"In truth, young David could never get enough of the Yankees. Hungry for more, he would dig through the closet for his father's scrapbooks and pore over the tattered, yellowed newspaper clippings. There was much to be found in these archives: Yankee tradition runs deep in the Righetti family. David's paternal grandmother, Stella, now 92, grew up in San Francisco as a schoolmate and next-door neighbor of Tony Lazzeri, the great Yankee second baseman of the late 1920s and '30s" (Sports Illustrated, April 16, 1990)

Born in San Jose, CA, Dave Righetti was a left-handed pitcher from 1979 through 1995 for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Chicago White Sox. He served as the pitching coach for the Giants from 2000 through 2017. His nickname is "Rags".

Righetti began his career as a starting pitcher, but the Yankees converted him into a relief pitcher, using him as their closer, in 1984. He won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award in 1981. As a starter, he threw a no-hitter on July 4, 1983. As a closer, he was twice named the AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year and pitched in two MLB All-Star Games. He was the first player in history to both pitch a no-hitter and also lead the league in saves in his career.

Dave set a new major league record for saves in a season in 1986 with 46, breaking the mark then held by Dan Quisenberry and Bruce Sutter. On September 11 of that season at Toronto, Dave saved both ends of a doubleheader. He did it again on the last day of the season, October 4, at Fenway Park.

"Righetti is an all-time, all-time Yankee great," said George Steinbrenner. "Not too many carry that tag. Few players have ever been more loyal to the Yankees. Give me a man with a great sense of loyalty, because he'll do anything to win."

Dave's father, Leo Righetti was a professional baseball player, and his brother, Steven Righetti, was a minor league 3B in the Texas Rangers chain 1977-1979.

(excerpted from SABR BR Bullpen, and Wikipedia)