An old picture of Aderlin Rodriguez in his Mets Minors Days
A while back in 2021, I wrote an article about a hitter who was having a truly fine year, former Met prospect Aderlin Rodriguez.
Unlike the A Rod everyone knows, this A Rod in 2021 had 29 HRs and 94 RBIs for the Detroit Tigers' Toledo AAA team in just 116 games, while hitting .294 with a .565 slugging %.
Holy Toledo, Batman! Way to swing a bat, man!
His minors career started in 2009, at age 17.
Now what counts...number of career major league at bats?
Zero.
Despite 203 minor league HRs and 793 RBIs in 4,446 at bats.
That has to suck.
I know he's not alone.
I just came across another such guy, the Balbino.
Not a Bambino, nor a Steve Balboni or a slice of Phony Baloney, but a Balbino - Balbino Fuenmayor.
I know you’ve all followed him closely. Everyone is a huge Balbino fan, am I right?
Me? Nope. I never heard of him. I can't lie, friends.
He also started at age 17 back in 2007, and his number of major league at bats is also...wait for it, now...zero.
Despite this:
In 2015, for the Royals in AA and AAA, he raked....358/.384/.589.
No doubt, he heard, "Sorry, son, we only call up guys who hit .359 or higher."
He soon migrates south of the border, and he’s torn up Mexican ball in recent years.
In Venezuela this off-season, through Sunday Nov. 7, he was 20 for 44 (.455), with 8 XBHs, 4 walks and 4 Ks. Dude is a hitter.
In his career, at all levels, domestic and international, Mayor Fuen is a .300 hitter with 219 HRs and nearly 1,000 RBIs in 5,542 at bats. And that total is a bit depressed from his hitting just .174 in 178 at bats in his age 17 debut season, with a mere HR and 12 RBIs.
No major leagues for Mayor Fuen, though. Not one MLB at bat.
Stinks, if you ask me.
Occasionally, guys like those two do sneak onto a major league roster at least briefly, like former Met Travis Taijeron. But few of those types of guys do.
I wish Major League Baseball had an ability to briefly add a guy like A Rod or Fuenmayor to a major league team, even if for just a game, or a week. Something they could always talk about.
And heck, if non-contact specialists like Almora and Maybin could go 7 for 80 with no RBIs, how could the A Rod/Balbino duo do that badly? Or how could anyone, for that matter? (Heck, add on Chase Sisco, Jake Hager, Wilfredo Tovar, Mason Williams and Khalil Lee to Almora and Maybin, and those 7 Mets combined for 159 at bats, but just 4 RBIs).
4 RBIs? That's one swing from sluggers like A Rod or Fuenmayor.
There should be no 40 man roster restrictions to block these A Rod and Fuenmayor types from at least a brief call-up.
Just one such guy, per team, per year - call him up.
Why? As a reward for being that good…and for being that good for so long, just blocked from a chance in the bigs by some guy in a suit.
Bringing him up would be kind of like getting a Presidential Pardon.
Baseball needs feel-good stories like that.
Kind of like the movie Rudy. He finally got his chance.
Boy, that was exhilarating. People stood and applauded.
Unless, of course, the rich owners are 1) too frugal to shell out an extra few thousand dollars a year, or 2) don't want fans to think about guys who toil in the minors forever for peanuts, and are quite good, but never deemed quite good enough to make it.
Me? I'd go further, and expand the rosters from 26 to 27 players. It might never still result in every A Rod or Fuenmayor making the big leagues, but their chances would increase with 30 extra roster spots.
That's my thoughts. What are yours?
4 comments:
Aberlin is playingvthis winter in tge Dominican
John, I just think even one game, one at bat, in the majors would be a thrill for guys like these. It was short, but I got to play in the majors. A dream fulfilled.
FYI guys I've decided to accept my Qualifying offer.
I’ve accepted my DO…Disqualifying Offer. I just ain’t qualified.
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