The Rookies Who Aren't

TheJay — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:00:16 -0000

A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list).

The first part of the definition of a rookie in Major League Baseball is straightforward. Once a player reaches 131 at bats or 50 1/3 innings pitched, he's no longer a rookie. The second part is a little trickier. After all, service time numbers are hard to find. They generally come out once each year, in team media guides. Add in the fact that you have to subtract time in the major leagues after September 1st and on the disabled list and it's even harder to figure out who is truly a rookie.

It has already been mentioned this offseason that Mat Gamel eclipsed 45 days of service time before September. Gamel was recalled from Nashville on May 14th and optioned back on July 20th, giving him 67 days on the active roster during the "period of 25-player limit." So, even though he sits at 130 career at bats, the same number Scott Rolen had going into his Rookie of the Year season, Gamel cannot win the Rookie of the Year award (though that might not stop him from getting votes).

Gamel isn't the only such little-used non-rookie in the Brewers organization. Raise your hand if you realized Hernan Iribarren has 48 days of major league service time, all before September 1. Iribarren spent 20 days on the major league roster in April and June 2008, picking up 14 at bats. He spent 28 days in the majors in 2009, batting a mere 13 times. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict he wasn't going to win the 2010 Rookie of the Year Award anyway.

New Brewer George Kottaras also enters 2010 off the list of rookie players. He spent all of 2009 in the majors with the Red Sox, playing in 45 games with 93 at bats. Though he spent the month of August on the disabled list, he gave up his 2010 rookie status in mid-May.

Gamel, Iribarren, and Kottaras are not the only little-used rookies. Follow the jump for a list of all such position players to appear in the majors in 2008 or 2009. Please note it is lengthy and full of guys who have no chance at winning an award anyway. I will post a list of pitchers in the next few days.

Non-Rookies with 130 or fewer career AB:

Mat Gamel, 130 career AB
Joaquin Arias, 129 AB
Argenis Reyes, 127 AB
Jose Morales, 122 AB
Ivan Ochoa*, 120 AB
Michel Hernandez, 118 AB
Curtis Thigpen*, 118 AB
Ramiro Pena, 115 AB
Josh Whitesell, 115 AB
Luke Carlin, 112 AB
Chris Gimenez, 111 AB
Tyler Greene, 108 AB
Sam Fuld, 103 AB
Reid Brignac, 100 AB
Francisco Cervelli, 99 AB
George Kottaras, 98 AB
Freddy Guzman, 95 AB
Robinson Cancel, 94 AB
Guillermo Rodriguez, 92 AB
Steve Holm, 91 AB
Justin Ruggiano*, 90 AB
Nathan Haynes*, 89 AB
Diory Hernandez, 85 AB
Don Kelly, 83 AB
Dane Sardinha, 80 AB
Luis Maza*, 79 AB
Paul Hoover, 78 AB
Edwin Maysonet, 76 AB
Dusty Ryan, 70 AB
Clint Sammons, 68 AB
Tug Hulett, 67 AB
Drew Sutton, 66 AB
J.R. House*, 60 AB
John Mayberry, 57 AB
Gregorio Petit, 54 AB
Brian Myrow*, 51 AB
Chris Stewart*, 48 AB
Justin Christian*, 40 AB
Travis Denker*, 37 AB
Gustavo Molina*, 34 AB
Hernan Iribarren, 27 AB
Ryan Budde, 23 AB

* - last appeared in the majors in 2008

I warned you. If I missed anyone or included someone who should not be on the list, let me know in the comments.

Brandon Lyon Does His Best Chase Wright Imitation

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:30:09 -0000

Were we a bit hasty with praising the Spring Training performance of the Tigers' bullpen? With the Tigerosphere figuring the back end of the relief corps was spoken for, Fernando Rodney and Brandon Lyon provided anything but relief today against the Boston Red Sox.

Following Edwin Jackson's scoreless four innings to begin the game, Rodney came in and served up three runs on three hits and two walks. But at least he'll be able to say, "Hey, I didn't do what Lyon did out there."

So let's talk about that sixth inning. The first batter Lyon faced was Mike Lowell. Lowell hit a home run. But that's okay. Solo home run. Shake it off, get out of the inning. Take care of Jason Bay. Bay cranked out a homer, too. Back-to-back jacks!

All right, every pitcher has one of those days. Surely, Lyon's teammates will rib him about this. Everyone will have a laugh later on. Let's get out of this inning, okay? But don't sweat it. No one gives up three homers in a row. Up comes Chris Carter. Booyah! Are you kidding? No, sir - we are not. Another ball out of the park, this one to the opposite field.

Okay, this is ridiculous. But let's just take a deep breath and focus. Just concentrate on pitching to the next hitter and get this Ivan Ochoa dude out. Get three outs, get to the dugout, and think about what you want for dinner at BD's Mongolian Barbeque tonight.

What? No. Really. Stop it. Him too? Ochoa hit a home run? Was Lyon still in the game? He was. No, I'm fine... it's just my temples are very painful at the moment. I need to keep my eyes closed. Four straight homers? Bright light suddenly hurts.

Thankfully, this was a Spring Training game. Only two pitchers have ever given up four consecutive homers in a major league regular season game. The last guy to do it was Chase Wright in 2007, pitching for the Yankees against these same Red Sox.

SB Nation - Ivan Ochoa

The Rookies Who Aren't

Brandon Lyon Does His Best Chase Wright Imitation