Chicago Cubs

Former Cubs ace Mark Prior: 'I don't blame Dusty Baker for what happened to me'

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:08 p.m. ET

Brett Smiley

The Chicago Cubs' 2003 NLCS meltdown was followed by terrible consequences for Steve Bartman, former Cubs ace Mark Prior, and the manager widely blamed for Prior's demise, Dusty Baker. (Also, Cubs fans.)

The knock against Baker is that he severely overused Prior and the other young Cubs gun, Kerry Wood, down the stretch in 2003 and ruined their arms forever. Prior's pitch counts for his starts in September through the end of the season were 131, 129, 109, 124, 131, 133 and 133. But the story is not that simple and the ex-pitcher himself doesn't blame Baker.

In an essay appearing in SI's The Cauldron titled "I have no regrets, no one to blame," Prior, now the minor-league pitching coordinator for the Padres, writes (emphasis supplied):

Even now, when people hear my name, they still think about the hype and potential. And, inevitably, the injuries.

So fine, let's talk about it.

Some people pointed to problems with my delivery and arm action.

Others -- mostly Cubs fans -- still blame my manager, Dusty Baker, for the series of injuries that derailed my career. They believe he overused me in 2003 and blah, blah, blah. Only, here's the thing: I don't blame Dusty for what happened to me. I wouldn't change a single thing that happened during that season -- beyond us failing to bring a World Series Championship to Chicago, of course. No matter how many pitches I threw, I never asked to come out of a game -- doing so would have been unthinkable.

Prior also notes "two major events" that impacted his career -- a collision with Marcus Giles in 2003 that damaged his shoulder and a line drive that broke his elbow in 2005.

Due to arm and shoulder woes and an Achilles injury, he made only 57 MLB starts from 2004-2006 and thew his last pro pitch at age 25. He earned $11.8 million over his career, which is less than what some back-of-the-rotation veteran starters earn in a single season these days.

In June, Baker, now the Washington Nationals manager, told the Chicago Tribune:

"Prior and Wood, that's all I hear about. Where was my pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, in this whole equation? People think I was the pitching coach, the everything coach. That was one of the saddest days in my life when they told me about Mark Prior's (shoulder injury) when I got to spring training (in '04). I was like why did we just find out when we got there in springtime? Then I had to go along with the lie about his Achilles hurt and all that. They were like, 'We're trying to protect you.' I said, 'Don't protect me, I'm grown.'"

Despite the prolonged, failed comeback attempts, Prior has no regrets. And in fact he met with Baker after his retirement and took Baker's advice:

"If you're going to stay in the game, don't get out for very long," Baker said, "because the game is always changing. It doesn't take long for your generation to move on from relationships. And that's what baseball is: A relationship."