Rocco Baldelli’s Uncertain Future

A brief baseball history of  super athletes’ careers cut short.

Rocco Baldelli’s career is not over of course, but the way we view him as a player has significantly changed. After returning for the final 28 games of the Rays season, he was a significant piece in their run to the World Series supplying two homers and six rbis in just 20 postseason at bats. So much so he was given to Tony Conigliaro comeback award.

Baldelli was once a bulletproof unbelievable athlete, but now he is struggling to play a supporting role on any team that will take him and only at the young age of 27. Like anything else, history repeats itself in baseball, and Baldelli’s story, while unique, is not without comparison. We may not know what is in store for Baldelli, but we can compare him to similar super athlete outfielders who began their careers as superstars in the making, but for some reason it was not meant to be.

Rocco Baldelli - “(He is) Joe Dimaggio’s twin brother.” – Scout Al LaMacchia comparing Baldelli’s skills to Dimaggio’s. LaMacchia was a MLB pitcher in the 1940s, who pitched against Dimaggio. As a scout with 50+ years of experience, he is given credit for the signing or advancement of  Dale Murphy, Cito Gaston, George Bell, Dave Stieb and Andre Ethier among others.

Early career -

Rocco Baldelli- TB	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hits	2bs	sbs
2003 season- age 21	156	637	.289/.326/.416	184	32	27
2004 season- age 22	136	518	.280/.326/.436	145	27	17

Baldelli was the sixth overall pick in the 2000 draft straight out of high school where he also was an all-state basketball and volleyball player.  He was the epitome of five-tool, and though he had two great seasons, they hadn’t lived up to Dimaggio comparisons:

Joe Dimaggio-NYY	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hits	hrs	2bs
1936 season- age 21	138	637	.323/.352/.576	206	29	44
1937 season- age 22	151	621	.346/.412/.673	215	46	35

It is of course unrealistic to compare any young player to Joe D., but the age comparisons on baseball-reference.com to Baldelli at age 21 and 22 are Tris Speaker and Carl Yastrzemski, and the possibilities of a hall of fame career did not seem so far fetched. That was until the troubles started. He missed all of 2005 and half of 2006 due to knee and elbow injuries. Hamstring problems held him out after 35 games last year. Rumors of many ailments crystalized when it was announced he had a mitochondrial disorder this season. Today, mlb.com reported that WLNE-TV, a station in Baldelli’s native Rhode Island, has got word that Baldelli has received a second opinion. It may be channelopathy, a non-fatal, more treatable disease.

Bo Jackson - “I heard this sound one more time, (the same sound) that I had heard only twice in my life. Now, you know who this is? Bo Jackson.” -Buck O’Neill comparing the sound of the crack of the bat of Jackson to the same sound of Josh Gibson and Babe Ruth.

Early career -

Bo Jackson- KC	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hrs	sbs	ks/bbs
1987 season- age 23	116	396	.235/.296/.455	22	10	158/30
1988 season- age 24	124	439	.246/.287/.472	25	27	146/25
1989 season- age 25	135	515	.256/.310/.495	32	26	172/39
1990 season- age 26	111	505	.272/.342/.523	28	15	128/44

The Royals took a gamble on Jackson selecting him in the 4th round of the 1986 MLB draft. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had drafted the Heisman Trophy winner first overall a few months earlier. The Bucs tried to force him to choose between football and baseball, and tricked him in to losing his amateur status for his senior baseball season at Auburn. This pushed him into the arms of the Royals, who now had the bargain of the century, a Major League ready athlete in the 4th round.

Jackson career catapulted early becoming a fan and advertising favorite quickly with his athleticism. He hit at least 22 hrs in his first four seasons, while striking out 158/146/172/128 in each of those seasons. This all built to the highlight of his baseball career the show he put on as the 1989 all-star MVP.

During these years he had been playing tailback part-time for the Raiders, and in an eerie psychic forethought, the Royals began limiting his play in 1990 because of two-sport fears. 

What happened?

On January 13, 1991, during a Raiders playoff game against the Cincinatti Bengals, Jackson suffered a serious hip injury that would lead to total hip replacement. Jackson was released by the Royals two months later, and his football career was over. The White Sox signed him to be a part-time designated hitter, and he helped them win the division hitting 16 hrs in ‘93, winning the Conigliaro comeback player of the year in the process. He would play his final season of baseball in ‘94 for the Angels. He hit 13 hrs in 201 atbats, and had a career high OBP of .344. 

Pete Reiser - “Willie Mays had everything. Pete Reiser had everything but luck.” – Leo Durocher Manager of Mays and Reiser.

Early career -

Pete Reiser- BRO	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hits	2bs	3bs
1941 season- age 22	137	536	.343/.406/.558	184	39	17
1942 season- age 23	125	480	.310/.375/.463	149	33	5

Reiser was an All-Star, won the batting title, and led the league in slugging, OPS, doubles, triples, runs, and total bases in ‘41, batting 3rd for the Dodgers in the World Series. He finished 2nd in the MVP voting to teammate Dolph Camilli, and would have won the Rookie of the Year had it existed. In July of ‘42, Reiser was hitting .390 when he ran into a concrete outfield wall at full speed. Coming back too early from the injury, and only playing in 125 games, he still hit .310, was an All-Star, led the league in stolen bases, and finished 6th in the MVP voting. He also finished in the top 10 in OPS, doubles and runs. Like many of his generation, Reiser  missed ‘43-’45 due to World War II.

Pete Reiser- BRO	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hits	2bs	3bs
1946 season- age 27	122	423	.277/.361/.428	117	21	5
1947 season- age 28	110	388	.309/.415/.418	120	23	2

After the war, the switch hitting Reiser began hitting only left-handed, to lessen the pain from his many injuries. In ‘46, at age 27 he returned from the war to the All-Star team, leading the league in stolen bases again. His power though had deminished, in three less games his slugging fell 35 points, and he had 41 fewer total bases, though still finishing 9th in the MVP voting.

In ‘47, the Dodgers returned to the World Series with Reiser still hitting 3rd, but this wasn’t the same player. His average, and OBP were up from the previous season, and he still finished 2nd in stolen bases, but his slugging continued to fall. His OPS+ for the ‘41 season had been 165, now in ‘47 it had dropped to 118. The years of running into walls and playing hurt had taking its toll. At age 28, he would never play in 100 games again. After platoon duty in ‘48, he was traded to the defending champion Braves, where he played part time in CF, and LF in ‘49 and ‘50 before being released. He put up respectable numbers as Ralph Kiner’s backup for the 64-90 Pirates in ‘51, but was released again after the season. He played his final 34 games for the Indians in ‘52 batting .136/.208/.364 in 44 abs.

What happened?

People talk about Joe Gordon’s or Bob Feller’s careers being hurt by the era they played in, but Reiser not only missed three years to the war, he was hurt by the style of play, and the construction of the ballparks of his era. Reiser, was known for his speed, and devil may care playing style, but he led the league twice in stolen bases with 34 and 22. Think if he would have played for Whitey Herzog in Busch stadium, on astroturf, with a padded wall, an adequate warning track, and Vince Coleman and Willie McGee on base ahead of him. 

Bobby Tolan - “He has got to be one of the best players around. The Reds often have men on base when he comes to bat and he can hit the ball out. Everything is open for Tolan.” - Hall of Famer Billy Williams.

Early career -

Bobby Tolan- CIN	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hrs	2bs	sbs
1969 season- age 23	152	637	.305/.347/.474	21	25	57
1970 season- age 24	152	589	.316/.384/.475	16	34	42

Bobby Tolan, in fact began his career as the 4th outfielder in a Cardinals outfield that featured Lou Brock, Curt Flood and Roger Maris. He played in two World Series this way in  ’67 and ‘68, before being traded to the Reds for Vada Pinson. In 69′, playing CF, and hitting 2nd between Pete Rose and Alex Johnson, Tolan finished in the top 10 in batting average, hits, sbs, runs and rbis, and hit a career high 21 home runs.

In ‘70, the Reds won the NL, and appeared in the World Series losing to the Orioles. Tolan led the league with 57 sbs , and was in the top 10 in batting average, hits, doubles, and runs, finishing 16th in the MVP voting. Following the season, he ruptured his achilles tendon playing basketball, and would miss the entire ‘71 season. Coincedence or not, the Reds had their worst record under Sparky Anderson at 79-83.

Bobby Tolan- CIN	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hrs	2bs	sbs
1972 season- age 26	149	604	.283/.334/.386	8	28	42
1973 season- age 27	129	457	.206/.251/.304	9	14	15

Tolan bounced back in ‘72, capturing the Comeback Player of the Year, and the Hutch award. The Reds returned to the World Series, this time losing to Oakland. Tolan returned to CF, now hitting 3rd between hall of famers Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench. He finished in the top 10 in hits, runs and sbs, and 20th in the MVP voting.

In ‘73 at the age of 27, and as the Reds continued to develop an endless stream of young outfielders – George Foster, Ken Griffey, Cesar Geronimo (Hal McRae had just been traded prior to that season)- Tolan had the worst season of his career. He batted .206/.251/.304, stole only 15 bases while being caught 10 times. He also went AWOL in August, was moved to RF in favor of Geronimo, broke team rules by growing a beard, and was suspended from the team for the Playoffs (which they lost to the the Mets in the NLCS 3-2).

In November, he was traded to the Padres for Clay Kirby. He had two sub par seasons with San Diego and a knee injury that eliminated his speed, before being released. At age 30, he reassumed the 4th OF/1b role from St. Louis with the Phillies in ‘76 batting .261/.285/.342 in 110 games losing eventually to formermates in Cincinatti in the NLDS.

What Happened?

Apparently, he was unhappy in Cincinatti. Whether it was frustration stemming back to his achilles injury, or with management, or with the constant flow of talent and competition that the Big Red Machine had, I don’t know. But, because of his frustration his very good MLB career was for all intents and purposes over at age 27.

Lyman Bostock -  “In all my years in the big leagues, I can’t remember anyone who wanted to be a complete player more then Lyman Bostock. He has the talent – as much as Pete Rose has - and he is bound and determined to be the best ballplayer there is.” – Gene Mauch  Minnesota manager.

Early career-

Lyman Bostock- MIN/CAL	games	atbats	avg/obp/slg	hits	ks/bbs	OPS +
1976 season- age 25	128	474	.323/.364/.430	153	37/33	130
1977 season- age 26	153	593	.336/.389/.508	199	59/51	144
1978 season- age 27	147	568	.296/.362/.379	168	36/59	113

Lyman Bostock was a career .311 hitter, with great range in CF. He had finished 4th and 2nd for the batting title in ‘76 and ‘77 for the Twins, when, ate age ‘27, he was signed as a free agent by the Angels prior to the ‘78 season. After Bostock struggled at the plate his first month with the Angels, he offered to return his April’s salary to owner Gene Autry. When Autry refused, he gave it to charity.  

What happened?

Bostock was murdered during the last week of the regular season in ‘78. He was visiting friends in Gary, Indiana, during a series with the White Sox. The History of the Angels franchise might look different without this tragedy.

What does the future hold for Baldelli?

The new details of Baldelli’s condition make it seem that it is not as serious as what  happened to Bostock or Jackson, but time will tell. However the parrallels to Reiser and Tolan may be fair. He hasn’t had as long of a career for an entire comparison, but his future may forecast the same frustrations. He was probably never the player that Reiser was, and his demeanor seems too calm to add the additional baggage that Tolan did, but general managers and scouts may take notice of these allegories of past players, and still have questions.

How many games can he play- 80, 100, 120? How does a manager handle him? Do you send him to extended spring training, and bring him along slowly? Would he be better off as a part-time dh, pinch runner, and defensive replacement? Is it worth it to take up a spot for him, and what do you pay a player with these limitations? How do you know how these new developments change things?

Sources: www.baseball-reference.com, www.wikipedia.com, http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com, www.baseballlibrary.com, www.tampabayrays.com, www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/shadowball/oneil.html, http://mlb.mlb.com/news,  http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays, www.hickoksports.com/biograph