Pokey Reese | |
---|---|
Second baseman / Shortstop | |
Born: Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. | June 10, 1973|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 1, 1997, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 3, 2004, for the Boston Red Sox | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .248 |
Home runs | 44 |
Runs batted in | 271 |
Stolen bases | 144 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Calvin "Pokey" Reese Jr. (born June 10,1973) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. Reese played with the Cincinnati Reds,Pittsburgh Pirates,and Boston Red Sox from 1997 to 2004. With the Red Sox,he won the 2004 World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals. He batted and threw right-handed. Reese was known for his defense,winning two Gold Glove Awards during his career. [1]
Reese was born in Columbia,South Carolina. Growing up,he lived for a while in a two-room shack with an outhouse,along with eight or nine relatives,on the south end of Columbia. His father,an alcohol and drug addict,was often absent. Reese started playing Little League baseball at the age of nine,using a borrowed glove;he would not own a baseball glove until high school. Reese started at A.C. Flora High School,then transferred to Lower Richland High School,which was better-known for sports. During his sophomore year,major league scouts sent to watch Earl Cunningham were impressed by a long throw he made during a game. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round,20th overall,of the 1991 MLB Draft. [2]
Reese began his professional career with the Princeton Reds of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 1991. The next season,he moved up to Single-A,joining the Charleston Wheelers of the South Atlantic League.
Reese made his major league debut with the Reds in 1997. He played with the team through 2001,winning two Gold Glove Awards along the way.
Following the 2001 season,the Reds traded Reese and Dennys Reyes to the Colorado Rockies for Luke Hudson and Gabe White on December 18. [3] The next day,the Rockies traded him to the Red Sox for first baseman Scott Hatteberg. [4] The Red Sox did not tender him a contract,making him a free agent two days later. On January 30,2002,he signed with the Pirates.
In 2003,Reese turned down a higher-paying deal from Pittsburgh to play for the Red Sox. On May 8,2004,at Fenway Park,Reese had the first two-home run game of his career in a Red Sox 9-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Reese hit an inside-the-park home run and one over the Green Monster,to snap a 172 at-bat homerless streak dating back to April 4,2003. The last Red Sox player to hit a conventional homer and an inside-the-park homer in the same game was Tony Armas on September 24,1983,at Tiger Stadium.
Reese fielded a ground ball from Rubén Sierra and threw to Doug Mientkiewicz for the final out of the 2004 ALCS,as the Red Sox won their first pennant since 1986. They won the 2004 World Series a week later.
On January 5,2005,Reese signed with the Seattle Mariners,but never played in a game before being put on the 60-day disabled list and missing the entire season due to injury.
In 2006,Reese signed a one-year deal with the Florida Marlins;however,his contract was terminated on March 5,2006,after he left the club on March 1 and did not have direct contact with anyone on the team for over 72 hours. Mike Nicotera,his agent,said the departure was for personal reasons. [5]
In 2008,Reese signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals and played for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers where in two games he strained both hamstrings and was placed on the DL for several weeks. On July 3,2008,he returned from the disabled list to the Single-A Hagerstown Suns,but was quickly sent back up again to Triple-A Columbus. He became a free agent at the end of the season,after which he retired from professional baseball.
At the plate,Reese struck out much more often than he walked,posting a career 0.43 walk-to-strikeout ratio (226-to-531). Reese was a high-percentage base stealer (144-for-170),Reese had a career .307 on-base percentage.
In an eight-year career,Reese was a .248 hitter with 44 home runs and 271 RBI in 856 games.
In May 2015,Reese was named the high school baseball coach at his alma mater,Lower Richland High School in Hopkins,South Carolina. [6]
Reese was engaged to be married to Tieronay Duckett,a classmate of his at Lower Richland,with whom he had a daughter in November 1992. However,his fiancée died in a car accident in 1993 while on the way to a dry cleaner. Reese also had a son with Rhonda Richardson in September 1992;Richardson would die in childbirth three-and-a-half years later. Reese had a third child,MacKayla Barnes,in 1997. [2]
Mark Christian Bellhorn is an American former professional baseball infielder. In his ten-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career,Bellhorn was best known for being the starting second baseman for the Boston Red Sox during their 2004 World Series championship season.
Michael Stanley Myers is an American former professional left-handed relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007.
Angel Sandy Martínez Martínez is a Dominican former professional baseball player,and current Manager for the DSL Nationals. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays (1995-1997),Chicago Cubs (1998-1999),Florida Marlins (2000),Montreal Expos (2001),Cleveland Indians (2004),and Boston Red Sox (2004). He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.
Byung-hyun Kim is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He had his most successful years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox.
Blaine Neal is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Neal played with the Florida Marlins (2001–2003),San Diego Padres (2004),Boston Red Sox (2005),and Colorado Rockies (2005) of Major League Baseball (MLB). He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.
Scott Allen Hatteberg is an American former professional first baseman and catcher. From 1995 through 2008,he played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox,Oakland Athletics,and Cincinnati Reds. Before his major league career,Hatteberg attended Washington State University,where he played college baseball for the Cougars.
Robert "Kip" Wells is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career,he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates,Texas Rangers,St. Louis Cardinals,Colorado Rockies,Chicago White Sox,Kansas City Royals,Washington Nationals,Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres between 1999 and 2012.
Julián Tavárez Carmen is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played for 11 franchises over the course of a 17–season Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1993 to 2009. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 165 pounds (75 kg),he threw right-handed and batted left-handed.
Robert Lazaro Andino is a Cuban-American former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles,Florida/Miami Marlins,and Seattle Mariners.
Jason Michael Grilli is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins,Chicago White Sox,Detroit Tigers,Colorado Rockies,Pittsburgh Pirates,Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,Atlanta Braves,Toronto Blue Jays,and Texas Rangers. Taken as the fourth overall selection of the 1997 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants,Grilli was one of the top starting pitcher prospects in all of Minor League Baseball,ranked 54th in 1998 and 44th in 1999. The Giants traded him to the Florida Marlins in 1999,for whom he debuted on May 11,2000.
Dennys Velarde Reyes is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. In more than a decade-long career in Major League Baseball (MLB),he played for 11 different teams,often as a left-handed specialist. Nicknamed "The Big Sweat",during his career he was listed at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 250 pounds (110 kg). He held the MLB record for games pitched by a Mexico-born player with 673,until surpassed by Joakim Soria in 2019.
John Anthony Cangelosi is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox,Pittsburgh Pirates,Texas Rangers,New York Mets,Houston Astros,Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies. Cangelosi was born in Brooklyn,New York. He graduated from Miami Springs High School in Miami Springs,Florida.
John Truman Wasdin is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007,and also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Christopher Kenneth Volstad is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a 2005 graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High School. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins,Chicago Cubs,Colorado Rockies,Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox and in the KBO League for the Doosan Bears.
Pedro Joel Ciriaco Leguisamon is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates,Boston Red Sox,San Diego Padres,Kansas City Royals,and Atlanta Braves and has also had brief stints in the Texas Rangers,Miami Marlins,and Detroit Tigers organizations. Ciriaco has primarily played shortstop and third base throughout his career,but has appeared at every position except for pitcher and catcher.
Michael Charles McKenry,nicknamed "The Fort",is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates,Colorado Rockies,and St. Louis Cardinals.
Reese Jackson McGuire is an American professional baseball catcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox.
Jacob Daniel Stallings is an American professional baseball catcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016 and has also played for the Miami Marlins. In 2021,Stallings won the Gold Glove Award and Fielding Bible Award.
Geoffrey Thomas Hartlieb is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates,New York Mets,and Miami Marlins.
Zachary Ryan Thompson is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 5th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.