Fred Dabney got off to a rough start in 1993 at AAA Nashville, and it impacted whether he felt he could do it, he told The Tennessean.
He then came on relief in a May game and picked up his first win of the year, The Tennessean wrote.
"It feels really good to contribute," Dabney told The Tennessean. "I've had so much trouble at times that my confidence has been shot and I haven't even felt part of the team."
Dabney picked up that win in his sixth pro season, his first at AAA. He never made the majors. But he has since gone on to work to help the confidence of other players, as a minor league coach.
Dabney's career began in 1988, taken by the White Sox in the 15th round of the draft out of Seminole State College in Oklahoma.
Dabney started with the White Sox at short-season Utica. He went 9-4 over 19 outings, 13 starts, with a 2.67 ERA.
He moved to single-A South Bend for 1989. He went 11-7 there, with a 2.09 ERA. He made high-A Sarasota for 1990 and 1991, then AA Birmingham for 1992. He went 2-8 there, with a 3.84 ERA over 25 outings, 14 starts.
Dabney made AAA Nashville in 1993, but he didn't see Chicago. He then moved to the Indians and AA Canton-Akron for 1994 and the Cubs and AA Orlando and AAA Iowa for 1995.
At Iowa in June 1995, Dabney after a relief win against Nashville, Dabney spoke to The Tennessean about moving on from the White Sox, noting they'd changed his arm angle.
"A quarter of the way through last season (at Canton-Akron), I started throwing back more overhand. I felt more comfortable with that. I started getting my changeup to work," Dabney told The Tennessean. "It never came around when I was throwing down under."
He returned to Iowa and Orlando for 1996, then played in Taiwan for Mercuries in 1997 to end his career.
Dabney then soon turned to coaching. He served as pitching coach for single-A Savannah in 2000, then AA Huntsville in 2004. He coached at high-A Brevard County from 2005 to 2011, including a stint in 2010 where he was credited as Brewers assistant coach in Milwaukee.
He moved to AAA Colorado Springs for 2015. For 2021, he served as pitching coach at high-A Wisconsin.
Dabney spoke to his hometown Lawton Constitution about his goals in 2015, noting an early coaching discussion he'd had that made him focus on coaching wherever he was.
“Ever since then, I’ve made that my goal," Dabney told The Constitution. "I’m not worried about being in the big leagues. If the situation arises, it arises. If it doesn’t, every day I do my job to the best of my ability and that’s my main thing."
- The Tennessean, May 11, 1993: Sounds win 3rd straight on road, 9-6
- The Tennessean, June 22, 1995: Dabney, Cubs quell Nashville again, 7-6
- Washington Times, Associated Press, Lawton Constitution, July 12, 2015: Lawton High School grad works with Colorado baseball team
Made the Majors:1,285-33.7%
Never Made Majors:2,528-66.3%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors:526
10+ Seasons in the Minors:321-X
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