| Arthur Rhodes | |
|---|---|
 Rhodes with the Cincinnati Reds in 2009 | |
| Hagerstown Flying Boxcars | |
| Pitcher / Coach | |
| Born: (1969-10-24)October 24, 1969 (age 56) Waco, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 21, 1991, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 2011, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 87–70 |
| Earned run average | 4.08 |
| Strikeouts | 1,152 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Arthur Lee Rhodes Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former professionalbaseballleft-handedrelief pitcher and current pitching coach for theHagerstown Flying Boxcars of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played 20 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theBaltimore Orioles,Seattle Mariners,Oakland Athletics,Cleveland Indians,Philadelphia Phillies,Florida Marlins,Cincinnati Reds,Texas Rangers, andSt. Louis Cardinals.
Rhodes played high school baseball atLa Vega High School inWaco, Texas. As a senior in 1988, he finished the season with a 17–0 record.[1]
TheBaltimore Orioles drafted Rhodes in the second round of the1988 Major League Baseball Draft. During his 1991 season with the class AAHagerstown Suns, Rhodes was selected asEastern League Pitcher of the Year. Rhodes made his MLB debut with the Orioles in 1991, spending the next four years compiling a 20–24 record as a starter.[2] After moving to the Baltimore bullpen in 1996, he compiled an 8–1 record and posted an ERA of 3.50 in 26 games. In 1997, he earned 10 wins despite not starting any games.[2] He enteredfree agency after the 1999 season.
Rhodes became a top setup man for theSeattle Mariners, becoming a key part of their bullpen for the wild-card team in2000 and the116-win team in 2001. Rhodes finished the season with an 8–0 record while posting an ERA of 1.72.[2] He was involved in a notable incident in 2001 when he was ejected from a game against theCleveland Indians. Former MarinerOmar Vizquel complained that sunlight was reflecting off Rhodes' earrings. Rhodes refused to remove his earrings, leading to a bench-clearing brawl.[3][4]
Rhodes signed with theOakland Athletics after the 2003 season. A's managerKen Macha first used him as acloser after years as a successful setup man in Seattle, but he failed in this capacity with a number of blown saves and was traded to thePittsburgh Pirates, along withMark Redman and cash for catcherJason Kendall and cash after the one season with the Athletics.
In the same offseason, the Pirates traded Rhodes to theCleveland Indians forMatt Lawton, and, as he did in Seattle, Rhodes became the top setup man for the Tribe.
On January 27, 2006, after one year in Cleveland, the Indians traded him to thePhiladelphia Phillies foroutfielderJason Michaels.
On January 24, 2007, Rhodes was re-signed by the Mariners to a minor league contract with an invitation tospring training by the Mariners. He injured his pitching arm, underwentTommy John surgery in May, and missed the entire 2007 season,[5] becoming a free agent after the season. On January 15, 2008, the Mariners once again signed him to a minor league deal and invited him tospring training. He didn't make the team to start the season, but on April 14 was added to the active roster.
On July 31,2008, the Mariners traded him to theFlorida Marlins for pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez.[6]
On December 12, 2008, Rhodes signed a two-year contract with theCincinnati Reds.[7] On June 29, 2010, his major league record-tying streak of 33 scoreless appearances was broken by Phillies sluggerRaúl Ibañez.[8]
In 2010, Rhodes was selected to his first and onlyAll-Star Game in his 20th major league season. He was the fifth player to go to his first All-Star Game after age 40, joiningSatchel Paige,Connie Marrero,Jamie Moyer andTim Wakefield.[4]
On December 23, 2010, Rhodes signed a one-year deal with theTexas Rangers with a vesting option for 2012. He appeared in 32 games for the Rangers before being designated for assignment on August 2, 2011[9] and released on August 8.
On August 11, Rhodes signed with theSt. Louis Cardinals. Given the late signing, the Rangers had to pay most of his salary, with the Cardinals responsible for only a pro-rated league minimum for the remainder of the year. Because the Cardinals and Rangers faced each other in the2011 World Series this created an unusual situation, with the Rangers paying most of the salary of a player trying to deny them a world championship. This also resulted in Rhodes being eligible to receive aWorld Series ring no matter who won.[10] The Cardinals won the World Series against the Texas Rangers in 7 games. Rhodes, who pitched in three games in this Series, joinedLonnie Smith as the only players to play in a World Series for the winning team against the team he had played for earlier in the season (Smith played on the1985 World Series-winningKansas City Royals after having been traded from the Cardinals, whom the Royals defeated in the Series, earlier in the season).
Through 2011, Rhodes was second among active pitchers in games played (900), and seventh in hits per 9 innings pitched (7.828) andstrikeouts per 9 IP (8.730). While he had been the tenth-youngest player in the AL as a rookie in 1991, he was the second-oldest player in the NL in 2011.[2]
Rhodes officially announced his retirement from baseball on January 16, 2015.[11] He held the MLB record forholds with 231, surpassed byTony Watson in 2021.[12]
On July 6, 2021, Rhodes was hired as the pitching coach for theCleburne Railroaders of theAmerican Association of Independent Professional Baseball.[13]
On February 21, 2024, Rhodes became the pitching coach for theLexington Legends of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball.[14]
On October 30, 2024, Rhodes became the pitching coach for theHagerstown Flying Boxcars of theAtlantic League.[15]
Rhodes' son, Jordan, died at five years old in December 2008 of an undisclosed illness. Rhodes wrote his son's initials in the dirt on the mound before every appearance for the remainder of his career.[16]
Rhodes' older brother, Ricky, pitched in the minor leagues for theNew York Yankees. He later served as the women'sbasketball coach atMcLennan Community College.[1]
Rhodes' daughter,Jade, playedcollege softball atAuburn and advanced to theWomen's College World Series championship series in 2016.[17] Jade Rhodes also played professional softball for thePennsylvania Rebellion,Scrap Yard Dawgs, andCleveland Comets from 2016 to 2018.[18][19] She then became a college softball coach atEastern New Mexico University andOkahoma Baptist University.[20]
Media related toArthur Rhodes at Wikimedia Commons