David Arthur McNally (October 31, 1942 – December 1, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1962 through 1975, most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynasty that won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1966 and 1971. A three-time All-Star, McNally won 20 or more games for four consecutive seasons from 1968 through 1971. He was one of four 20-game winners for the 1971 Orioles (Pat Dobson, Jim Palmer, and Mike Cuellar were the other three), the last team as of 2025 to have four 20-win pitchers on the same roster.
Born in Billings, Montana, McNally was raised by his mother after his father died in the Battle of Okinawa. He was signed by the Orioles out of high school in 1960 and made his major league debut two years later, throwing a shutout in his first game in the major leagues. From 1963 through 1965, he continued to refine his pitches while securing his grip on a starting spot in the Orioles' rotation. He made two starts in the 1966 World Series, the second of which was a shutout that gave the Orioles a 4–0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. McNally was bothered by a calcium deposit in his elbow in 1967; the injury limited his playing time in the second half of the season. He was named the Comeback Player of the Year in 1968 as he finished second in the American League with 22 wins.
McNally was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time in 1969, finishing the season with 20 wins. He threw 11 shutout innings to beat the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of the first AL Championship Series, then faced the New York Mets twice in the 1969 World Series. He hit a home run against Jerry Koosman in one of the games, but the Orioles were defeated in five games. In 1970, McNally tied for the AL lead with 24 wins. He hit a grand slam in Game 3 of the 1970 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming a World Series victor for the second time as the Orioles won the World Series in five games. He missed six weeks with an injury in 1971 but still pitched enough to be one of four Orioles to win 20 games that season. McNally beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 1 of the 1971 World Series, lost Game 5, and won Game 6 in relief, but the Orioles were defeated in seven games.
In 1972, McNally was named to the All-Star Game for the third time. He finished the year with his first losing record since 1964, though this was partly due to the Orioles scoring fewer runs than they had the previous year. In 1973 and 1974, he faced the Oakland Athletics in the playoffs but lost both games he pitched. Thinking he needed a change of scenery, McNally requested a trade after the 1974 season; the Orioles obliged, sending him to the Montreal Expos, with whom he played one final year before retiring halfway through 1975, citing an inability to throw the fastball. After the 1975 season, he added his name to a grievance filed against the reserve clause, which resulted in the historic Seitz decision that created free agency in baseball. McNally returned to his hometown Billings and worked as a car dealer until his death from cancer in 2002. A member of the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame, he is among the franchise's leaders in many statistical categories.
McNally was born on October 31, 1942, in Billings, Montana. Before his third birthday, his father, James, died in the Battle of Okinawa. Betsy, his widow, worked in a welfare office to support the family; Dave was the youngest of four children. He attended Billings Central Catholic High School, but since the school did not field a baseball team, his baseball experience in his young adult years came with the Billings Royals, an American Legion team. The Royals were in the midst of winning 14 straight state championships when McNally played with them, and the team reached the Legion World Series in two of his years with them. In 1960, McNally had an 18–1 record as a pitcher. Both the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers recruited him; McNally signed with the Orioles a month before his 18th birthday, in September 1960. He later quipped that, had he known how many young pitching prospects the Orioles had, he would have signed with the Dodgers instead. Jim Russo, the scout who signed him, also signed Jim Palmer and Boog Powell for the Orioles.
The Orioles had McNally pitch in an instructional league in fall of 1960, then assigned him to the Victoria Rosebuds of the Class AA Texas League in 1961. McNally struggled against the competition, losing three of his four starts and posting a 6.16 earned run average (ERA) before the Orioles reassigned him to the Fox Cities Foxes of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. At Fox Cities, McNally still had a losing record (8–10) but his ERA dropped to 4.18 in 25 games.
With the Class A Elmira Pioneers of the Eastern League in 1962, McNally was the team's best player. He tied with Wilbur Wood and Sonny Siebert for second in the league with 15 wins (behind Paul Seitz, who had 16), ranked second with 195 strikeouts (behind Bob Heffner with 234), tied John Pregenzer for eighth with 196 innings pitched, tied Bill Hands and Pregenzer for third with four shutouts (behind Steve Dalkowski with six and Richard Slomkowski with five), and had a 3.08 ERA.
Cementing a spot in the Major Leagues (1962–65)
Following his season with Elmira, McNally was a September callup by the Orioles in 1962; he got one start with the team. On September 26, he pitched the first game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Athletics. "I was scared to death," McNally later recalled, but he threw a shutout, limiting the Athletics to two hits in nine innings.
In an interview prior to the start of the 1963 season, Baltimore manager Billy Hitchcock listed McNally among a group of prospects that could provide "whatever else is needed" for Baltimore's pitching staff. An injury to Dalkowski helped McNally make the team as a left-handed reliever. After one game out of the bullpen, he made an emergency start for an injured Chuck Estrada on April 20, limiting the Cleveland Indians to one run in a complete game, 7–1 victory. He won his first two starts, but after giving up seven runs and five runs in his next two, respectively, he was moved back to the bullpen, where he was used as a reliever through the beginning of June. Then, Estrada was placed on the disabled list on June 8 due to a bone spur and calcium deposits in his elbow. McNally replaced him in the rotation on June 12 and was used as a starter the rest of the year. He took a no decision on June 12 but held the New York Yankees to two runs (one earned) over 7+1⁄3 innings in a 3–2 loss. On August 22, he threw a complete game against the California Angels, striking out eight while giving up one run in a 5–1 victory. In 29 games (20 starts) his rookie year, McNally had a 7–8 record, a 4.58 ERA, 78 strikeouts, 55 walks, and 133 hits allowed in 125+2⁄3 innings pitched. Following the 1963 season, McNally furthered his development by pitching winter ball in Puerto Rico.
McNally was used as a starter through most of 1964. On May 12, he threw a shutout and allowed just two hits in a 5–0 victory over the Washington Senators. He also threw a shutout against Kansas City on June 2 in a 4–0 victory. Through August 15, he had a 7–10 record and a 3.89 ERA in 22 games, all but one of which were starts. Thereafter, he was mostly used out of the bullpen, starting just two more games the rest of the year. One of them, the second game of a September 7 doubleheader against Kansas City, was one of the shortest starts of his career; he faced four batters, all of whom scored in the Orioles' 6–1 defeat. In the other, on October 1, he threw a shutout against the Senators, throwing a no-hitter until Don Lock hit a double in the seventh inning. In 30 games (23 starts), he had a 9–11 record, a 3.67 ERA, 88 strikeouts, 51 walks, and 157 hits allowed in 159+1⁄3 innings. His three shutouts tied with five other pitchers for ninth in the American League (AL).