Arthur Rhodes
Rhodes with the Reds in 2009
Cincinnati Reds — No. 53
Relief pitcher
Born: October 24, 1969 (1969-10-24) (age 40) Waco, Texas
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
August 21, 1991 for the Baltimore Orioles
Career statistics (through September 23, 2009)
Win-Loss	80-62
Earned run average	4.15
Strikeouts	1,081
Teams
Baltimore Orioles (1991-1999) Seattle Mariners (2000-2003) Oakland Athletics (2004) Cleveland Indians (2005) Philadelphia Phillies (2006) Seattle Mariners (2008) Florida Marlins (2008) Cincinnati Reds (2009-present)

Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969 in Waco, Texas) is a left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds.

[edit] Career

He has also spent time with the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, and Florida Marlins. Rhodes spent 12 years in the Baltimore Orioles organization before being granted free agency. After signing and playing with the Seattle Mariners for four years, Rhodes signed a new contract with the Oakland Athletics.

As a member of the A's, manager Ken Macha tried to use him as a closer. Unfortunately, Rhodes' performance was not strong enough to earn him the job as a closer, and he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Mark Redman and cash for Jason Kendall and cash after one season with the Athletics. In the same offseason, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Matt Lawton and became their top setup man. On January 27, 2006, he was acquired by the Phillies from the Indians in a trade for outfielder Jason Michaels. As a Philadelphia Phillie, Rhodes wore uniform #22.

On January 24, 2007, Rhodes was signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training by the Seattle Mariners. On April 28, 2007, it was announced that Rhodes would have to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2007 season as a result. He became a free agent after the season.

Rhodes (right) with former Mariners teammate Eric O'Flaherty in 2009.

On January 15, 2008, he re-signed with the Seattle Mariners, but only to a minor league deal, and was invited to Spring Training. He did not make the team to start the season, but on April 14, he was added to the active roster.

On July 31, 2008, Rhodes was traded to the Florida Marlins in exchange for pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez.^[1]

On December 12, 2008, Rhodes signed a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Reds.^[2]

[edit] Controversy

In 2001, Rhodes was pitching against the Cleveland Indians when Indians shortstop Omar Vizquel said that Rhodes' glowing diamond earrings were distracting him from seeing the ball. This incited an argument between both teams that led to Rhodes' ejection from the game.^[3][4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)