October 7, 2010 

Welcome to a brand-new edition of Rookie Watch with Phil Plantier. Better late than never -- it's time to name this year's winner of the totally unofficial Jeff Reboulet Perseverance Award!

Reboulet!

The Jeff Reboulet Perseverance Award recognizes the Diamond Mind Baseball League rookie who has finally achieved eligibility after logging the most MLB service time. (To paraphrase Crash Davis, it's "a dubious honor.")

The Reboulet was first awarded, fittingly enough, to Jeff Reboulet, who in 2004 -- at age 39 --  finally became eligible for the DMBL, after toiling for 11 seasons, 925 games and 1,968 at-bats in "the minors," aka MLB. Reboulet still holds the record, as far as we know, for most seasons, games played and at-bats before achieving DMBL eligiblity.

John Bale This year's winner is, for the first time, a pitcher -- 36-year-old left-handed reliever John Bale. This year Bale had the earliest MLB debut (1999) and most seasons played (6) of any rookie before becoming eligible. Bale, who has pitched for Toronto, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Kansas City, came tantalizing close a few times -- he had 9 starts in 2003, and 26 relief appearances in 2007 -- but it took until this season for him to finally reach the show. Bale appeared in 66 MLB games and logged 145.1 IP -- not including the 206 games and 561.2 innings he pitched in the minors, and the three years he pitched for Hiroshima Toyo Carp -- before finally breaking through this year with 43 appearances. Unfortunately for John, no one drafted him -- I guess his 5.72 ERA wasn't too appealing. Another fun fact about John Bale: The Blue Jays traded him to the Orioles for Jayson Werth in 2000, and then two years later the Orioles traded him to the Mets for Gary Matthews Jr.

JEFF REBOULET PERSEVERANCE AWARD WINNERS
2010
John Bale
MLB debut: 1999 (6 seasons)
66 games, 145.1 innings
2009
Augie Ojeda
MLB debut: 2000 (6 seasons)
235 games, 488 at-bats
2008
Jack Cust
MLB debut: 2001 (5 seasons)
70 games, 144 at-bats
2007
David Ross
MLB debut: 2002 (4 seasons)
169 games, 424 at-bats
2006
Mark Sweeney
MLB debut: 1995 (10 seasons)
765 games, 1,135 at-bats
2005
Pedro Feliz
MLB debut: 2000 (4 seasons)
264 games, 608 at-bats
2004
Jeff Reboulet
MLB debut: 1992 (11 seasons)
925 games, 1,968 at-bats

Other rookies who have played at least three years in MLB before finally becoming eligible this year for DMBL: RP Jason Bulger (2005 MLB debut: played 4 seasons, 31 G, 34.0 IP before becoming eligible this year); IF Alberto Callaspo (2006: 3 seasons, 153 G, 399 AB); OF Rajai Davis (2006: 3 seasons, 208 G, 418 AB); OF Tony Gwynn Jr. (2006: 3 seasons, 130 G, 242 AB); IF Anderson Hernandez (2005: 4 seasons, 63 G, 168 AB); C Koyie Hill (2003: 5 seasons, 96 G, 231 AB); P Jeff Karstens (2006: 3 seasons, 24 G, 108.2 IP); SP Justin Lehr (2004: 3 seasons, 66 G, 83.0 IP); RP Dan Meyer (2004: 3 seasons, 19 G, 46.0 IP); 1B Kendry Morales (2006: 3 seasons, 127 G, 377 AB); C Wil Nieves (2002: 5 seasons, 131 G, 319 AB); OF Angel Pagan (2006: 3 seasons, 179 G, 409 AB); OF Ryan Raburn (2004: 3 seasons, 153 G, 349 AB); IF Ryan Roberts (2006: 3 seasons, 18 G, 27 AB); IF Luis Rodriguez (2005: 4 seasons, 270 G, 647 AB); SP Eric Stults (2006: 3 seasons, 25 G, 95.0 IP); OF Joe Thurston (2002: 5 seasons, 59 G, 66 AB); OF Delwyn Young (2006: 3 seasons, 110 G, 165 AB); and IF/OF Ben Zobrist (2006: 3 seasons, 145 G, 478 AB).

Not This Year...

Then we have those players for whom the Reboulet -- and DMBL eligiblity -- remains out of reach. The usual candidates are utility infielders, back-up catchers and speedy outfielders -- guys who are useful to have on the bench but don't play nearly enough to become eligible for the DMBL. Raul ChavezThis year's poster boy is, for the second straight year, Raul Chavez. The 37-year-old catcher broke into the bigs in 1996 and has played parts of 11 seasons in MLB -- but has never been eligible for the DMBL, even with the reduced catcher eligibility rule (200 plate appearances). Chavez came close this season, with 168 plate appearances -- his second-highest total after his 176 in 2004. He's been a Blue Jay, Pirate, Oriole, Astro, Mariner and Expo over his 263-game career, with a .231/.266/.304 line in 680 ABs. Hang in there, Raul!

Others who have played at least five MLB seasons, including 2009, but are still waiting for a chance in DMBL: 1B Kevin Barker (1999: 5 seasons, 126 G, 285 AB); SS Eric Bruntlett (2003: 7 seasons, 512 G, 789 AB); C Jamie Burke (2003: 7 seasons, 190 G, 390 AB); C Kevin Cash (2002: 7 seasons, 197 G, 527 AB); RP Mike Gosling (2004: 5 seasons, 58 G, 117.0 IP); RP Sean Henn (2005: 5 seasons, 60 G, 81.0 IP); C Paul Hoover (2001: 6 seasons, 31 G, 78 AB); 1B Justin Huber (2009: 5 seasons, 72 G, 161 AB); C Corky Miller (2001: 9 seasons, 167 G, 430 AB); 2B Pete Orr (2005: 5 seasons, 347 G, 519 AB); C Brayan Pena (2005: 5 seasons, 135 G, 292 AB); C Paul Phillips (2004: 6 seasons, 79 G, 198 AB); 1B Robb Quinlan (2003: 7 seasons, 435 G, 1079 AB); 2B Omar Quintanilla (2005: 5 seasons, 216 G, 500 AB); C Humberto Quintero (2003: 7 seasons, 212 G, 548 AB); C Guillermo Quiroz (2004: 6 seasons, 99 G, 248 AB); IF Cody Ransom (2001: 7 seasons, 197 G, 262 AB); 2B Jason Smith (2001: 9 seasons, 278 G, 576 AB); OF Andres Torres (2002: 5 seasons, 164 G, 409 AB); 1B Andy Tracy (2000: 5 seasons, 149 G, 277 AB); and OF Dewayne Wise (2000: 7 seasons, 324 G, 610 AB).

Phil Plantier, one of the top prospects of the last decade, was picked by baseball guru Bill James in 1991 as the player most likely to lead the majors in HRs during the 1990s. In 1994, at age 24, he hit 47 round-trippers with 118 RBIs for the Charleston Chiefs, his first and last DMBL season. He's currently an analyst for www.dmbl.us. Click Here for past articles.