Friday, April 27, 2012

All-Time Bluefield Team - Arthur Rhodes

The next member of the All-Time Bluefield-to-the-Bigs Team to be featured on the 'ol blog is lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes, whose 20-year career culminated in a 2011 season in which he won the World Series with the Cardinals.

Born on October 24, 1962 in Waco, Texas, Rhodes is probably the third-greatest #53 in baseball history behind Don Drysdale and Bobby Abreu. Other Wacoites to make the majors include Lance Berkman, Schoolboy Rowe, Al Jackson and Andy Hawkins. Rhodes shares a birthday with fellow 2011 champion Cardinal Rafael Furcal, Eric Hosmer, Ron Gardenhire, and Louis "Chief" Sockalexis, MLB's first Native American player.

* I guessed that people from Waco were called Wacoites and was correct on the first try. I am proud of myself.

Rhodes was drafted in the second round of the 1988 draft by the Orioles and was immediately assigned to Bluefield. He made seven starts and four relief appearances for the Baby Birds, posting a 3-4 record and 3.31 ERA. He struck out 44 batters in 35.1 innings (an 11.2 K/9 ratio) and allowed only 29 hits (7.4 per 9).

He began to move up the minor-league ladder. At Double-A Hagerstown (the Suns are now the Nats' low-A team in the Sally League) he won the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year award in 1991.

That earned him a call-up to the majors to finish out the season. He made his big league debut for the O's at Texas on August 21, 1991. He gave up three runs in a four-inning start with the first two Ranger tallies scoring on wild pitches. He went without a win in his eight starts for Baltimore that year, running up an 8.00 ERA.

He began '92 at Triple-A Rochester, but worked his way back to the bigs in July, winning his first start for the Orioles with 7.2 innings of two-run ball. He was much better than the previous year, going 7-5 with a 3.63 ERA. Nine of his 15 starts were "quality starts," including this complete-game five-hit shutout at Yankee Stadium.

That blanking was his 12th career game. He's the last visiting pitcher to shut out the Yankees within his first 12 outings:

Rk Gcar Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER BB SO GSc
1 12 Arthur Rhodes 1992-07-29 BAL NYY W 6-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 5 0 0 2 8 83
2 10 Ed Correa 1986-05-02 TEX NYY W 7-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 3 0 0 5 9 85
3 9 Ron Romanick 1984-05-20 CAL NYY W 3-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 3 0 0 3 4 82
4 12 Matt Young 1983-06-03 SEA NYY W 5-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 2 0 0 2 8 89
5 9 Brian Denman 1982-10-02 BOS NYY W 5-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 6 0 0 1 2 76
6 1 Billy Rohr 1967-04-14 BOS NYY W 3-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 1 0 0 5 2 82
7 6 Jim Lonborg 1965-05-19 BOS NYY W 3-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 4 0 0 3 0 76
8 1 Luis Tiant 1964-07-19 (2) CLE NYY W 3-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 4 0 0 4 11 86
9 12 Don Ferrarese 1956-05-12 BAL NYY W 1-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 2 0 0 1 8 90
10 10 Bob Cain 1950-05-04 CHW NYY W 15-0 SHO9 ,W 9.0 5 0 0 5 4 76
11 8 Les Mueller 1945-05-31 DET NYY W 2-0
9.0 2 0 0 2 3 84
12 9 Milo Candini 1943-06-23 (1) WSH NYY W 8-0
9.0 6 0 0 1 4 78
13 3 Spike Merena 1934-09-24 BOS NYY W 5-0
9.0 4 0 0 4 2 77
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/27/2012.

Billy Rohr's 1967 game was his major league debut. He outdueled Whitey Ford and was one strike away from a no-hitter, but Elston Howard singled to break it up.


Rhodes took big steps back in 1993 and 1994. Over the next two and a half years in the O's rotation, he walked nearly five batters per nine innings on the way to a 6.47 ERA.

Things turned around on July 13, 1995 when he was called on to relieve Mike Mussina, who had given up six runs and was knocked out in the first inning. Rhodes shut down the Royals, allowing the Orioles to come all the way back from a 6-0 deficit. He retired 20 of 22 at one point before allowing a solo homer to '94 AL Rookie of the Year Bob Hamelin*. He stood to get the win, but KC came back against Doug Jones to win it in the ninth.

* Hamelin was also a second rounder in 1988, taken by the Royals 14 picks after Baltimore chose Rhodes. Hamelin beat out Manny Ramirez, Jim Edmonds and Rusty Greer, among others for the ROY award. The Royals DH had 2.6 bWAR in that first season and was on his way to being the best player from that round. He hit .235 with 41 homers and -0.2 bWAR over the next four seasons and was finished professionally at 31. Rhodes, who had -1.4 bWAR in his first five seasons, pitched for 16 more years after serving up that home run.

He found a home in the bullpen. After getting the start in his first 59 games, all but two of his last 841 came in relief.

After a good 1996 postseason in which he allowed one run on three hits in five games, he had an excellent '97 season. Rhodes struck out 102 in 95.1 innings while registering an ERA+ of 146. He even received some down-ballot MVP votes and finished 20th.

The lefty signed with Seattle after the 1999 season. He had spent the first nine years of his big league career with Baltimore and only seven pitchers have pitched more than nine seasons for the Orioles:


S C F Yrs ▾ From To ASG W L ERA G GS IP ERA+
Jim Palmer HOF S C F 19 1965 1984 6 268 152 2.86 558 521 3948.0 125
Mike Flanagan S - F 15 1975 1992 1 141 116 3.89 450 328 2317.2 100
Dave McNally S - - 13 1962 1974 3 181 113 3.18 412 384 2652.2 107
Scott McGregor S C F 13 1976 1988 1 138 108 3.99 356 309 2140.2 98
Tippy Martinez - - - 11 1976 1986 1 52 40 3.46 499 0 752.1 112
Dennis Martinez S - - 11 1976 1986 0 108 93 4.16 319 243 1775.0 93
Mike Mussina S - - 10 1991 2000 5 147 81 3.53 288 288 2009.2 130
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/26/2012.

After a so-so 2000 regular season to begin his Mariners tenure,the wheels fell off in the postseason. Dating back to '96, Rhodes had a string of ten scoreless outings, allowing four hits and whiffing 11 in 9.2 innings. Then came Game Two of the ALCS against the Yankees. Seattle took the opener and held a 1-0 lead in the eighth the next night. Rhodes came in and quickly went double, RBI single, single, RBI single, sac fly and was taken out with the M's down 3-1. The Yanks scored seven runs in the inning to even the series.

Rhodes did work a scoreless inning and a third to help keep Seattle alive in Game Five and send the series back to New York, but Game Six was another nightmarish outing.

The Mets had clinched the National League pennant the night before and the city was clamoring for a Subway Series. With yours truly in attendance, Seattle clung to a 4-3 lead in the seventh, but the home team rallied to put men on the corners with one out. With lefty David Justice coming to the plate, Lou Piniella called on Rhodes to wriggle out of the jam.

But this happened (YouTube video courtesy of some guy taping his television screen):



I was sitting in the loge section in right field directly underneath where Justice's blast went. The Stadium shook. Watching that video made me nostalgic for the old building. The other four batters Rhodes faced all reached and three of them scored as the Yankees broke it open to 9-4. The M's did cut it to 9-7 and even snapped Mariano Rivera's postseason-record 34.1 scoreless-inning streak, but it wasn't enough as the Yanks won the pennant.


Rhodes recovered and was part of the magical 2001 campaign in Seattle. The Mariners went 116-46, tying the 1906 Cubs' record for most wins in a season. This Beyond the Box Score article does a good job breaking down how they were so great despite losing Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez the previous three seasons.

They were a remarkably well-rounded team. The bullpen was excellent with Rhodes and Jeff Nelson setting up for closer Kaz Sasaki. Rhodes went 8-0 with a 1.72 ERA (241 ERA+) and contributed 2.4 bWAR. He struck out 83 and gave up only 46 hits in 68 innings. It's one of the great middle relief seasons ever. Here are the other seasons with at least 60 innings, 80 K's, a 240 ERA+, 2 bWAR and fewer than 50 hits (I also set that GF are less than 40% of total games to eliminate closers).

Player Year ERA+ WAR SO H GF G IP Age Tm W L BB ERA BA OPS+
David Robertson 2011 410 3.9 100 40 8 70 66.2 26 NYY 4 0 35 1.08 .170 36
Carlos Marmol 2007 325 2.8 96 41 6 59 69.1 24 CHC 5 1 35 1.43 .169 35
Damaso Marte 2003 293 3.5 87 50 25 71 79.2 28 CHW 4 2 34 1.58 .185 44
Arthur Rhodes 2001 243 2.4 83 46 16 71 68.0 31 SEA 8 0 12 1.72 .189 37
Troy Percival 1995 241 2.7 94 37 16 62 74.0 25 CAL 3 2 26 1.95 .147 24
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/26/2012.

Rhodes went 8-0 in 2001. Here are the winningest seasons for pitchers that didn't lose a game:

Rk Player W L Year Age Tm Lg G GS IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+
1 Tom Zachary 12 0 1929 33 NYY AL 26 11 119.2 131 43 33 30 35 2.48 158
2 Dennis Lamp 11 0 1985 32 TOR AL 53 1 105.2 96 42 39 27 68 3.32 129
3 Aaron Small 10 0 2005 33 NYY AL 15 9 76.0 71 27 27 24 37 3.20 133
4 Howie Krist 10 0 1941 25 STL NL 37 8 114.0 107 57 51 35 36 4.03 94
5 Frank DiPino 9 0 1989 32 STL NL 67 0 88.1 73 26 24 20 44 2.45 148
6 Ken Holtzman 9 0 1967 21 CHC NL 12 12 92.2 76 31 26 44 62 2.53 141
7 Joe Pate 9 0 1926 34 PHA AL 47 2 113.0 109 38 34 51 24 2.71 155
8 Micah Owings 8 0 2011 28 ARI NL 33 4 63.0 56 27 25 23 44 3.57 111
9 Rheal Cormier 8 0 2003 36 PHI NL 65 0 84.2 54 18 16 25 67 1.70 235
10 Arthur Rhodes 8 0 2001 31 SEA AL 71 0 68.0 46 14 13 12 83 1.72 243
11 Pat Mahomes 8 0 1999 28 NYM NL 39 0 63.2 44 26 26 37 51 3.68 121
12 Kirk Rueter 8 0 1993 22 MON NL 14 14 85.2 85 33 26 18 31 2.73 155
13 Grant Jackson 8 0 1973 30 BAL AL 45 0 80.1 54 18 17 24 47 1.90 198
14 Ted Wilks 8 0 1946 30 STL NL 40 4 95.0 88 41 36 38 40 3.41 102
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/27/2012.

Tom Zachry went 12-0 for the Yankees in 1929, but he is best known for something that came against New York. On September 30, 1927, the southpaw gave up Babe Ruth's 60th home run of that historic season. The homer was a game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning. It's good to see Aaron Small's 10-0 season on here. He was a savior for an '05 Yankees team that struggled out of the gate and surged to the division title on the season's final weekend.

That '01 season included this unique game in which he didn't face a batter. In the ninth inning of a tie game against Cleveland, Rhodes was ejected in a benches-clearing incident. Before he could throw a pitch, batter Omar Vizquel demanded that Rhodes take off his earrings, complaining about their glare on a sunny day. The big lefty hurler got mad and after the benches cleared he was asked to leave the game to quell the tension. After the game, he said of Vizquel, "A little midget. I'm not worried about him. A buck 25. You think I'm scared of him?"

Anyway, the Mariners won the West by 14 games over the 102-win Oakland A's, who had the second-best record in the majors by seven games but had to settle for the wild card. They eked out an ALDS win over Cleveland that went the full five games. The Yankees came back from 2-0 down to beat the A's in five and set up an ALCS rematch.

The Yankees led two games to one and the pivotal fourth game was scoreless through seven innings. Bret Boone homered off Ramiro Mendoza in the top of the eighth for the game's first run. Rhodes started the bottom half with a strikeout of Justice to put Seattle five outs from tying the series. But Bernie Williams swatted a homer to even the game at 1-1. Sasaki pitched the ninth and surrendered a two-run walk-off homer to Alfonso Soriano that gave New York a 3-1 series lead. The Yankees romped the next night to win their fourth straight pennant and derail the Mariners season short of the Fall Classic.

Ask any Yankees fan about Arthur Rhodes and they'll probably say something like, "oh yeah, that lefty that always got shelled in the big spot." Well that was really just a case of three big games against New York. Outside of the 2000 and 2001 ALCS, he allowed one run in 16 postseason innings, posting a 0.56 ERA in 23 games.

He's tied for third in postseason blown saves. I would have bet my life that Armando Benitez topped this list:

Rk Player #Matching
W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO WHIP
1 Armando Benitez 6 Ind. Games 2 1 9.95 6.1 10 7 3 7 9 2.68
2 Mariano Rivera 5 Ind. Games 0 1 3.52 7.2 10 3 1 2 7 1.57
3 Mitch Williams 4 Ind. Games 2 2 15.75 4.0 10 7 1 4 4 3.50
4 Arthur Rhodes 4 Ind. Games 0 1 43.20 1.2 9 8 2 1 1 6.00
5 Jose Mesa 4 Ind. Games 1 1 5.19 8.2 15 5 1 2 10 1.96
6 Ryan Madson 4 Ind. Games 1 0 9.00 3.0 5 3 1 1 4 2.00
7 Rick Honeycutt 4 Ind. Games 2 0 2.08 4.1 4 1 1 2 1 1.38
8 Rawly Eastwick 4 Ind. Games 3 0 6.75 5.1 9 4 2 5 3 2.63
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/27/2012.

The Yankees punished Rhodes in the regular season as well. He faced them more than any other team besides the Rangers and they hit .298/.383/.520 as a team against him. His OPS+ against was 60 percent higher than his career norm.

He still came back and had a great year in 2002, with a 2.33 ERA and ten relief wins as he had more than 10 K/9 for the fourth straight year. His ERA nearly doubled in '03 and he was under a strikeout per inning for the first time since 1994 when he was still starting.

So the M's let him walk and he signed with the A's. After one subpar year in Oakland they traded him and LHP Mark Redman to Pittsburgh for Jason Kendall. He never played a game for the Bucs, who flipped him to Cleveland for outfielder Matt Lawton two weeks later.

The 2005 season was a good one for Rhodes, who after two down years, bounced back with a 2.08 ERA for the Tribe. He was dealt to the Phillies in '06 and after a bad year he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2007 season.

Rhodes recovered and came all the way back at 38 years old. He split the 2008 season between Seattle and Florida, allowing only one run in 25 appearances for the Marlins.

That earned him a deal with the Reds and he continued his strong pitching at 40 years of age. He earned his first All-Star selection in 2010. He didn't get into the game and was denied the chance to become the tenth-oldest pitcher in ASG history.

From April 13 to June 26, 2010 he tied a major league record with 33 consecutive scoreless appearances. He allowed only 13 hits in 30 innings and tied the mark set by Mike Myers (2000 COL) and Mark Guthrie (2002 NYM).

Rhodes put up a 179 ERA+ at 40 in 2010. Here are the oldest pitchers to register an ERA+ of 175 or better (min. 50 IP):

Rk
ERA+ IP Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV H R ER BB SO ERA OPS+
1 Hoyt Wilhelm 185 93.2 1968 45 CHW AL 72 0 0 0 39 4 4 .500 12 69 20 18 24 72 1.73 58
2 Hoyt Wilhelm 230 89.0 1967 44 CHW AL 49 0 0 0 30 8 3 .727 12 58 21 13 34 76 1.31 57
3 Hoyt Wilhelm 192 81.1 1966 43 CHW AL 46 0 0 0 30 5 2 .714 6 50 21 15 17 61 1.66 48
4 Dutch Leonard 179 66.2 1952 43 CHC NL 45 0 0 0 36 2 2 .500 11 56 18 16 24 37 2.16 51
5 Roger Clemens 194 113.1 2006 43 HOU NL 19 19 0 0 0 7 6 .538 0 89 34 29 29 102 2.30 57
6 Hoyt Wilhelm 176 144.0 1965 42 CHW AL 66 0 0 0 45 7 7 .500 20 88 34 29 32 106 1.81 51
7 Roger Clemens 226 211.1 2005 42 HOU NL 32 32 1 0 0 13 8 .619 0 151 51 44 62 185 1.87 46
8 Cy Young 195 299.0 1908 41 BOS AL 36 33 30 3 3 21 11 .656 2 230 68 42 37 150 1.26
9 Red Ruffing 195 61.0 1946 41 NYY AL 8 8 4 2 0 5 1 .833 0 37 13 12 23 19 1.77
10 Mariano Rivera 232 61.1 2011 41 NYY AL 64 0 0 0 54 1 2 .333 44 47 13 13 8 60 1.91 41
11 Trevor Hoffman 226 54.0 2009 41 MIL NL 55 0 0 0 46 3 2 .600 37 35 11 11 14 48 1.83 32
12 Mariano Rivera 241 60.0 2010 40 NYY AL 61 0 0 0 55 3 3 .500 33 39 14 12 11 45 1.80 32
13 Arthur Rhodes 179 55.0 2010 40 CIN NL 69 0 0 0 8 4 4 .500 0 38 14 14 18 50 2.29 57
14 Jesse Orosco 190 50.1 1997 40 BAL AL 71 0 0 0 12 6 3 .667 0 29 13 13 30 46 2.32 57
15 Darren Oliver 194 51.0 2011 40 TEX AL 61 0 0 0 17 5 5 .500 2 47 17 13 11 44 2.29 55
16 Doug Jones 232 80.1 1997 40 MIL AL 75 0 0 0 73 6 6 .500 36 62 20 18 9 82 2.02 41
17 Randy Johnson 178 245.2 2004 40 ARI NL 35 35 4 2 0 16 14 .533 0 177 88 71 44 290 2.60 44
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/27/2012.


2010 marked the fifth time that he had an ERA+ that high. Here are the most seasons with an ERA+ of 175 or better:

Rk
Yrs From To Age
1 Mariano Rivera 13 1996 2011 26-41 Ind. Seasons
2 Billy Wagner 8 1999 2010 27-38 Ind. Seasons
3 Tom Henke 8 1982 1995 24-37 Ind. Seasons
4 Randy Johnson 7 1995 2004 31-40 Ind. Seasons
5 Pedro Martinez 6 1997 2003 25-31 Ind. Seasons
6 Trevor Hoffman 6 1996 2009 28-41 Ind. Seasons
7 Roger Clemens 6 1990 2006 27-43 Ind. Seasons
8 Rich Gossage 6 1975 1985 23-33 Ind. Seasons
9 Hoyt Wilhelm 6 1954 1968 31-45 Ind. Seasons
10 Walter Johnson 6 1910 1919 22-31 Ind. Seasons
11 Jonathan Papelbon 5 2006 2012 25-31 Ind. Seasons
12 Joe Nathan 5 2004 2009 29-34 Ind. Seasons
13 Jose Valverde 5 2003 2011 25-33 Ind. Seasons
14 Rafael Soriano 5 2003 2012 23-32 Ind. Seasons
15 Arthur Rhodes 5 2001 2010 31-40 Ind. Seasons
16 Armando Benitez 5 1994 2004 21-31 Ind. Seasons
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/27/2012.

Mariano Rivera: very good. This list obviously skews toward relievers who work fewer innings.


Still in the game at 41, he signed with the Rangers last year, but was released in August after posting a 4.81 ERA in 32 games. The Cardinals immediately took a flyer on him and he pitched well in September. St. Louis, ten games back on August 27, finished 21-8 to stun the collapsing Braves and win the wild card on the last day of the season.

Rhodes faced one batter each in three NLDS games (Ryan Howard twice and Raul Ibanez once), retiring him all three times as the Redbirds upset the heavily-favored Phillies. They also beat the division-rival Brewers to win the pennant and Rhodes was now in the World Series for the first time in his 21-year career.

His opponent was a familiar one. They would play the Rangers, who released him in August.

He set down Josh Hamilton to end the eighth inning of a Game One win. Game Two was a classic. The Cards led 1-0, but when Jason Motte got in trouble in the ninth, he handed a second-and-third, no-out jam to Rhodes with Hamilton coming up.

Rhodes induced a fly ball out, but it was enough to bring home the tying run. He was credited with a blown save for that one even though he inherited quite a mess. Another sac fly gave Texas the win and a tied series.

After the incredible sixth game, which was one of the greatest ever played, it came down to Game Seven. Chris Carpenter outpitched Matt Harrison and handed a three-run lead to the bullpen with a runner at second and no outs in the seventh.

Rhodes was the first St. Louis reliever and he got the one batter he faced, Yorvit Torrealba, to fly out. Octavio Dotel got the next two batters to end the threat. Lance Lynn had a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Motte worked a perfect ninth to clinch the championship.

Rhodes hasn't signed with anyone for 2012, but if he never pitches again, that's not a bad way to go out.


Over the last four seasons after the TJ surgery, he reestablished himself as one of the top middle relievers in the game with a 154 OPS+. Among those with 150 innings from 2008-11, he only allowed 17.04 percent of his inherited runners to score, the fourth-lowest mark in the majors during that span.


With exactly 900 appearances, Rhodes ranks 23rd all time in games pitched:

Rk Player G From To Age GS CG W L W-L% SV IP ERA ERA+ Tm
1 Jesse Orosco 1252 1979 2003 22-46 4 0 87 80 .521 144 1295.1 3.16 126 NYM-LAD-CLE-MIL-BAL-STL-TOT
2 Mike Stanton 1178 1989 2007 22-40 1 0 68 63 .519 84 1114.0 3.92 113 ATL-TOT-NYY-NYM-CIN
3 John Franco 1119 1984 2005 23-44 0 0 90 87 .508 424 1245.2 2.89 138 CIN-NYM-HOU
4 Dennis Eckersley 1071 1975 1998 20-43 361 100 197 171 .535 390 3285.2 3.50 116 CLE-BOS-TOT-CHC-OAK-STL
5 Hoyt Wilhelm 1070 1952 1972 29-49 52 20 143 122 .540 227 2254.1 2.52 147 NYG-TOT-BAL-CHW-LAD
6 Dan Plesac 1064 1986 2003 24-41 14 0 65 71 .478 158 1072.0 3.64 118 MIL-CHC-PIT-TOR-TOT-ARI-PHI
7 Mike Timlin 1058 1991 2008 25-42 4 0 75 73 .507 141 1204.1 3.63 126 TOR-TOT-SEA-BAL-STL-BOS
8 Kent Tekulve 1050 1974 1989 27-42 0 0 94 90 .511 184 1436.2 2.85 132 PIT-TOT-PHI-CIN
9 Mariano Rivera 1049 1995 2012 25-42 10 0 75 58 .564 607 1217.2 2.22 206 NYY
10 Trevor Hoffman 1035 1993 2010 25-42 0 0 61 75 .449 601 1089.1 2.87 141 TOT-SDP-MIL
11 Jose Mesa 1022 1987 2007 21-41 95 6 80 109 .423 321 1548.2 4.36 101 BAL-CLE-SEA-PHI-PIT-COL-TOT
12 Lee Smith 1022 1980 1997 22-39 6 0 71 92 .436 478 1289.1 3.03 132 CHC-BOS-TOT-STL-BAL-CAL-MON
13 Roberto Hernandez 1010 1991 2007 26-42 3 0 67 71 .486 326 1071.1 3.45 132 CHW-TBD-KCR-ATL-PHI-NYM-TOT
14 Michael Jackson 1005 1986 2004 21-39 7 0 62 67 .481 142 1188.1 3.42 126 PHI-SEA-SFG-CIN-CLE-HOU-MIN-CHW
15 Rich Gossage 1002 1972 1994 20-42 37 16 124 107 .537 310 1809.1 3.01 126 CHW-PIT-NYY-SDP-CHC-TOT-TEX-OAK-SEA
16 Lindy McDaniel 987 1955 1975 19-39 74 18 141 119 .542 172 2139.1 3.45 110 STL-CHC-SFG-TOT-NYY-KCR
17 Todd Jones 982 1993 2008 25-40 1 0 58 63 .479 319 1072.0 3.97 111 HOU-DET-TOT-COL-FLA
18 David Weathers 964 1991 2009 21-39 69 0 73 88 .453 75 1376.1 4.25 103 TOR-FLA-MIL-NYM-TOT-CIN
19 Rollie Fingers 944 1968 1985 21-38 37 4 114 118 .491 341 1701.1 2.90 120 OAK-SDP-MIL
20 Gene Garber 931 1969 1988 21-40 9 4 96 113 .459 218 1510.0 3.34 117 PIT-KCR-TOT-PHI-ATL
21 Eddie Guardado 908 1993 2009 22-38 25 0 46 61 .430 187 944.2 4.31 109 MIN-SEA-TOT-CIN-TEX
22 Cy Young 906 1890 1911 23-44 815 749 511 316 .618 17 7356.0 2.63 138 CLV-STL-BOS-CLE-TOT
23 Arthur Rhodes 900 1991 2011 21-41 61 5 87 70 .554 33 1187.2 4.08 109 BAL-SEA-OAK-CLE-PHI-TOT-CIN
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/26/2012.

He trails only Mike Stanton on the all-time list in Holds:

Rk Player #Matching
W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO WHIP
1 Mike Stanton 266 Ind. Games 0 1 2.25 219.2 140 55 7 71 178 0.96
2 Arthur Rhodes 254 Ind. Games 0 1 1.21 238.1 129 32 8 72 267 0.84
3 Alan Embree 194 Ind. Games 0 0 1.98 145.2 91 32 4 29 124 0.82
4 Jesse Orosco 185 Ind. Games 0 2 2.57 119.0 72 34 9 43 118 0.97
5 Paul Assenmacher 180 Ind. Games 0 1 2.30 137.0 108 35 6 43 130 1.10
6 Dan Plesac 179 Ind. Games 0 3 2.26 123.2 86 31 9 34 150 0.97
7 Michael Jackson 179 Ind. Games 0 1 1.51 184.2 126 31 10 61 175 1.01
8 Bob Howry 178 Ind. Games 0 1 1.43 176.2 117 28 11 50 139 0.95
9 Paul Quantrill 177 Ind. Games 0 1 2.01 156.2 162 35 8 27 100 1.21
10 Jeff Nelson 177 Ind. Games 0 3 2.91 148.2 96 48 4 75 174 1.15
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/27/2012.

Who knows if he'll land with a team this year, but if he does he'll join Jamie Moyer, Omar Vizquel and Mariano Rivera as the only players born in the 1960s to play in 2012.

It was a long career for Arthur Rhodes. It may or may not be over, but he's earned a spot in the All-Time Bluefield to the Bigs bullpen.


All-Time Bluefield Roster
Pitchers
SP 1 Dean Chance
SP 2 TBA
SP 3 Bill Monbouquette
SP 4 TBA
SP 5 TBA
RP TBA
RP TBA
RP TBA
RP TBA
Setup TBA
Setup Arthur Rhodes
Closer Sparky Lyle


Catchers
C Gregg Zaun
C TBA


Infield
1B Eddie Murray
2B TBA
SS Cal Ripken
3B TBA
IF TBA
IF TBA


Outfield
LF Don Baylor
CF TBA
RF TBA
OF David Dellucci
OF TBA