The protected lists are in and the 15th Diamond Mind Baseball Draft is just around the corner! To celebrate, Did You Know asks the tough questions about players eligible for the upcoming DMBL season.

Making a Special Appearance

How many players are eligible this year, anyway?

There are 683 players eligible: 320 batters and 363 pitchers (163 starters, 190 relievers and 10 swing men). Of the batters, there are 40 eligible at catcher; 63 at first base; 60 at second base; 55 at third base; 52 at shortstop; 133 at outfield; and just one (Travis Hafner) eligible only at DH. (Remember several players are eligible at two or more positions, so it adds up to more than 320 batters.) Of the catchers, seven can only be used as catchers; they had enough plate appearances to qualify as catchers, but not as general hitters.

Speaking of which, before the start of last season, the DMBL adopted a new rule to determine batter eligibility. Instead of using at-bats, the standard became plate appearances. (The number remained the same: 200 for catchers, 250 for everybody else).

This year, 23 players (including four catchers) are eligible under the new plate-appearance rule; that's up from last year, when 20 "extra" players (also including four catchers) got in. This year, David Newhan was just one plate appearance shy of making it, with 218 at-bats, 22 walks, 2 hit-by-pitch, five sac bunts and two sac flies adding up to 249 plate appearances. But since he hit .202 with a .591 OPS, no one would have drafted him anyway... The catcher who came closest, Dioner Navarro, would have garnered more attention: In his 199 plate appearances, he hit .273 with a .729 OPS, and is only 21 years old. Maybe next year!

The pitching eligibility rule has remained the same for years: 10 starts for starting pitchers, and 30 games (at least 10 in relief) for relievers. Four starters just missed the cut, with only nine starts. (Joaquin Benoit also had nine starts, but he's eligible as a reliever thanks to his 32 appearances, 23 in relief.) Of the four, Darrell May (1-4, 6.78 ERA, 14.9 R/9) and Paul Wilson (1-5, 7.77 ERA, 17.3 R/9) wouldn't have received any consideration anyway, but there likely would have been a lot of interest in Scott Baker (3-3, 3.35 ERA, 10.4 R/9 in 10 games, 9 starts) and Aaron Small (10-0, 3.20 ERA, 11.8 R/9 in 15 games, 9 starts) if they'd only made one more start!

Six relievers had 29 appearances, one shy of making it; but no one's missing out on much. Tommy Phelps had the best ERA of the group, at 4.63.

That Age-Old Question

Who's the youngest eligible player this year?

SP Felix Hernandez, who was born April 8, 1986. That's right -- he'll still be a teenager at the start of the 2006 season! The right-handed rookie won't turn 20 until several weeks after the draft, where he would have been a lock for the first-round (4-4, 2.67 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 12 starts) -- if he hadn't been protected by the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen. GM Brent Campbell presciently selected Hernandez, an ineligible Double-A player at the time, with the first pick in the fourth round (#43 overall), in last year's draft... The next-youngest player will be available in the draft: Rookie RP Marcos Carvajal, who enters the 2006 season as a 21-year-old (born Aug. 19, 1984). He posted a 5.09 ERA, though, so age is all he has going for him.

The oldest player, for the billionth year in a row, is 1B Julio Franco. The ageless wonder will turn 48 this summer (born Aug. 23, 1958). He's the last active player born in the 1950s! Oddly enough, the second-oldest player is -- no relation -- John Franco. The lefty reliever as born Sept. 17, 1960, so he will spend almost the entire 2006 season as a mere 45-year-old. The two Francos are joined by 20 other players who are at least 40 this season -- 16 pitchers and just six batters (Craig Biggio, Jeff Conine, Steve Finley, Rafael Palmeiro, B.J. Surhoff and Julio Franco). Oddly enough, of the 16 players who start the year at age 22 or younger, just two -- Jeff Francouer and Brian McCann -- are batters.

One final piece of age-related trivia: The average eligible player is 30.1 years old this season.

The Freshman Class

How many rookies are there this year?

Well, I'm not going to steal Phil Plantier's Rookie Watch thunder, but I will tell you there are 114 of 'em -- 53 batters and 61 pitchers. A player has rookie status, you will recall, if this is his first year of eligibility in the DMBL, regardless of whether he's ever been drafted. Therefore, some guys are rookies (like Joe Mauer) even though they've been on a team's roster for a couple years, while others (like Tanyon Sturtze) aren't rookies even though they've never made a DMBL team.

The gold medal for oldest rookie goes to reliever Dae-Sung Koo, who will turn 38 this season (born Aug. 2, 1968). Koo has been eligible in the Korea DMBL since 1993, when he made his debut with the Hanwha Eagles, and in the Japanese DMBL since 2001, when he pitched 51 games for the Orix Blue Wave. The silver and bronze go to two other imports from the Far East, reliever Keiichi Yabu (Sept. 28, 1968) and outfielder So Taguchi (July 2, 1969).

The flip side of the coin is the youngest non-rookie: SP Zack Greinke, who won't turn 23 until the end of next season (born Oct. 21, 1983). Greinke was drafted as a 20-year-old prospect by Philly in the 6th round (#76) of the 2004 draft, then protected him entering last season. But Greinke wasn't protected after bombing as a rookie with the Animals (9-11, 5.30 ERA).

Never Give Up

What award did Mark Sweeney win this year?

Sweeney won two dubious honors: He is the oldest rookie (born Oct. 26, 1969) not from the Japanese League, and he also wins the Jeff Reboulet Perseverance Award as the DMBL rookie with the most MLB experience. (Jeff Reboulet played 11 MLB seasons -- 925 games, 1,968 at-bats -- before finally becoming eligible at age 39 for the 2004 season. His life's ambition accomplished, Reboulet then retired. However, he never made a DMBL roster.) Most people are familiar with Mike Sweeney, a long-time member of the Tijuana Banditos who has been eligible in the DMBL for eight seasons; this is the other Sweeney, who played in 765 MLB games (1,135 at-bats) over 10 seasons, for six different teams, before finally becoming eligible this season. And Sweeney still didn't make it easy on himself, with just 221 at-bats; he's eligible this year because of the rule, adopted in 2004, that changed eligibility from 250 at-bats to 250 plate appearances. (More on that rule later.) Sweeney's 40 walks pushed him over the top.

Todd Pratt, meanwhile, remains the player with the most MLB service time still not eligible for the DMBL. Pratt made his MLB debut in 1992, racking up 600 games and 1,477 at-bats, but never enough in one season to get into a DMBL game. Adding to Pratt's frustration is the fact that, as a catcher, he needs just 200 plate appearances to qualify, but still can't make it. This year he missed by just 4 plate appearances! Hang in there, Todd: You've got a shot this year via the Tom Prince Rule. The bad news, though, is the rule -- which makes an extra player eligible if no other free agents are available at that position -- has never been needed. 

You're Still Here?

What members of the Class of 1991 are still eligible?

Yes, like World War I veterans and KISS fans, every year there are fewer of them, yet they still haven't gone away completely. Just four players have been eligible in every DMBL season way back to our inaugural 1991 season: Craig Biggio, then a catcher with the Vancouver Ironfist (.345, .799 OPS in 142 AB); Austin Outlaws SP Roger Clemens (14-8, 3.26 ERA); Austin 1B Rafael Palmeiro (.297, .741 OPS in 377 AB); and Newark Crimewave SP David Wells (8-16, 4.23 ERA). Biggio, Clemens and Palmeiro have played in every DMBL season, while Wells, who has been eligible every year, didn't appear in a game in 1992... The list was shortened by two this year, with Barry Bonds and Marquis Grissom failing to make the cut for the first time in league history. Grissom, though eligible every season since the league started, didn't make a roster in '91 or from '99-02; Bonds, on the other hand, had played in every DMBL season, all for Arkansas.

In addition to Biggio, Clemens, Palmeiro and Wells, there are six other players are eligible this year, 15 years after playing in the DMBL's inaugural season: John Franco (Newark Crimewave), Julio Franco (Vancouver), Ken Griffey Jr. (Vancouver), Randy Johnson (Maine Lobsters), Gary Sheffield (Newark Crimewave) and B.J. Surhoff (Austin). John Smoltz was eligible and was drafted by Vancouver, but didn't make an appearance that year. Each of these players, including Smoltz, wasn't eligible at least once after the 1991 season, however.

In addition to Bonds, other Class of '91 players not eligible this year this year are Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez and Ruben Sierra. Unlike Bonds, however, each has missed being eligible at least once before.

Name Dropping

What's the most popular name this year?

This year's winner among last names is Hernandez, with seven eligible players sharing it: Felix, Jose, Livan, Orlando, Ramon, Roberto, and Runelvys. (Where have you gone, Xavier Hernandez?) Tied for second place, with six, are Johnson (Dan, Jason, Kelly, Nick, Randy, and Reed), Rodriguez (Alex, Felix, Francisco, Ivan, Ricardo, and Wandy) and Williams (Bernie, Dave, Jerome, Randy, Todd, and Woody). The Johnsons missed their chance at a first-place tie thanks to Charles Johnson, who wasn't eligible for the first time in 10 seasons.

Next, with five, comes Gonzalez (Alex, Alex S., Luis, Luis A., and Mike) and Walker (Jamie, Larry, Pete, Todd, and Tyler);  followed with four by Jones (Andruw, Chipper, Jacque, and Todd), Lee (Carlos, Cliff, Derrek and Travis), Lopez (Felipe, Javier, Javy, and Rodrigo) and Perez (Antonio, Neifi, Odalis, and Oliver). Tied for 11th place were 13 last names shared by three players, including the Molina brothers (Bengie, Jose and Yadier). 

While most of the last names end in a "z", most of the first names are anglicized. The most popular first name is Mike, with 28 players sharing that name (including four who prefer to be known as Michael, but not including the five who go by Miguel). Next is Jason, shared by 21 players (including Jayson Werth but not Jason "Jay" Payton). Then there's 14 named John; 13 named David or Mark; 12 named Ryan or Scott (including the letter-challenged Scot Shields); and 11 named Brian, Chris or Matt. The most popular Hispanic first name is Jose, with 12 players using it; no other Hispanic first name cracks double digits.

Did You Know that Gregg Jefferies set the record for most DMBL franchises played for when he retired in 1999? The former Columbia Crusader, Arkansas Golden Falcon, Waikiki Key, Jerusalem Rabbi, Honolulu Shark, Carolina Mudcat, Newark Sugar Bear, Hawaii Volcano and Vancouver Iron Fist also has the distinction of having played for all three franchises located in the 50th state. Jefferies hit .283 (.734 OPS) in 2,392 at bats over eight DMBL seasons. Click Here for past articles.