Robert Richard Rose (born March 15, 1967) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played for the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

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), ...

(MLB), and for the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB). During his playing career, he batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and . He later served as a

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in Minor League Baseball.

Baseball career

North America

Rose played baseball for

San Dimas High School San Dimas High School is a secondary school located in San Dimas, California, in the United States. It is part of the Bonita Unified School District. Most of the students come from Lone Hill Middle School which shares the same city block as the ...

in California, where he had a .515

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

during his senior season in 1985. He was selected by the

in the fifth round of the

1985 MLB draft First round draft picks The following are the first round picks in the 1985 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental First Round Selections Background Six of the first eight draft picks from the June regular phase had at least one full ...

and signed with the team. He played in the Angels'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

for several teams from 1985 through 1992, except for 1987. Rose sat out the 1987 season, working for a graphics company in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, before returning to baseball the following year. His longest assignments were with the

Quad Cities Angels Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which in ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

for 264 games during 1986 and 1988, and the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. The ...

of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for 216 games during 1990–1992. Over seven seasons, Rose appeared in 648

minor-league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

games, registering a .288 average with 49

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 372

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). Primarily a used as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, second baseman, and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, Rose made several appearances as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and

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 cat ...

—he also pitched in one game. Rose played a total of 73 major league games during 1989–1992; the most MLB games he played during one season was 30 in 1992. He batted .245 with five home runs and 23 RBIs with the Angels, while defensively playing primarily at second base (43 games), along with appearances at first base, third base, and in the outfield. Rose was selected as the Angles starting second baseman at the start of the 1992 season. However, he soon began to struggle and

Rene Gonzales Rene Adrian Gonzales (born September 3, 1960) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, California Angels, Cleveland Indians ...

started platooning the position with him. On May 19, Rose hit a home run in his last major-league at bat. Two days later, he and the team were involved in an accident when the team bus veered off a road in

Deptford Township, New Jersey Deptford Township (pronounced DEP-ford) is a township in Gloucester County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,561, reflecting an increase of 3,798 (+14.2%) from the 26,763 counted in t ...

. Rose’s suffered a severely sprained right ankle in the accident and was placed on the

15-day disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. After, he rehabilitated in the minors on stints with the

Palm Springs Angels The Palm Springs Angels were a minor league baseball team of the Class A California League from 1986 to 1993 and an affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California Angels. Following the 1993 season the franchise relocated to Lake Elsino ...

and the Trappers. On October 16, however, the Angels sold his contract to the

Yokohama Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...

in Japan's

(NPB).

Japan

After Rose's contract was sold by the Angels to the then-Yokohama Taiyo Whales of NPB's

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...

(CL), the team was renamed as the Yokohama BayStars prior to the 1993 season. In his first season with the team, he played in all 130 games and tied for the most RBIs in the CL with 94. He also received the

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first presen ...

for best second baseman in the league. Rose's success continued over the next several seasons and he became a central figure in Yokohama's famed "machine gun" batting lineup as its

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", i.e., drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the us ...

. In 1998, he helped the BayStars win their first CL title and

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

in 38 years. Next season, Rose batted a career-high .369 along with 37 home runs and 153 RBIs. His batting average won him the 1999 CL batting title and was the highest ever in Japanese baseball among right-handed hitters at the time. His RBIs that season also ranks second-most in a season in NPB history. He also hit his third

cycle Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in soc ...

, the most in NPB-history, and was named the Most Valuable Player in Game 2 of the 1999 All-Star Series. In June of that season, Rose had indicated that he would retire at the end of the year. After his success, however, he played another season in which he batted .332 with 97 RBIs with 21 home runs. Rose announced his retirement after the season in October 2000. The BayStars and Rose failed to reach an agreement on a new contract after the team only offered a salary decrease from his estimated ¥360 million salary that season. He noted that he did not want to play for any other team. Rose's NPB career spanned eight season from 1993–2000. During that time, he won six Best Nine Awards and was selected to four All-Star Series. Defensively, he played predominantly as a second baseman in NPB, with limited appearances at first base and third base. In 1998, he was awarded the Golden Glove Award for second basemen. He is often regarded as one of the best foreign players in BayStars and Japanese professional baseball history. For the BayStars 70th anniversary in 2019, Rose was voted by fans as the best second baseman in the team's history.

Coaching

Rose first served as a

during the 2013 season with the

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

, a Texas Rangers farm team in the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

. He then spent 2014 coaching for the Rangers' Class A affiliate in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, the

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

. Rose was next the hitting coach for the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight ...

, a

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Rangers farm team in the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

, during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. In 2017, he served in the same capacity for the

Down East Wood Ducks The Down East Wood Ducks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the owned-and-operated Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a local colorful wa ...

, also a Rangers Class A-Advanced farm team, in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Rose moved to 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

organization for the 2018 season, as hitting coach of the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

in the South Atlantic League. In February 2019, he was named hitting coach for the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

, then a farm team of the Orioles in the Carolina League. After the 2019 season, the Orioles chose not to renew the contracts of the Keys' coaching staff.

References

External links

, o
NPB
(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Bobby 1967 births Living people People from Covina, California American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from California Baseball coaches from California Minor league baseball coaches Major League Baseball second basemen Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen California Angels players Edmonton Trappers players Midland Angels players Palm Springs Angels players Quad Cities Angels players Salem Angels players Yokohama BayStars players