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