David Grant Rohde (born May 8, 1964) is a former

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various st ...

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), ...

, playing mainly as a second baseman from 1990 through 1992 for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

and

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 F ...

. Listed at 6' 2", 180 lb., he was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

and threw right handed. Born in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth occurred between 1950 and 1980. Originally a ...

, Rohde grew up in

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

. He attended

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, where he played for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

baseball team that won the

1986 College World Series The 1986 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1986 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, ...

. He then was selected by the Astros in the 5th round of the 1986 MLB Draft. Rohde made his big league debut with the Astros on opening night 1990 as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

against

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

reliever 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 weather d ...

Rob Dibble Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ...

. The following night, he got his first hit, a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

, off Reds starter

Tim Layana Timothy Joseph Layana (March 2, 1964 – June 26, 1999) was an American professional baseball who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career He attended Loyola High School and was a 19 ...

. For the season, Rohde hit a .184

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 ...

with five

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 ...

in just 98 games. During his majors stint, Rohde was a steady utility player with most of his at bats coming as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

. The best game of his career came on July 18, 1990, when he went 3-for-3 against

Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and ...

and

Alejandro Peña Alejandro Peña Vásquez (born June 25, 1959) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 1" , 200 lb. , he batted and threw right-handed. Peña made his Major League debut on August 13, 1981 (in time to be included on t ...

of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. His play helped Astros starter Mike Scott to pitch a 1-0

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

win as Rohde scored the sole run.Houston Astros 1, New York Mets 0. Game Played on Wednesday, July 18, 1990 (N) at Astrodome
''Retrosheet Box Score''. Retrieved on November 17, 2016. Rohde appeared in just 29 games for the 1991 Astros and hit .122 (5-for-43) and scored three times but did not drive in a run. Before the start of the 1992 season he was traded to the Indians along with

Kenny Lofton Kenneth Lofton (born May 31, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Lofton was a six-time All-Star (1994–1999), four-time Gold Glove Award winner (1993–1996), and at retirement, was ranked 15th amon ...

in exchange for

Eddie Taubensee Edward Kenneth Taubensee (born October 31, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. Taubensee played for three different ballclubs during his career: the Cleveland Indians (, ), Houston Astros (-), and Cincinnati Reds (-). He made his ...

and

Willie Blair William Allen Blair (born December 18, 1965) is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball and current pitching coach for the West Michigan Whitecaps. Playing career Blair played baseball for Morehead State University bef ...

. Rohde played in just five games with the Tribe to end his big league career. His final appearance was in the

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...

against

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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

hurler

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

when he filled in at third base for then rookie

Jim Thome James Howard Thome (; born August 27, 1970) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 22 seasons (1991–2012). He played for six different teams during th ...

. During his career, the slick fielding infielder committed just one

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 144

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

to post a sparkling .993

fielding average In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divi ...

Sources

*1991 Houston Astros media guide *1992 Houston Astros media guide

External links

Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohde, Dave 1964 births Living people Arizona Wildcats baseball players Auburn Astros players Baseball players from California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Columbus Astros players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball second basemen Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Osceola Astros players Tucson Toros players