Marc Walter Rzepczynski ( ; born August 29, 1985), nicknamed Scrabble, is an American
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 ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
for the
Lancaster Barnstormers
The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...
of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
. He has played in
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) for the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
,
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 ...
,
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
,
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
,
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
, and
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 ...
.
Amateur career
Rzepczynski attended
Servite High School in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
and the
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
, where he played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...
for the
Highlanders from 2004–2007. In
his senior season, the Highlanders won the
Big West Conference
The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...
championship and appeared in the
NCAA Tournament.
He also played for the
Corvallis Knights
The Corvallis Knights, founded as the Aloha Knights, are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Corvallis, Oregon. Founded in 1990 in Beaverton by Dan and his brother Joe Segel, the Knights moved to Corvallis from Gresham in 2007. They p ...
and the
Bellingham Bells
The Bellingham Bells are a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League.
The team is composed of college baseball players from teams around the U.S. In recent years, the Bells have produced a number of Major League players including ...
(2004) in the
West Coast League
The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...
, an independent summer collegiate league.
Professional career
Toronto Blue Jays
In June 2007, Rzepczynski was drafted in the fifth round (175th overall) of the
2007 Major League Baseball draft
The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the f ...
by the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. He made his professional debut that season for the short-season Jays' Class A affiliate
Auburn Doubledays
The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL ...
of the
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
. With Auburn, he posted a 5–0 record and a 2.76
ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
in 11 games (7 starts), with 49 strikeouts and 17 walks in innings pitched.
In 2008, Rzepczynski advanced to the Class A
Lansing Lugnuts
The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Field.
The Midwe ...
of the
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 ...
, where he finished 7–6 with a 2.83 ERA in 22 starts, with 124 strikeouts and 42 walks over 121 innings pitched.
In 2009, Rzepczynski through early July had split his season between the
New Hampshire Fisher Cats
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club.
During the team's first seaso ...
, the Jays' Double-A team in the
Eastern League, and the
Las Vegas 51s, the Jays' Triple-A team in the
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 ...
. His 2009 statistics between Double-A and Triple-A combined for 16 games (all starts), with a 9–5 record, a 2.66 ERA, 104
strikeouts
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
, and 40 walks, in 88 innings pitched.
A series of injuries to pitchers at the major league level had plagued the parent Blue Jays for the first three months of the 2009 season, leading to opportunities for several rookies to advance to the top level.
Scott Richmond
Scott Daniel Richmond (born August 30, 1979) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Career College, independent, and minor league career
Richmond's high school did ...
, himself a rookie starter who had pitched very well for Toronto, became the latest casualty, when he went on the
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
...
on July 4, retroactive to July 1, due to
biceps
The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join ...
tendinitis
Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...
. Richmond, before play on July 6, ranked 16th of 40 eligible
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
pitchers in Earned Run Average (ERA).
Brett Cecil
Brett Aarion Cecil (born July 2, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals. Cecil was drafted as the 38th overall pick in the 2007 MLB dra ...
, another rookie who was already in the Jays' starting rotation, started on July 5 on short notice in Richmond's stead, against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
, but this still left Toronto with only four healthy starters, leading to Rzepczynski's promotion and opportunity. Rzepczynski pitched six innings in his debut, during which he gave up 2 hits and 1 earned run, walked 4, and struck out 7 in a no-decision; the Jays lost, 3–1, in 11 innings. In his second big-league start, Rzepczynski again pitched well, but took the loss against 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 ...
on July 12, lasting 6 innings and allowing 3 earned runs; Toronto lost the game, 4–2. Rzepczynski won his first major-league game on July 18, defeating the American League leading
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
; he pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4; Toronto won, 6–2. Jays manager
Cito Gaston
Clarence Edwin "Cito" Gaston (; born March 17, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. His major league career as a player lasted from 1967 to 1978, most notably with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. He spent his en ...
stated before the game that Rzepczynski would remain in the rotation for at least the next couple of weeks, pending Richmond's return from the disabled list.
St. Louis Cardinals
He was traded on July 27, 2011, to the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
along with
Octavio Dotel
Octavio Eduardo Dotel Diaz (born November 25, 1973) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Dotel played for 13 major league teams, the second most teams played for by any player in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), setti ...
,
Edwin Jackson and
Corey Patterson
Donald Corey Patterson (born August 13, 1979) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. Currently, he is the manager of the Brookhaven Bucks in the Sunbelt Baseball League. He is the older brother of infielder Eric Patterson, a ...
for
Colby Rasmus
Colby Ryan Rasmus (born August 11, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. He h ...
,
P. J. Walters
Phillip DeWayne "P. J." Walters (born March 12, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins.
Career
High School and coll ...
,
Trever Miller
Trever Douglas Miller (born May 29, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
High school
Miller graduated from Trinity High School, where he was a pitcher and outfielder, in 1991 and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball and the G ...
and
Brian Tallet. The Cardinals won the
2011 World Series; in the series, Rzepczynski faced a total of four batters in two games, striking out three and giving up a two-run double.
In 2012, Rzepczynski became a lefty specialist, pitching 46.2 innings despite appearing in 70 games for the Cardinals.
On April 29, 2013, Rzepczynski was optioned to the
Memphis Redbirds
The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...
. On July 25, 2013, Rzepczynski was recalled by the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
Cleveland Indians
On July 30, 2013, Rzepczynski was traded 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 F ...
for minor league second baseman Juan Herrera.
San Diego Padres
On July 31, 2015, Rzepczynski was traded to the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
for
Abraham Almonte.
Oakland Athletics
On December 2, 2015, the Padres traded Rzepczynski and
Yonder Alonso
Yonder Alonso (born April 8, 1987) is a Cuban former professional baseball first baseman and current MLB Network analyst. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Cl ...
to the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
for
Drew Pomeranz
Thomas Andrew "Drew" Pomeranz (born November 22, 1988), nicknamed Big Smooth, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, ...
,
José Torres
José ("Chegüi") Torres (May 3, 1936 – January 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican-born American professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight division at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he d ...
, and a
player to be named later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
or cash considerations.
Washington Nationals
On August 25, 2016, the Athletics traded Rzepczynski to the
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...
for
Max Schrock. On October 13, 2016, in the decisive game in the National League Division Series against the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, Rzepczynski was brought in to relieve Nationals pitcher
Max Scherzer
Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...
with the score tied 1-1. Rzepczynski walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, and became the losing pitcher in the 4-3 loss that eliminated the Nationals from the 2016 playoffs.
Seattle Mariners
On December 3, 2016, 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
signed Rzepczynski to a two-year contract worth $11 million. In his first season as a Mariner, he appeared in 64 games despite pitching a career low 31.1 innings. He was designated for assignment on June 1, 2018 after posting an ERA of 9.39 in 18 games. He was later released on June 6.
Cleveland Indians (second stint)
Rzepczynski signed a minor league contract with 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 F ...
on June 18, 2018. On July 11, Rzepczynski was designated for assignment. After clearing waivers, Rzepczynski elected free agency.
Seattle Mariners (second stint)
On July 30, 2018, Rzepczynski signed a minor league deal with 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.
Arizona Diamondbacks
On February 8, 2019, Rzepczynski signed a minor league deal with the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
that included an invitation to
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
. He was released on May 31, but later re-signed to another minor league deal on June 24. He was released on August 25.
Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)
On February 24, 2020, Rzepczynski signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Rzepczynski did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. He was released by Toronto on July 27.
In May 2021, Rzepczynski was named to the roster of the
United States national baseball team
The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...
for the
Americas Qualifying Event.
Lancaster Barnstormers
On March 16, 2022, Rzepczynski signed with the
Lancaster Barnstormers
The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...
of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
.
Personal life
Rzepczynski is of
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
descent.
[ Rzepczynski's nickname is "Scrabble".][
]
Rzepczynski is married to Lindzey Lawler of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. They resided in Ladera Ranch, California, but sold the home in 2019.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rzepczynski, Marc
1985 births
Living people
People from Oak Lawn, Illinois
Baseball players from Illinois
Baseball players from California
American people of Polish descent
Servite High School alumni
Major League Baseball pitchers
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Toronto Blue Jays players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Cleveland Indians players
San Diego Padres players
Oakland Athletics players
Washington Nationals players
Seattle Mariners players
UC Riverside Highlanders baseball players
Auburn Doubledays players
Lansing Lugnuts players
New Hampshire Fisher Cats players
Las Vegas 51s players
Peoria Javelinas players
Memphis Redbirds players
Columbus Clippers players
Tacoma Rainiers players
Reno Aces players
Lancaster Barnstormers players
Mat-Su Miners players
Peninsula Oilers players