Rodney Grant Scurry (March 17, 1956 – November 5, 1992) was an American professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. Scurry played for eight seasons and was the first

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) player directly linked to the

Pittsburgh drug trials The Pittsburgh drug trials of 1985 were the catalyst for a Major League Baseball-related cocaine scandal. Several current and former members of the Pittsburgh Pirates – Dale Berra, Lee Lacy, Lee Mazzilli, John Milner, Dave Parker, Rod Scur ...

that dogged

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

during the mid-1980s. In 1992, Scurry died of a

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

-induced heart attack.

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Scurry was born in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

with the eleventh overall pick in the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent six seasons in the Pirates' farm system, compiling a 37–51 record and 3.89

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

, before making the major league club out of

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. Though he had been used primarily as a starter in the minors, Scurry spent most of his major-league career as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

. The only exception was when he was added to the Pirates' starting rotation. He won his first start on April 19, giving up four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

and no

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

in seven

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning ...

. From there, Scurry went 0–2 with a 5.79 ERA over his next four starts (the Pirates were 0–2 in his no-decisions), and he was returned to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

. He made two more starts in August, winning one and losing one. For the season, he went 4–5 with a 3.77 ERA and seven saves. In , he appeared in 76 games for the Pirates and went 4–5 with a 1.74 ERA and fourteen saves. On September 14, 1985, his contract was sold to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

New York Yankees

During his time with the Yankees, Scurry went 2–2 with a 3.46 ERA in 36 appearances over a season plus with the team. He was released shortly before the season. He signed with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in June and spent the entire season with their triple-A affiliate.

Seattle Mariners

During Spring training , the Giants dealt Scurry to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

for a player to be named later. After starting the season in the minors, he joined the team in May and went 0–2 with a 4.02 ERA and two saves. The Mariners released Scurry on December 21, 1988. A day later, he was arrested for buying

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' call ...

at a

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

crack house A drug house (also called a trap house or drug den) is a residence used in the illegal drug trade. Drug houses shelter drug users and provide a place for drug dealers to supply them. Drug houses can also be used as laboratories to synthesize ( ...

Personal life and death

On October 29, 1992, responding to a call from a neighbor, the Washoe County, Nevada Sheriff's Department found Scurry outside his home complaining that

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s were in his home, crawling on him and biting him. He became violent and stopped breathing when deputies attempted to put handcuffs and leg restraints on him. He was taken to Washoe Medical Center and remained on life-support systems until his death a week later. His official cause of death was a cocaine-related heart attack. His son, Rod, Jr., was a pitcher in the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

organization.

Pittsburgh drug trials

Scurry had admitted, prior to his death, to purchasing cocaine on at least 19 occasions during the 1982 and 1983 seasons. On August 19, , he became the first player directly named in the cocaine distribution trial of Curtis Strong. He and Pirates teammates

Dale Berra Dale Anthony Berra (born December 13, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball player who primarily played as an infielder from to . He is the son of Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra and brother of former Baltimore Colts return specia ...

Lee Lacy Leondaus "Lee" Lacy (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles betw ...

Lee Mazzilli Lee Louis Mazzilli (born March 25, 1955) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the New York Mets, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and T ...

John Milner John David Milner (December 28, 1949 – January 4, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from to for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal ...

and

Dave Parker David Gene Parker (born June 9, 1951), nicknamed "The Cobra," is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1973 to 1991. A seven-time All-Star, Parker won two National League bat ...

, along with several other notable major league players, were called before a Pittsburgh

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a ...

for their involvement in the Pittsburgh drug scandal. Their testimony led to the drug trials, which made national headlines in September 1985. He and the other players brought before the Pittsburgh Grand Jury were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony.The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia
By David Finoli, Bill Rainer

References

External links

, o
Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scurry, Rod 1956 births 1992 deaths Accidental deaths in Nevada American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Sacramento, California Calgary Cannons players Cocaine-related deaths in Nevada Columbus Clippers players Drug-related deaths in Nevada Drugs in sport in the United States Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Yankees players Niagara Falls Pirates players Pittsburgh Pirates players Phoenix Firebirds players Portland Beavers players Salem Pirates players Seattle Mariners players Shreveport Captains players