William Daniel Rhymes (born April 1, 1983) 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 ...

second baseman and current front office executive for 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 ...

. His title is Director of Player Development. He 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

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Early life

Rhymes was raised in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

and has an identical twin brother named Jonathan.As a young child Rhymes first played baseball at West U. Little league in Houston, Texas where he first showcased his skills. Rhymes attended Lamar High School in Houston where he played baseball.

College career

Rhymes attended the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

, 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

William & Mary Tribe The William & Mary Tribe is a moniker for the College of William & Mary's athletic teams and the university's community more broadly. William & Mary has won two team national championships (both in men's tennis), the AIAW championships in w ...

. He majored in biology, rushed the fraternity of

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

, and graduated in 2005. Rhymes first earned attention from major league

scouts Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

while playing

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Brook ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

in 2004. Though initially recruited as a temporary player, Rhymes's extraordinary effort and superb performance on the field earned him a contract through the entire summer and a starting spot at second base. Rhymes earned a reserve spot in the mid-season East Division All Stars as well as the post-season league-wide All Star Team.

Professional career

Rhymes was drafted by the

in the 27th Round of the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

. He was promoted to the big league club on July 25, 2010, after injuries struck the Tigers lineup and made his major league debut the same day in a pinch-hitting role against 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 ...

. Rhymes was optioned back to the AAA Toledo Mud Hens following the return of the Tigers injured second baseman but was recalled August 18, 2010. On September 20, 2010, Rhymes hit his first major league career home run off of

Zack Greinke Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and has also played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los An ...

of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. Rhymes home run was initially ruled an RBI triple but after further review of the replay, the ruling on the field was overturned and ruled a two-run home run after it bounced off the horizontal iron support above the wall in right. This is the first incidence in which an instant replay review granted a player the first home run of their career. It was announced at the start of the 2011 baseball season that Rhymes would make the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, and would be the starting second baseman for the Tigers. Rhymes played for the

in 2012. On May 16, Rhymes was hit by a pitch by

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 ...

pitcher

Franklin Morales Franklin Miguel Morales (born January 24, 1986) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays. Professional career Colorado Rockies A ...

. This incident caused Rhymes to faint from an adrenaline rush after being struck by the 95 mph fastball. Rhymes played his last MLB game for the Rays on August 5, 2012. He spent the 2013 season in 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 ...

organization. He became a free agent after the 2014 season and later retired.

Front office career

On March 17, 2019, Rhymes was promoted to director of player development in the

baseball operations department. Rhymes had previously served as assistant farm director.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhymes, Will William & Mary Tribe baseball players Detroit Tigers players Tampa Bay Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Erie SeaWolves players Lakeland Flying Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Brewster Whitecaps players Oneonta Tigers players Living people 1983 births Identical twins Baseball players from Houston Durham Bulls players Syracuse Chiefs players American twins Los Angeles Dodgers executives