| Paul Rutgers | |
|---|---|
| Second baseman /Third baseman | |
| Born: (1984-01-17)17 January 1984 (age 41) Melbourne,Australia | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
Paul Martin Rutgers (born 17 January 1984) is an Australian and South African baseball player who played with theMinnesota Twins organisation and bothSouth Africa andAustralia.
Rutgers was signed by the Twins in 2001 and debuted in the minor leagues in 2002 with theGCL Twins, hitting .244/.270/.267 in 31 games as a backup 2B toJosé Morales. He made hisClaxton Shield debut in the2003 Claxton Shield for theVictoria Aces.
In theGulf Coast League in 2003 he was hitting .353/.388/.443 for the Twins, second in the GCL in average. He was named to the GCL All-Star team as a second baseman. He played again for Victoria in the2004 Claxton Shield.
He was playing for theSwing of the Quad Cities in a pretty dismal 2004 season, betting better back home in the2005 Claxton Shield, batting .393/.379/.464 and winning the Batting Award. In his final year with the Twins, he batted .230/.304/.291 for theBeloit Snappers.
Paul then made his debut for the Australian senior team in the2005 Baseball World Cup. He hit an impressive .385/.385/.538 as Australia's starting left fielder. In the2006 Claxton Shield, the Victoria native hit .333/.394/.533 with 6 RBI in 7 games. Rutgers made the Australian roster for the2006 World Baseball Classic but only got to bat twice in the tournament, after being put in as a pinch hitter forTom Brice against theDominican Republic picking up a hit
That summer, Rutgers hit .285/.361/.423 for the independentChillicothe Paints. Rutgers completed his busy year with the Australian national team once again, batting .231/.267/.269 for them in the2006 Intercontinental Cup as their starting right fielder. He stole 4 bases in 4 attempts, leading the Cup in steals.[1]
In the2007 Claxton Shield, Paul batted .296/.406/.481 to help Victoria win the Shield; he won the second base Gold Glove. Back with Chillicothe, Rutgers hit .254/.346/.387 with 22 doubles. Rutgers played well again in the2008 Claxton Shield, hitting .319/.429/.489 with 15 runs in 12 games to lead the tournament in runs scored.
Rutgers was on South Africa's roster for the2009 World Baseball Classic. In the Classic, he went one for eight but got South Africa's lone extra-base hit, a double off ofMexico'sElmer Dessens.
End of May 2010 he signed a contract in Germany and now plays at theSolingen Alligators (1. Bundesliga Northern league).
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