Karl Rhodes

From SoSH

Karl Derrick "Tuffy" Rhodes was born on August 21, 1968 in Cincinnati, OH. A third round pick by the Houston Astros in the 1986 amateur draft, he made his MLB debut on August 7, 1990 and his Red Sox debut on April 27,1995. He played his final major league game on June 8, 1995.

Contents 1 Major League Career 2 Japanese Career 3 Rhodes' Moments in the Sun 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Major League Career

"Tuffy", as he was known, spent the first three years of his major league career bouncing between Triple A the major leagues as a member of the Astros organization. In 1993, the Astros gave up on the struggling outfielder and released him in April. He was soon signed by the Kansas City Royals and shortly thereafter was traded to the Chicago Cubs in a three-team deal with the New York Yankees. He spent most of the rest of the year playing for the Cubs minor league affiliate.

In 1994, Rhodes finally made the opening day lineup, and he responded with one of the greatest opening day showings in history when he hit three home runs; unfortunately, he would only add five more all season. Tuffy lasted a year and a half with the Cubs, and after hitting .125 to start the 1995 season, he was placed on waivers and selected by the Red Sox. After spending a month as a pinch runner and defensive replacement, Rhodes was finally moved into the starting lineup on May 27 and proceded to go 1 for 22 in the next six games. Tuffy was sent down to Pawtucket shortly thereafter for the remainder of the season.

Japanese Career

Left with no Major League possibilities, Tuffy Rhodes joined the Kinetsu (later Osaka Kinetsu) Buffaloes in Japan. After three solid years from 1996 to 1998, Rhodes had a breakout season in 1999 when he hit 40 home runs and slugged .627. Tuffy had a bit of a down year in 2000, but he rebounded 2001 to have one of the best seasons in Japanese League history, tying Saduharo Oh's Japanese League record of 55 home runs. In fact, Rhodes would have passed the record easily, but pitchers refused to pitch to Tuffy after he hit 55 home runs so as to allow the great Saduharo Oh's record to stand, so Rhodes was walked in nearly every at bat for several games at the end of the season. Not surprisingly, Tuffy recorded his best on-base percentage that year with a .429 mark.

Following his historic season, Tuffy continued to hit with authority, amassing 46 and 51 home runs and posting OPS's near 1.000 in the next two seasons for Osaka Kinetsu. Following the 2003 season, he moved on to the Yomiuri Giants and hit 45 home runs at the age of 36. The following year, Rhodes finally started to break down, and after playing in just 101 games in 2005, Tuffy retired after 2006 Spring Training after failing to make the Cincinatti Reds opening day roster.

Rhodes' Moments in the Sun

• Opening Day, 1994 where he hit 3 Home Runs for the Cubs.

Trivia

• Update

Transactions

• June 2, 1986: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 3rd round of the 1986 amateur draft. Player signed June 10, 1986.
• April 23, 1993: Granted Free Agency.
• April 27, 1993: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.
• July 30, 1993: Traded as part of a 3-team trade by the Kansas City Royals to the Chicago Cubs. The New York Yankees sent John Habyan to the Kansas City Royals. The Chicago Cubs sent Paul Assenmacher to the New York Yankees.
• May 26, 1995: Selected off waivers by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago Cubs.
• October 16, 1995: Granted Free Agency.
• February 14, 2006: Signed as a Free Agent with the Cincinnati Reds.
• March 19, 2006: Released by the Cincinnati Reds.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Tuffy Rhodes' extensive Japanese League stats at thebaseballcube.com