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Random Philadelphia Phillie of the Day: Omar Daal
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Today the AI has selected pitcher Omar Daal as the Random Phillie of the Day.
He had a brief stint here, playing on the 2000 and 2001 teams. That was right about that time when Terry Francona departed for Larry Bowa, who got the boys back above .500 before Charlie Manuel came to town in 2005.
Daal was part of the blockbuster trade that sent Curt Schilling to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the turn of the century. The Venezuelan lefty arrived midseason and went right into the rotation, but struggled over 12 starts, going 2-9 with a 4.69 ERA. He allowed 81 hits and 40 earned runs while striking out 51 batters. Between the D Backs and Phils he lost 19 games that season while logging a combined 6.14 ERA.
There was a good bounce back, though, and he actually started Opening Day in 2001 in a rotation that included Robert Person, Randy Wolf, and Dave Coggin. Other Phils with more than 10 starts that season were Amaury Telemaco, Bruce Chen, Brandon Duckworth, and Nelson Figueroa. Daal went 13-7 with a 4.46 ERA across 32 starts and 185 innings, striking out 107 batters.
The Phils exercised a club option for about $5 million at the end of the 2001 season, but Daal ended up being traded for the Dodgers for minor league pitchers Eric Junge and Jesus Cordero. According to reports that I absolutely do not remember at the time, Daal butted heads with Bowa at the end of his second season, explained this way at the Society for American Baseball Research:
…like a figurative duck on a pond, everything looked calm on the surface, but feet were paddling furiously below. Daal and manager Larry Bowa did not agree on the best way to use the pitcher, and the tension was impossible to ignore, despite general manager Ed Wade’s denials – “I don’t think it’s any secret that (Daal) and ‘Bo’ had some rough spots the last month of the season, but I don’t think that was insurmountable. …”
Apparently Daal had some arm issues that forced a relatively early 2005 retirement. He worked for a bit as a D Backs scout, then coached youth baseball and was involved with a couple of teams from his native Venezuela.
The main thing I remember about Daal is that his fastball topped out at something like 85 mph. Good curveball though, and a good changeup as a left hander. Like most Phillies memories of 25 years ago, this one is foggy.
Omar Daal is your random Philadelphia Phillie of the day.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com