Hall of Scrubs

The 2009 baseball season is a week underway and fans are undoubtedly projecting the stats of all players based on the results of the first week.  For example, players who have hit 4 homers in the first week will certainly lead the league in homers by the end of the year.  Optimism is running high, but reality sets in by the end of the month.

 This calls to mind an extreme case of the opening week success story.  In 1994, Tuffy Rhodes won the starting center field job for the Chicago Cubs and amazingly hit 3 home runs on opening day.  He became an instant favorite among Cubs fans and he was subsequently picked up in every single baseball fantasy league.  Unfortuantely, he hit only 5 more home runs the rest of the year and eventually lost his starting job.  After struggling in minimal at bats in 1995, he ended his major league career.  In the US, that is….

The story and legend of Tuffy Rhodes grew outside of the United States.  He launched a Japanese career in which he has become one of the all-time great sluggers.  Still playing today, he has hit 444 homers in Japan and currently ranks 12th all-time.

That is certainly better than the 13 homers he hit during his major league career with the Cubs, Astros and Red Sox.

He did try to return to the major leagues in 2006, but retired after being released by the Reds during Spring Training.

You can view Tuffy’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Tuffy’s stats

Danny Boone played three years in the majors as a lefty middle reliever.  He was a top prospect after being  drafted by the Angels in the 2nd round in 1976.  It was the 5th time he had been drafted.  He opted not to sign the first four times.

The Angels gave up on him in 1980 and released him.  The Padres picked him up and he rewarded them with a great year out of the bullpen in 1981.  He had a 2.84 ERA and 2 saves.  Danny struggled in 1982 and the Padres traded him in mid-season to the Astros for Joe Pittman.  He finished the year with 2 saves, but had a 4.71 ERA.

Danny was back in the minors in 1983, and was out of baseball by 1984.  He came back to play in the Senior Professional Baseball League in 1989 and 1990 and impressed the major league scouts.  He got a contract with the Orioles and pitched for them in 1990 at the age 36.  He pitched in only 9 innings and had a 2.79 ERA.

Danny is also a direct descendant of the explorer Daniel Boone.  It is often reported incorrectly that the Ray/Bob/Bret/Aaron Boones were related to this explorer, too.  There is no relation.

You can view Danny’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Danny’s Stats

Joe Pittman was a weak hitting utility infielder who broke in with the Astros in 1981 after spending 6 years in the minors.   He hit .281 that year in 135 at bats.

Houston traded him to San Diego for Danny Boone in 1982.  He hit only .254 for the Padres and was demoted to AAA.

 He spent 1983 in the minors and was traded to the Giants in the off-season for Champ Summers. 

 In 1984, Joe hit .227 in his last major league year.  He finished his career with 0 homers and 16 RBI. 

Joe resurfaced in 1990 as a member of the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the Senior Professional Baseball League.   He finished that year hitting .258 with 11 RBI.  So, he did not get better with age.

 You can vie Joe’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Joe’s stats

Enos Cabell enjoyed a long career in which he started for many years at third base for the Astros. Houston fans may dispute his induction into the Hall of Scrubs, but as a Detroit fan, I remember him only as a weak hitting first baseman. He was supposedly a great clubhouse guy who kept everyone in line and he was a good defensive player.

Enos recently appeared in the news because he is being sued by Vince Young for trying to register the “Invincible” trademark. I would never think those two athletes would ever be connected.

Enos played most of his career for Houston. After struggling in 1980 by hitting .272 with only 2 homers, he was traded to San Francisco. After playing part-time for one year with the Giants, he was shipped to Detroit for Champ Summers (the man who beat Jimmy Conners in a youth tennis tournament). For Detroit, he provided some stability at first base. However, after the 1983 season, the Tigers decided to sign Darrell Evans to be the new first baseman and let Enos go back to the Astros.

Enos was traded once again in 1985 to the Dodgers where he finished his career playing with one of his cousins - Ken Landreaux. Enos actually has two cousins who played baseball. Dick Davis is the other one. But Dick and Ken are not cousins. Quite complicated.

You can view Enos Cabell’s statistics at www.baseball-reference.com:

Enos’ Stats

When people think of Julio Gonzalez, they typically envision the famous boxer or the Spanish-born French abstract sculpter or even the infamous Cuban-born warehouse worker who became an arsonist.  Few people recall one of the scrubbiest Julio Gonzalez’s of all-time.  This Julio played shortstop for the Astros, Cardinals and Tigers in the late seventies and early eighties.

Julio sported a thick mustache and was often mistaken for Aurelio Lopez when he playd briefly for the Tigers in ‘83.  He was a hefty, slick-fielding shortstop who could not hit the baseball.

 Julio was given a shot to start for the Astros in ‘77, but only managed to hit .245.  He scuffled for several more years until he was shipped off to the Cardinals in 1981.  He played sparingly for the Cards before being released and picked up by the Tigers in 1983.  The Tigers kept him in Evansville most of the year.  He was called up when Alan Trammell went down with injuries.  He managed to hit .183 in 21 at bats.  Thats only 3 hits for those who are counting.

 You can view Julio’s stats at www.baseball-reference.com:

Julio’s stats