Arthur Rhodes
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Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...
relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
who is the current pitching coach for the Cleburne Railroaders of the
American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...
.


Career

Rhodes played high school baseball at
La Vega High School La Vega High School is a public high school located in the city of Bellmead, Texas, United States and classified as a 4A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the La Vega Independent School District located in cent ...
in
Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
. As a senior in 1988, he finished the season with a 17–0 record.


Baltimore Orioles

He was drafted by the
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
in the 2nd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. During his 1991 season with the class AA
Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...
, Rhodes was selected as Eastern League Pitcher of the Year. Rhodes made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 1991, and then spent 12 years in the Baltimore organization before being granted free agency after the 1999 season.


Seattle Mariners

Rhodes became a top setup man for the
Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
, becoming a key part of their bullpen for the wild-card team in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and the 116-win team in 2001. Rhodes finished the season with an 8-0 record while posting an ERA of 1.72. He was involved in a notable incident during the latter season in which he was ejected from a game against the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
. Former Mariner
Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...
complained that sunlight was reflecting off Rhodes' earrings; he was ordered to remove them but refused, leading to a bench-clearing brawl.


Oakland Athletics

Rhodes signed with the Oakland Athletics after the 2003 season. A's manager
Ken Macha Kenneth Edward Macha (; born September 29, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He managed the Oakland Athletics from 2003–2006, including American League Western Division championships in both his first and final s ...
first used him as a closer after years as a successful setup man in Seattle, but he failed in this capacity with a number of blown saves and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with
Mark Redman Mark Allen Redman (born January 5, 1974) is an American former professional baseball left-handed starting pitcher. Early career A 1992 graduate of Escondido High School in California, he played baseball and football before attending The Master' ...
and cash for catcher
Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 through 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Ka ...
and cash after the one season with the Athletics.


Cleveland Indians

In the same offseason, the Pirates traded him on to the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
for
Matt Lawton Matthew Lawton, Jr. (born November 30, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 seasons, including 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lawton, an outfielder, made his major league debut September 5, ...
, and as he did in Seattle became the top setup man for the Tribe.


Philadelphia Phillies

On January 27, 2006, after one year in Cleveland, the Indians traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
Jason Michaels.


Second stint with Mariners

On January 24, 2007, Rhodes was re-signed by the Mariners to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training by the Mariners, but injured his pitching arm, underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2007 season, becoming a free agent after the season. On January 15, 2008, the Mariners once again signed him to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. He didn't make the team to start the season, but on April 14 was added to the active roster.


Florida Marlins

On July 31, , the Mariners traded him to the
Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...
in exchange for pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez.


Cincinnati Reds

On December 12, 2008, Rhodes signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds. On June 29, 2010, his major league record-tying streak of 33 scoreless appearances was broken by Phillies slugger
Raúl Ibañez Raúl Javier Ibañez (; born June 2, 1972) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) now serving as Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations for MLB. He played 11 of his 19 big league seaso ...
. In 2010, Rhodes was selected to his first and only All-Star Game in his 20th major league season. He was the fifth player to go to his first All-Star Game after age 40, joining
Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...
,
Connie Marrero Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos (April 25, 1911 – April 23, 2014), nicknamed "Connie", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher. The right-handed Marrero pitched in Major League Baseball from to for the Washington Senators. Marrero made his m ...
,
Jamie Moyer Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston ...
and
Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...
.


Texas Rangers

On December 23, 2010, Rhodes signed a one-year deal with the Texas Rangers with a vesting option for 2012. He was designated for assignment on August 2, 2011 and was released on August 8.


St. Louis Cardinals

On August 11, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Given the late signing, the Rangers had to pay most of his salary, with the Cardinals responsible for only a pro-rated league minimum for the remainder of the year. Because the Cardinals and Rangers faced each other in the
2011 World Series The 2011 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2011 season. The 107th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the Natio ...
this created an unusual situation, with the Rangers paying most of the salary of a player trying to deny them a world championship. This also resulted in Rhodes being eligible to receive a
World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...
no matter who won. The Cardinals won the World Series against the Texas Rangers in 7 games. Rhodes, who pitched in three games in this Series, joined Lonnie Smith as the only players to play in a World Series for the winning team against the team he had played for earlier in the season (Smith played on the
1985 World Series The 1985 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1985 season. The 82nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Kansas City Royals and the N ...
-winning Kansas City Royals after having been traded from the Cardinals, whom the Royals defeated in the Series, earlier in the season). Through 2011, Rhodes was second among active pitchers in games played (900), and seventh in hits per 9 innings pitched (7.828) and strikeouts per 9 IP (8.730). While he had been the tenth-youngest player in the AL as a rookie in 1991, he was the third-oldest player in the AL in 2011. According to the Baseball Almanac, he also holds the major league record for most holds in a career, with 215 as of 2010, but has increased his lead to 231 by the end of the 2012 season.As of 14-Feb-2013
All-time Holds Leaders
a
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Retirement

Rhodes officially announced his retirement from baseball on January 16, 2015.


Personal

Rhodes' son, Jordan, died at five years old in December 2008 of an undisclosed illness. Rhodes wrote his son's initials in the dirt on the mound before every appearance for the remainder of his career. Rhodes' older brother, Ricky, pitched in the minor leagues for the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
. He later served as the women's
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
coach at
McLennan Community College McLennan Community College (MCC) is a public community college in McLennan County, Texas. Located in Waco, Texas, it opened in 1965. MCC now serves about 9,000 students and has more than 700 employees. It is governed by a Board of Trustees ele ...
. Rhodes' daughter, Jade, played collegiate softball at Auburn and advanced to the Women's College World Series championship series in 2016. Jade Rhodes also played professional softball for the Pennsylvania Rebellion (2016);
Scrap Yard Dawgs The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch was an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 20 ...
(2016–17); and Cleveland Comets (2018). On July 6, 2021, Rhodes was hired as the new pitching coach for the Cleburne Railroaders of the
American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...
.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Arthur 1969 births Living people Baltimore Orioles players Seattle Mariners players Oakland Athletics players Cleveland Indians players Philadelphia Phillies players Florida Marlins players Cincinnati Reds players Texas Rangers players St. Louis Cardinals players African-American baseball players Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars Baseball players from Baltimore Sportspeople from Waco, Texas Bluefield Orioles players Frederick Keys players Erie Orioles players Hagerstown Suns players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento River Cats players Akron Aeros players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople