Rick Rhoden Richard Alan Rhoden ( born May 16 , 1953 ) is a professional golfer and was a Major League Baseball pitcher . During his 16 year baseball career , he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers ( 1974 – 1978 ) , Pittsburgh Pirates ( 1979 – 1986 ) and Houston Astros ( 1989 ) of the National League ; and the New York Yankees ( 1987 – 1988 ) of the American League . Early years . Rhoden was born and raised in Boynton Beach , Florida . Rhoden overcame a childhood bone disease , osteomyelitis , and wore a brace until age 12 . He attended Atlantic High School in Delray Beach , Florida , where he was the star pitcher for the school ' s baseball team . He did not attend college after graduating from high school in 1971 , but played minor league baseball in Daytona Beach , El Paso , and Albuquerque until he was called up to the majors in 1974 . Major League Baseball career . Rhoden broke into the big leagues , at the age of 21 , with the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 5 , 1974 . He was elected to the All - Star team twice ( 1976 with the Dodgers and 1986 with the Pirates ) , and won three Silver Slugger awards ( 1984 – 1986 ) . In 413 career games , Rhoden compiled a 151 - 125 record , a 3 . 59 ERA , 1419 strikeouts , and one save . He has also hit nine home runs and had 75 RBIs . His teams made it to the post - season twice during his career : the Dodgers in two consecutives seasons , 1977 and 1978 . In both of those years , the Dodgers reached the World Series against the New York Yankees , but lost in six games each year . Rhoden earned a reputation as an outstanding hitting pitcher . He had an eleven - game hitting streak in 1984 , one of the longest all - time for a pitcher . On June 11 , 1988 , New York Yankees manager Billy Martin made him the Yankees ' starting designated hitter , going 0 - 1 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly . He batted 7th in the lineup , ahead of Rafael Santana and Joel Skinner . He was the first pitcher to start a game at DH since the AL ' s adoption of the DH rule in 1973 . He was pinch hit for by José Cruz in the Yankees ' 8 - 6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles . In his career , Rhoden batted . 238 with 9 home runs and 75 RBI . Rhoden ' s final game was September 29 , 1989 for the Houston Astros . Life after baseball : a second career in golf . Since retiring from baseball in 1989 , Rhoden has spent a lot of time on the golf course . He has qualified for the United States Senior Open , and has become a dominant player on the Celebrity Players Tour . Rhoden has also played a number of Champions Tour events and has three career top - 10 finishes : T - 5 in the 2003 Allianz Championship , T - 6 in the 2006 3M Championship and T - 8 in the 2005 Constellation Energy Classic . His career earnings on the Champions Tour exceed $ 250 , 000 . He became conditionally exempt for the 2006 season . Rhoden ' s 2007 season was scuttled due to neck surgery , forcing him into the Tour ' s 2007 qualifying school . He finished joint first place over the four - day event , earning him a spot into open qualifiers at all regular Champions Tour events in 2008 . Rhoden currently lives in Ponte Vedra Beach , Florida . Rhoden is a regular competitor at the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic , the annual competition to determine the best golfers among American sports and entertainment celebrities . He won the tournament in 1991 , 1993 , 1995 , 1997 , 1999 , 2003 , 2008 and 2009 , and has a total of eighteen top ten finishes . The tournament , televised by NBC in July , is played at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe , Nevada .