David Alan Otto (born November 12, 1964) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1987 to 1994 for the Oakland Athletics,

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs.

Amateur career

Otto is a 1982 graduate of Elk Grove High School. He was also a basketball standout in high school. Otto was originally selected by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in the second round (52nd overall) of the

1982 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

, but elected to attend the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

instead. He played DH as well as pitched for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

from 1983 to 1985. In 1983 and 1984, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star in 1984. He was picked in the second round of the

1985 Major League Baseball Draft First round draft picks The following are the first round picks in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental First Round Selections Background Six of the first eight draft picks from the June regular phase had at least one full ...

(39th overall) by the Oakland Athletics, with whom he would sign.1985 Major League Baseball Draft, Rounds 1–10 – Pro Sports Transactions.
/ref>

Professional career

After three years in the minor leagues, he made his debut on September 8, 1987. He spent four seasons with the Athletics, spending most of the year with the minor league Tacoma Tigers each time; in four seasons with the Athletics he played in nine total games at the major league level. He signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1991, and after two full seasons with them as a starting pitcher, spent a year each as a relief pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs, retiring after the 1994 season.

Broadcasting career

Dave Otto often filled in for Ron Santo on the Chicago Cubs radio broadcasts on

WGN Radio WGN (720 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Chicago, Illinois, with studios on the 18th floor of 303 East Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop. WGN has a news/talk format, along with broadcasts of Chicago Blackhawks hockey and Northwestern ...

. He worked alongside

Chip Caray Harry Christopher "Chip" Caray III (born February 27, 1965) is an American television broadcaster for Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast's coverage of the Atlanta Braves baseball. Chip is also known from his time as a broadcaster for ...

Fox Sports Net Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

during Steve Stone's two-year absence in 2001-2002 and has worked for

Comcast SportsNet Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is an American regional sports network that broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports- ...

Personal

Otto was a 2000 inductee to the

Sports Hall of Fame.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otto, Dave 1964 births Living people Baseball players from Illinois Canton-Akron Indians players Chicago Cubs announcers Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Huntsville Stars players Iowa Cubs players Madison Muskies players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball pitchers Missouri Tigers baseball players Oakland Athletics players Orleans Firebirds players People from Elk Grove Village, Illinois Pittsburgh Pirates players Tacoma Tigers players Sportspeople from Wheaton, Illinois All-American college baseball players