Octavio Dotel, a veteran of 15 Major League Baseball seasons, died Tuesday at the age of 51 from injuries sustained when the roof of a nightclub in the Dominican Republic collapsed, officials in the country said.
At least 58 people were dead and more than 160 injured after the roof of the Jet Set nightclub in Santo Domingo crumbled during a performance by merengue singer Rubby Perez. The death toll continued to rise Tuesday as authorities searched through the scene.
Dotel was a native of Santo Domingo who played for 13 teams over his 15 seasons in the majors from 1999 to 2013. Originally signed by the New York Mets, Dotel was traded to the Houston Astros after making his MLB debut in 1999 and he spent five years in Houston – where he developed into one of baseball’s top relief pitchers.
In 2003, he made history when he, Hall of Famer Billy Wagner and four other Astros pitchers combined to no-hit the New York Yankees.
After Wagner was traded that offseason, Dotel took over the closer’s role for the Astros. However, in June he was part of a blockbuster three-team trade with Oakland and Kansas City headlined by outfielder Carlos Beltran. He continued to close as a member of the A’s and finished the season with a career-high 36 saves.
He continued to pitch effectively into his late 30s, finally winning a World Series ring as a member of the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. He posted a 2.61 ERA with a pair of wins over 12 postseason appearances that season.
And he returned to the World Series the following season with the Detroit Tigers, pitching five scoreless innings over six postseason appearances as the Tigers eventually fell to the San Francisco Giants in the Fall Classic.
When he debuted for the Tigers in 2012, Dotel set the record for most major league teams in a career, at 13 different organizations. His mark was later broken by Edwin Jackson.
The Mets held a moment of silence for Dotel before Tuesday’s game at Citi Field in New York.
Contributing: Reuters
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