Omar Daal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Omar José Daal (born February 23, 1972 in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for 11 seasons, from 1993 through 2004. Daal played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1993-95, 2002), Montreal Expos (1996-97), Toronto Blue Jays (1997), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998-2000), Philadelphia Phillies (2000-01) and Baltimore Orioles (2003-2004). He bats and throws left-handed.

Daal throws a deceptive fastball that rarely exceeds 85 MPH, a good changeup, and a decent curveball. When he has both control and command of his pitches, he can be difficult to hit.

He was somewhat of a two-career pitcher who began as a reliever for the Dodgers, Expos and Blue Jays between 1993 and 1997, then became a starter with the Diamondbacks in 1998. Prior to the 2003 season, he signed a two-year contract with Baltimore. However, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder in early 2004, Daal was out for that entire season and has not again appeared in the majors.

Omar Daal currently coaches his son's traveling baseball team, the Chandler Reds, in Chandler, Arizona.

In an 11-season career, Daal compiled a won-loss record of 68-78, with 806 strikeouts and a 4.55 ERA in 1198 innings pitched.

[edit] Trivia

• On August 15, 2001, Daal combined with fellow Venezuelan pitchers Giovanni Carrara, Kelvim Escobar and Freddy García for wins their respective starts:

Daal, in a Phillies victory over the Brewers, 8-6; Carrara, of the Dodgers, beating Montreal, 13-1; Escobar, of the Blue Jays, over Oakland, 5-2, and García, of Seattle, against the Red Sox, 6-2.

This marked the first time in major league history that four Venezuelan starting pitchers recorded a win on the same day.

[edit] See also

• Players from Venezuela in MLB

[edit] External links

• Complete career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com