A 'That Guy' Jumble
Kevin Mench, who had last played in the major leagues in 2008, made it all the way back this season. The Nationals called him up in early August for reasons known only to themselves. Serving as an "extra bat off the bench," Mench has appeared in 23 games, exactly one of those as a starter, and posted a .125/.192/.125 batting line in 26 plate appearances. Despite his miserable hitting (-12 OPS+), or perhaps because of it, Mench's return to MLB has probably been quite inconspicuous to those who aren't (fairly obsessive) Nationals fans or who weren't specifically following Mench's career path, for whatever reason that may be.
Mench's largely silent return got me thinking -- how many similar stories are there around the big leagues? How many players formerly of at least some note are plying their trades in relative obscurity around the league?
So I did a little research (i.e., 10 minutes on Baseball Reference), and came up with a list. Try to match up the player with the 2010 team. First to do so correctly gets a free Capitol Punishment post from none other than Chris Needham!
I thought of including Gustavo Chacin, if only for his awesome glasses, but he's made 44 appearances for the Astros and that's a bit much.
Mench's largely silent return got me thinking -- how many similar stories are there around the big leagues? How many players formerly of at least some note are plying their trades in relative obscurity around the league?
So I did a little research (i.e., 10 minutes on Baseball Reference), and came up with a list. Try to match up the player with the 2010 team. First to do so correctly gets a free Capitol Punishment post from none other than Chris Needham!
| Rich Hill (couple good years for Cubs) | Arizona |
| Scott Strickland (former Bodes workhorse) | Oakland |
| Russ Springer (long-time middle guy) | Kansas City |
| Mike Hampton (yes, he's back -- again!) | Detroit |
| Gary Majewski (ah, the Magic Man ...) | Philadelphia |
| John Parrish (former O's prospect) | Boston |
| Mike Hessman (brings the AAA power) | Cincinnati |
| Will Ledezma ($.10-head type briefly w/ Nats) | Milwaukee |
| Adam Stern (star of Canada's '06 WBC team) | L.A. Angels |
| Brad Eldred (huge power, played '09 in Syracuse) | Florida |
| Brian Bocock (S.F.'s '08 Opening Day SS)( | N.Y. Mets |
| Thomas Diamond (former Texas hot prospect) | Houston |
| Enrique Gonzalez (pitcher, briefly Nats property) | Seattle |
| Mike Ryan (had 1.195 OPS for Twins in late '03) | Colorado |
| Guillermo Quiroz (former O's backup catcher) | Chicago Cubs |
| Matt Watson (had cups of coffee in '03 and '05) | Pittsburgh |
I thought of including Gustavo Chacin, if only for his awesome glasses, but he's made 44 appearances for the Astros and that's a bit much.
posted by Basil at
10:42 AM
4 Comments:
I'm hoping they brought up Mench just so he could qualify for a ML pension.
It certainly wasn't based on skill set.
By
VladiHondo, at 10/01/2010 2:01 PM
How many players formerly of at least some note are plying their trades in relative obscurity around the league?
I'm tempted to say this could be any veteran on the Nats...
By
Harper, at 10/01/2010 3:18 PM
This move, more than any other in '10, is an example of the Lerners being cheap. Why not bring up a prospect like Whiting or even Marrero and give them some exposure to the Bigs as opposed to Mench? The fear of "starting the arbitration clock"?
I know Bocock in on the Phillies, only because when he came in the game Wed. night I turned to my seat mate and said, "Who's Bocock"?
By
Sec314, at 10/01/2010 4:24 PM
What, no Shawn "Dr. Andrews Will See You Now" Hill?
By
Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_For_Me, at 10/02/2010 10:02 PM
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