of the Week Week of 1999-07-24

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2013 DET AL $3,500,000
2012 DET AL $3,000,000
2011 TOR AL $3,000,000
2010 PIT NL $3,250,000
2009 CHA AL $6,000,000
2008 CHA AL $5,000,000
2007 KCA AL $5,000,000
2006 NYA AL $2,000,000
2005 OAK AL $4,750,000
2004 HOU NL $2,800,000
2003 HOU NL $1,600,000
2002 HOU NL $435,000
2001 HOU NL $305,000
2000 HOU NL $240,000
1999 NYN NL $200,000
Total Career Earnings $41,080,000