Former Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy, who recently announced his retirement from baseball, says one start sticks out more than the rest from his time in Baltimore.
In late August 2017, Bundy was placed on the bereavement list for the death of his grandmother. In his first start back, Bundy threw a one-hit shutout against the Seattle Mariners, striking out 12 and walking two in a 116-pitch masterpiece. It marked the only shutout of his career and one of three complete games.
“I came home for three or four days, flew back the same day of my start,” Bundy recalled on Glenn Clark Radio May 15. “It was against Seattle, and I ended up throwing a complete game shutout — one hit, and that one hit was a [Kyle] Seager bunt in the fourth inning. That game’s going to a hold a special place and I’m always going to remember a lot of details about that game.”
Bundy, 31, retired after pitching in parts of seven major league seasons. He was drafted fourth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft out of the Oklahoma high school ranks and made his big league debut late in the 2012 season. He then ran into myriad health issues, including Tommy John surgery in 2013 and shoulder problems in 2015.
By the time spring training rolled around in 2016, Bundy was out of minor league options and needed to make the major league team or be exposed to waivers. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound right-hander ended up pitching in Baltimore from 2016 to 2019, posting a 4.69 ERA with 602 strikeouts and 205 walks in 612.2 innings during that time.
Bundy has fond memories of his time with the Orioles.
“It’s definitely going to hold a special place because that’s the team that gave me the opportunity out of high school and then also pitch in the big leagues and fulfill that dream,” Bundy said. “That ballpark is so special to me with the warehouse. The fans when you’re doing good there are amazing. Even when you’re doing bad, the fans might not show up as much but they still support the team 100 percent.”
Bundy was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels following the 2019 season for a package of prospects headlined by right-hander Kyle Bradish. He finished ninth in American League Cy Young voting following the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when he recorded a 3.29 ERA in 65.2 innings. However, the 2021 season wasn’t nearly as kind, as he put up a 6.06 ERA in 90.2 innings.
Regardless, Bundy had a chance to rub shoulders with superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, and he enjoyed watching them go about their business.
“The first thing that’s kind of weird is you realize he actually does strike out because every time I pitched against him it seemed like he didn’t,” Bundy said of Trout. “He is very gifted. How hard he hits the ball, how deep he can let the ball travel and still get to the barrel to it, it’s pretty amazing how much of an athlete and how quick-twitch he is.”
“He can show up to the ballpark, pitch seven innings, show up the next day three hours before game time and hit three homers,” Bundy said of Ohtani. “You never know what he’s going to do.”
Bundy became a free agent after the 2021 season and signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins. He posted a 4.89 ERA with 94 strikeouts and 28 walks in 140 innings in 2022, which turned out to be his final big league season. He returned to Baltimore with the Twins for an early May series, and he got a chance to pitch with the benefit of the reconfigured dimensions at Camden Yards.
That didn’t help Bundy during his start, though. He gave up nine runs and didn’t make it out of the fourth inning.
“[Ben McDonald] said something about that when I was at Camden,” Bundy said of the new left field. “I was in the visiting dugout. He was like, ‘Don’t you wish they would’ve done that when you were here?’ I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ And then I go out there and pitch the next day and I think I gave up [nine] earned runs.”
Bundy got hit around in 25 innings of Triple-A ball with the New York Mets in 2023, and that was it. The writing was on the wall, Bundy explained. His fastball velocity was on the decline. So was the health of his arm, so much so that it took two or three hours just to get ready to play catch. He had no interest in bouncing around the minor leagues as a young dad.
So Bundy called it quits, and the one-time top prospect isn’t looking back. He’s full steam ahead with a new career in Oklahoma real estate.
“I don’t look back at any disappointment. Anybody that wants to say I was, I don’t really care what they think,” Bundy said. “My family doesn’t think that, and that’s really all that matters to me. I got to fulfill a big league dream that I had as a little kid. I don’t look at it with any regret at all. I had a fun time doing it.”
For more from Bundy, listen to the full interview here:
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