Dwight Bernard: Former Mets Second Round Draft Pick (1978 - 1979)

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Dwight Bernard was born May 31, 1952, in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The six-foot two right hander attended Belmont University in Nashville Tennessee. In 1974 he was voted district player of the year & still ranks second in school ERA.

In 1974, he was the Mets second round draft pick going 7-4 with the AA Victoria Mets that season. In 1975 he was promoted to AAA Tidewater going 9-9 behind pitchers Craig Swan, Randy Sterling & Bill Laxton. 

Bernard would pitch at AAA Tidewater for four seasons winning nine games again in 1977 going 9-13.

Mets Career:  In 1978 Dwight made it to the depleted Met bullpen. debuting on June 29th in relief against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. On July 30th, in Houston, he blew his first save in taking the loss to the Astros. 

On August 17th, he gave up four runs including a HR to rookie slugger Dave Winfield in a 9-2 loss to the Padres.

In September after collecting his first win, he took three losing decisions to fall to 1-4. In 30 appearances for the last place team, had 26 strike outs & 27 walks in 48 innings posting a 4.31 ERA.

1979: The next year he started the season with the Mets, making 17 appearances posting a 4.50 ERA until late May when he was sent down to AAA Tidewater. There he was 1-3 but posted a solid 1.77 ERA in 33 appearances getting him back to New York by August 1st.

Bernard went 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in 30 appearances for the last place club, allowing 59 hits with 20 strike outs & 26 walks in just 44 innings pitched. 

Post Mets Career: Bernard was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in the off season for pitcher Mark Bomback. Bernard toiled in the minors thru 1981. In that strike shortened season he made six appearances in the regular season & two in the ALDS loss.

In 1982, he was a member of the Brewers AL Championship pennant team, making 47 appearances, with six holds, going went 3-1 with a 3.76 ERA. 

He saved six games, coming on days when Brewer's ace reliever & Hall of Famer, Rollie Fingers was resting. 

1982 Post Season: In the ALCS win over the Angels, he finished off the Game #1 loss in California. 

In the World Series loss to the Cardinals, he pitched a scoreless inning, finishing up the 13-1 Game #6 loss. 

Bernard then pitched in the minors for three more seasons, through 1985.

Career Stats: In his four-year MLB career, he was 4-8 with six saves in 115 games. He struck out 92 batters walked 86 in 176 innings pitched.

Retirement: Bernard has been a long time AAA pitching coaching, within the Seattle Mariners & San Francisco Giants organizations.

Comments

Late 70's Nightmare said…
I didn't know he went on to some success with the 1982 Brewers.But when a team is in a rebuilding stage,its' young prospects take on a higher profile,especially the pitchers.So when I think of the late 70's Mets,the disheveled appearance of this guy jumps to mind as one symbol of a team going nowhere and repulsive to watch: the wonderful Mets uniform graced for a decade by the clean-cut Tom Terrific,then sullied by a weirdo who better brings back memories of those other 1969 events like Woodstock and John Lennon's bed-ins.He's one of those "2-name basis" guys: Say "Dwight Bernard" to anyone who remembers that time and only instant chuckling is the normal response.
December 7, 2012 at 12:28 PM
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